“You’ll never guess this year,” she said with a grin.
Quinn had never gotten them all right. It wasn’t easy since each couple switched colors every year. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought to have two rooms in the castle devoted to nothing but storage for Christmas. There were twenty trees—because the castle always had more than one, and there were extras for anyone who wanted to use one. Then there were the boxes of ornaments and decorations—organized by color, of course.
And who did all of that? His beautiful wife.
It was up to each couple to decide on the tree and color before telling Marcail so she could make sure everyone had what they needed to decorate. Every year, the girls came back from one of their many shopping trips with more decorations, and, of course, tote boxes to organize everything.
Marcail looked up from cutting paper. “What are you grinning about?”
“I’m wondering how long it’ll be before the holiday decorations need a third room.”
Her smile widened. “Sooner than you might think.”
“All right,” he said and rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get to this.”
His eyes scanned the presents. They weren’t huge piles. Instead, each couple only had a handful of gifts each. He counted fourteen groups, which meant Marcail had wrapped some for everyone. By the stacks of boxes beside her, she still had a few to go. He didn’t know how she kept up with whose was whose, but she always did—all without looking inside. He wouldn’t be able to keep from peeking. Which was one reason he wasn’t allowed in the room with her for long. He only had so much fortitude before he caved and reached for an unwrapped box.
“Do I need to kick you out now?” Marcail asked without looking at him. “You’re eyeing the unwrapped boxes already.”
Ah, his beautiful wife knew him too well. He grinned at her. “I’m in complete control.”
“Right.” She laughed.
He couldn’t even argue with her because she was right. And she knew it. Then again, Marcail was usually always right. She shot him a side-eye, which made him return his attention to the wrapped bundles.
First up, a set with each package wrapped in a different green plaid. She’d used white, black, and different shades of green ribbon. The gift tags were a green so dark they almost looked black.
Then came the blue. The paper was solid, matte navy with gold velvet ribbons and matching gold gift tags.
There was a rustic white and linen-colored set. The wrapping was either brown kraft paper or white with natural designs, along with linen and white-colored ribbons to match. The tags were natural-colored.
Next was the soft gray and pale pink collection. There was narrow gray-and-white-striped paper, all white, white with gray ornaments, pink, and pink with gold snowflakes. Marcail varied the ribbon combination on the packages and added pink name tags.
Finally, he came to the red—historically his favorite. She’d mixed the bold red and black buffalo check with cream paper that had a pearlescent finish. The plaid had been paired with cream velvet, while she’d used black ribbon edged with red glitter with the cream. The gift tags were black with red lettering.
That brought him to the burgundy and gold. It was a muted burgundy, the paper looking as if it had been scraped. Marcail used gold or burgundy velvet ribbon edged with metallic gold. The name tags were gold.
His gaze landed on the packages wrapped in a deep, metallic teal. Each had a dried orange slice tied with a copper-colored ribbon. Tucked against the orange were sticks of cinnamon and sprigs of rosemary. The gift tags were copper.
Then came the metallics—lustrous bronze, silver, gold, and copper paper. Matching ribbons of different widths—and name cards—were alternated to create a stunning vision.
When he saw the next packages, he decided to change his favorite for the year. Some boxes were wrapped in matte black paper with red ribbon, while others had a small-check black and red plaid with either black or red ribbon. The gift tags were a metallic red.
Next up was the white and silver group. From metallic silver to white paper and several combinations of both, they drew the eye. White and silver ribbons and matching gift tags completed the assortment.
His gaze shifted to the next pile of gifts in rose gold paper with different holiday designs. All were finished with elaborate gold, white, and rose gold ribbons and white gift tags.
The next group consisted of shimmery lavender and matte white paper. The presents were finished with either glittering lavender ribbon or white tulle and had lavender gift tags.
A unique green and gold combination was next. The greens ranged from sage to hunter, and every paper had a design in gold. The boxes were completed with velvet, shimmery, or glittery gold ribbon and green gift tags.
Last was an icy blue, silver, and white paper set. The ribbons were a metallic silver, glittery pale blue, and navy with icy blue tags.
“Well?” Marcail said as she got to her feet and faced him.
Quinn pointed to the matte black and red set. “That’s ours.”
“Oh?” she asked, giving nothing away.
He nodded, feeling surer by the second. “My skin changes to black when I release the god inside me, and you know how I love red.”
“I’ve not used black before. Why would I now?”
His grin widened. “Because I know you.”
Marcail couldn’t hold back her smile. “It seems you do.”
“I like the combination. Great choice.”
She beamed because she loved when he got excited about such things. “Care to try the rest?”
“The royal blue and gold are for Fallon and Larena.”
“Two in a row. Good start.”
His sly smile told her he planned to get it all this year. “The metallics are for Lucan and Cara.”
Her brows shot up on her forehead. “Three in a row.”
“The rose gold is for Ramsey and Tara.”
“Keep going,” she urged.
Quinn pumped his fist in the air before looking over the remaining ten groups. “The green plaid, I think that’s for…” he said, dragging out the r, “hm. Maybe…Camdyn and—no, no’ Camdyn. I say Ian and Danielle.”
“You nearly bungled that one. Yes, it’s for Ian and Dani.”
“My best is nine in a row. I’m going to beat it this year,” he told her.
Marcail smiled. It was a silly game they played, but it was theirs, and she cherished every second.
“The rustic white and brown is for Galen and Reaghan. The gray, pink, and white is for Laura and Charon, and the red and black plaid is for Broc and Sonya.”
“Correct on all three.”
“One more to tie my record,” Quinn said to himself as he rubbed his hands together. He cleared his throat and said, “The burgundy and gold belongs to Phelan and Aisley.”
“Well done,” Marcail complimented.
He winked at her. “The teal is…” He paused, tapping his fingers on his chin. “Give me a second.”
Marcail watched him, silently saying the names in her head and hoping he got them right.
His pale green gaze slid to her. A lock of his light brown hair fell into his eyes, but he didn’t seem to notice. “The teal is for Isla and Hayden.”