Not My Brute (Angels of War Series #2)

Chapter Tweny-four

Breakfast with the kids went well. I took them to the American diner out of town, letting them try the Santa shaped pancakes and candy cane milkshake. As always, Emilia stole the show, telling me all about her week, begging me to come to her Christmas play. Timmy was a little quieter, saying he had a headache and wanted to go back to bed.

Hayley organised to pick me up on Tuesday afternoon so we could drive to the school together. Apparently, she's going for a scan beforehand, so it'll be fun to chat about her appointment on the way to the Christmas play.

On the way back from Hayley's, I stopped at Fishergate Shopping Centre, popping into H&M to get a dress for Josh and Tabitha's Christmas party tonight. Feeling festive, I went for a red wine coloured loose wrap dress with sheer black tights and jewelled flat pumps.

I bought a bottle of Festive gin from the distillery near my parent's house, stopping off to get a case of beer to take too. I don't like going to stuff empty handed, feeling rude if I do. My parents weren't home when I got in, catching them in the hallway after I showered and applied some makeup to my face.

To match my outfit, I made more of an effort with my eyeshadow, choosing a dark smoky eye and a glossy lip, hoping that Bret would notice them more and want to kiss me. We haven't seen each other since he gave me an earth-shattering orgasm in his rent room three days ago, but we're texting, and he's sending me GIF's that have me in stitches.

I sit down on the comfy, turquoise suede sofa when I finally finish getting ready and wait for my taxi. I'm making a night of it, meeting Jenny after her work Christmas Party when Josh and Tabitha throw us all out for the night. It means I can get my heels on the dance floor again and let the music control me.

"Love, that's your taxi pulling into the drive," Dad says, coming to meet me at the front door.

I get up, grab my clutch bag and alcohol, studying my figure in the long length mirror in the hallway. I like what I see and feel confident walking up to my dad, who gives me a big kiss on the cheek and hands over the taxi fare, demanding I take it when I hesitate, telling me he'll only worry if I don't.

It takes us about twenty-five minutes to get to the Cadwell's house, even though, I'm surprised you can't see it the next town over from all of the lights. It's like Santa's grotto on steroids. Fake snow covers the lawn, big candy canes following the outside of the pathway in a neat pattern. There's a red light pointed in the direction of the brickwork and a floating, blow-up Santa near the door, not mentioning the many fairy lights too.

I don't have to knock on the door because it opens before I get to the porchway, little Megan standing there with the biggest smile, dressed in elf pyjamas. Once I reach the doorway, Josh appears, telling Megan off for opening the door on her own to which she skips off in the other direction.

He takes the beer and leans in to kiss my cheek. "Glad you could make it, Diana. Bret's in the kitchen with a few army friends. Go on through."

The gin in my hand feels heavy when I work my way through several strangers, gently smiling when they move out of my way. There's a big crowd here, Josh and Tabby always the popular ones.

I find a free space near the kitchen door and take it before it goes a second later. Dumping the gin on the side, I glance around the big space, seeing Bret standing outside with three other men, smoking a cigarette. Deciding to get myself a drink, I grab a plastic cup from the stack near the bottles of alcohol and pour myself some rosé wine.

A hand touches my back, and I spin around to see a tired looking Tabitha, her ever-growing bump trapped under a tight black dress, but as always, she looks bloody gorgeous.