Yesterday Grant, Brant, and Roddy had built the wood and metal structures for their magical pixie Christmas theme, and they’d spent the last few hours securely setting up and anchoring them to the boat while Jules decorated them. They’d secured a wire Christmas tree draped in blue and white lights to the hardtop of the boat. Beside it, a mannequin from Jules’s shop was dressed in Jules’s Halloween costume, decorated with green and red lights, and positioned to look like it was blowing dust from its palm. Grant had made a wire frame and secured it around the mannequin’s wrist. The frame had fingerlike projections that ran parallel to her palm with icicle lights dangling from it. When the boat was moving, the wind would carry those lights to look like the mannequin was blowing pixie dust. They’d decorated several large boxes to look like presents and stacked them on the back deck. Another mannequin dressed like a pixie and illuminated with lights sat atop the gifts with her legs crossed. She wore a red-and-white Santa hat and was leaning forward, touching her index finger to the big red nose of a reindeer wrapped in white lights.
Brant and Roddy were busy draping lights around the railing of the boat while Jules and Grant were decorating the bow. There was a lot of commotion at the other end of the marina. Jules looked up from the lights she was hanging and shaded her eyes from the afternoon sun to see what was going on. Mayor Osten had just arrived, and people were coming off their boats to greet him as he did his pre-flotilla rounds. Tara followed her father, taking pictures for the newspaper, as she’d done for the last several years.
The song “Baby Shark” boomed for the umpteenth time from a speaker Archer was securing to their parents’ boat. Archer, Jock, Levi—who had come home with Joey to help decorate—and their father were attaching an elaborate wire structure over the entire length of the boat. It had a big fin on the top and a wire baby shark connected to the side. Their mother and Daphne were adding lights to an enormous mouth her brothers had constructed, which would be secured to the front of the boat, and Hadley was toddling around with her life vest on, playing with Joey.
“Jock!” Archer hollered. “Turn that shi—” He shot a glance at Hadley and Joey. He was still trying to learn not to curse around the kids. “Crap off!”
Jock roared with laughter as he turned it off.
“Baby shawk!” Hadley yelled. “Unca Awcher, I wanna hear it!”
Archer glowered across the boat at Jock.
“You can tell her no.” Jock smirked.
“Ten bucks says he can’t,” Levi said, causing Archer to glower.
Archer looked like he was ready to blow. “Turn the damn—darn—song on. But paybacks are he—heck.”
Jock turned on the song, and Hadley began doing the “Baby Shark” dance and begging Unca Awcher to do it, too. Everyone roared with laughter when he began moving his hands like a shark’s mouth. Hadley had all of them wrapped around her little finger.
Jules bopped to the beat. “Little shark, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum. Pisses off Archer, la, la, la, la, la, la…”
Grant laughed and blew her a kiss.
He was putting lights around a red metal sleigh, driven by a male mannequin dressed as Santa Claus, and Jules was putting the final touches of lights on another mannequin dressed in a Christmas fairy outfit, standing in front of the sleigh, posed slightly bent at the waist, one hand shading her eyes, the other holding a lantern.
She secured the last string of lights and stood up, putting her hands on her hips to admire her work. “What do you think?”
Grant moved the Santa mannequin’s hand so it was reaching for the fairy mannequin’s butt and pulled Jules into his arms, kissing her, as he’d been doing all day.
“You’re a dirty boy, Mr. Silver.”
“Only with you, baby. I think we need a fairy outfit for you to wear tonight.”
She giggled. “Only if I get to dress you up, too.”
“As…?”
She wound her arms around his neck. “Tarzan, wearing nothing but a loincloth.”
“For you, I just might do that.” His hand slid down to her butt, pressing her tight against him, as he lowered his lips to hers.
“Dude! Get your hands off my sister’s ass!” Archer hollered.
Grant didn’t move his hand as he yelled, “Why are you looking at your sister’s ass?”
Archer scowled, and the rest of them laughed.
Archer had been watching Jules and Grant like a hawk all day, tossing mostly teasing barbs at Grant. Grant gave him a hard time right back. Jules knew it wasn’t easy for Archer to see their public displays of affection, but he might as well get used to it, because they weren’t about to hold back. It had been funny yesterday morning when they’d gone to breakfast at her parents’ house, and Grant and Archer had gone head-to-head, bumping chests in some type of male bonding ritual. Jules, her mother, and Daphne had gotten a good giggle out of it, and the guys had ended up laughing as always. They’d had a great time, and Jules had melted when Grant, determined to get a smile out of Hadley, had picked up the usually scowling toddler and held her above his head, zooming her around the kitchen like she was flying. He’d not only gotten a smile, but he’d earned rare little-girl giggles.
Grant squeezed her butt, bringing her back to the moment, and said, “I love doing this with you.”
“Kissing me and feeling me up?”
“That and decorating for the flotilla. I had forgotten how much fun it was to be out here with everyone.”
“I’m glad to hear it, because everything is more fun when we do it together.”
“We’ve got doughnuts!” Lenore called out as she walked past the boat.
“And doughnut holes!” Gail Remington yelled, trailing behind Lenore.
“Doughnuts!” Joey yelled. “Dad, I’m getting a doughnut!”
Jules and Grant both looked over as Hadley toddled after Joey, yelling, “I want a doughnut!” and Daphne ran after her.
“How about you, big guy?” Jules asked, bringing Grant’s attention back to her. “Would you like a doughnut or a doughnut hole? I’m going to see if they have any Boston cream. What’s your favorite?”
His eyes went volcanic. “You’re my favorite everything. I’d like to get my mouth on your doughnut and fill you with something creamy.”
Her body heated as his mouth came ravenously down over hers, taking her up on her toes. She’d learned—and loved—that Grant was as talented a dirty talker as he was a lover. He could take her to the brink of madness with nothing more than his rough voice and a few seductively spoken naughty promises.
“Jules! Finish making out and I’ll meet you at the snack table!” Tara hollered.
Jules tore her mouth away, and Tara lowered her camera, grinning at having taken a picture of them kissing, and waved. She pointed to the snack table and motioned for Jules to hurry up.
“You should go, baby, before I drag your pretty little ass into the boathouse and have my way with you.”
Her cheeks flamed. “Um…that sounds better than doughnuts to me.”
He laughed and smacked her ass. “Get outta here before you get me in trouble with your friends. The last thing I need is a pack of girls giving me shit for monopolizing your time.”