“Is this your lady love I keep hearing about?” she heard and saw Jakob turn beet red and stutter for her to ‘knock it off’. Julia boldly stepped forward and grabbed Nikki into a hug, leaving her staring in shock at the free, expressive nature of his family. They were obviously full of huggers and kissers. She was certain her makeup was gone on both cheeks as she was yanked through the room by Julia and Evelyn to be introduced to everyone. The next few hours were a mindless blur of questions in a sea of strangers. Occasionally, she would spot Travis playing or see Jakob off in the distance running the same gambit she was.
“He’s avoided the last two years, so everyone is getting the scoop on my boy,” Evelyn said proudly, patting Nikki on the knee. “I am so glad you could join us tonight. I hope it’s not too much?”
“It’s a bit overwhelming,” she admitted, trying not to offend the woman. Before being kicked out of her home and her mother running off, she’d never been around this many people before- except at college or church – and they all weren’t hugging her then either. It was overload to the extreme and she liked it. The sign over the mantle was boldly carved to state FAMILY across a weathered plank of wood, decorated with pine boughs and tinsel. Along the bottom hung hearts with initials carved in them; she now knew it represented each one of them gathered here today.
Photos dotted the stairwell, people of various ages from different decades. Several black and white lithographs were even hung in domed frames, simply beautiful to see. Their family, from the very beginning or what they could display. She saw a collage frame of Jakob and Julia over the years. Photos of the two of them with their front teeth missing, on their bicycles, and playing little league. They were a close-knit family- exactly what she craved for her to build with her son. She hoped someday he would be able to show photos like this to his girlfriend and his children later down the line. All of these memories, made her swallow hard as she knew her childhood photos were long gone.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Nikki heard behind her, standing on the stairs looking at the massive display of pictures. Wiping her eyes and clearing her throat, she turned to see Jakob standing just behind her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m going to have to start charging more than a penny someday,” she quipped with a smile. “I’m fine,” she told him at his concerned face. “It’s just tough because I see all these photos and realize I…I have nothing-“she stopped, swallowing hard again to keep from crying. Jakob nodded and urged her up the stairs away from the crowd below, taking her into a small powder room on the second floor so they had a moment’s privacy.
“Nikki, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything. I mean, look at your beautiful family. I feel like I am letting Travis down because I can’t even show him photos of me when I was a kid. You know? I hope you understand what a gift they are to have in your life, even if your mother is a hurricane,” she blurted out tearfully. “At least you… you…” Horrified at her own words, she broke down crying, hiding her face in her hands. She felt Jakob’s warm arms wrap around her as he pulled her to his chest.
“Shhh. I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he crooned softly, cradling her. “You’ve been so strong for so long. It’s okay to let yourself feel these things. And yes, I appreciate Hurricane Evelyn too,” he teased, making her chuckle and sniffle. She pulled back and hid her face from him, certain that she was a red, splotchy disaster.
“I’m fine. I just am an emotional mess at the holidays. I’m sorry you had to see this side of me. Do you have a washcloth or something, so I can wet my face?” she asked, staring down at the penny-tile floor of the bathroom. She heard him open a cupboard and a washcloth came into view.
“You know the hurricane is going to hit category ten if she thinks I made you cry,” he teased, hugging her from behind as she stood at the sink, the cold water running. Nikki glanced up in the mirror and saw his face right behind hers in the reflection. His warm tender eyes held hers.
“We’ll make our own memories through the years,” he murmured, his eyes locked with hers. “I promise you this - and I will never, ever give you a reason to cry.” She felt tears well up again and she saw the sincerity of his expression.
“You promise?” she whispered.
“I swear it. Now, I want to see that fiery sparkle that captured my heart. Smile for me, darling, and let’s go check on our little guy,” he prompted. “Someone might be giving him sugar or a puppy or something. You never know with my family.”
Nodding, she wiped her face with cold water and instantly regretted her crying bout, because her nose was definitely a ruddy shade. He held his hand out to her with a large smile.
“I think I am going to hang on to you for the rest of the evening. I’m done sharing my pretty girl with my family,” he teased. “Care to stick by my side for a bit?”
“I’d like that much better, if you don’t mind,” she admitted. “Now, let’s go check on Travis.” They walked down the stairs together and she avoided looking at the photos, else she’d get all teary eyed again. They found Travis sitting at a small card table that had been set up in the kitchen area surrounded by numerous adults. The children were sculpting Christmas cookies with colored sugar cookie dough. At seeing them walk in, his face lit up as he proudly showed them a warped four-legged figure in green.
“Look! I made Mud the kee-kat.”
“Man, that sure looks like him, doesn’t it?” Jakob knelt down and high fived Travis, making him giggle. The two were whispering, their heads bent together, and Nikki pulled her phone from her pocket, quickly snapping a candid photo. Someone else must have thought the same thing, because she heard the click and whir of a Polaroid just beside her head. Turning, she saw it was Evelyn and Julie who’d snuck up behind her.
“You are so good for him,” Julie told her with a wide smile. “I’m glad you are here.”
“Me too,” Evelyn said happily, hugging Nikki about the shoulders. “We all are. He used to get so touchy and moody about everything. Said that I embarrassed him, can you believe that?” Nikki nearly laughed but smothered it instead, smiling as the older woman kept talking. “But now, you are here and he’s not just my boy, but he’s the man I knew he could be. He loves you both very much and I hope you two are happy,” Evelyn whispered and kissed Nikki on the cheek. “Come, let’s have a glass of eggnog – just us girls.”
Nikki was effectively shanghaied by his family again and pulled into the crowd once more. She saw Jakob’s surprised laugh as he held seven fingers and mouthed to her “Hurricane” and shrugged in defeat – a wicked grin plastered across his face. Nikki did let a giggle slip this time, at the silent joke between the two of them. After a while, Nikki had relaxed quite a bit. Turns out Julia had spiked their eggnog for “just the girls,” effectively forming a bond, while the two women told her all the stories of Jakob as a child. Everything from temper tantrums, to winning awards, to his first crush who’d broken his heart.
“He was really torn up about it and moped about, what was her name? Oh yes, Melody, for a few weeks. I think he was more infatuated with the fact that she’d dumped him before a school dance rather than that he liked her.”
“Yes, I think everyone has to get their heart broken at some point in order to know when you’ve got a good thing going.”
“When you told Jakob off at the town square, he got in the car with me and, and…” Evelyn started laughing wildly to herself, probably an effect of the whiskey in their cups. “He moaned and complained about how he didn’t get your name or number! He’d been so hung up on the fact that you’d actually yelled back at him. I thought it was absolutely fantastic that he’d met someone he couldn’t bully – until he got angry about it. He said you were just like me and that I bullied him. Can you believe that? I got mad then and poured my coffee out in his car.” Julia spit out her eggnog and began choking hysterically.
“He told you that?” Julia and Nikki both asked, but for different reasons. Nikki was shocked that she’d made
that kind of impression on him from the very get go, whereas Julia thought it was absolutely a riot that the ‘pampered spoiled brat of the family told off his momma’. Evelyn didn’t think that Julia should have been laughing so much and looked slightly offended.
“You don’t think that, do you? Do you think your mother bullies you?” Evelyn asked Julia and Nikki could see that things were going downhill fast.
“Actually, you should be very proud of how you’ve raised them because every time we are together, he talks about what a wonderful home life he’s had growing up,” Nikki interjected and looked at Julia, giving a faint shake to her head. Nikki felt two large hands appear on her shoulders and glanced up to see Jakob standing just behind her. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and then his mother’s.
“Do I smell whiskey, Jules?” he asked his sister. “Girls, no more eggnog for you three. We are getting ready to start the white elephant and everyone needs to draw a number.”
Jakob pulled up a chair right beside where Nikki was sitting on the couch by his mother and sister. A jar full of numbers went around the room and the children started piling up the boxes in front of the fireplace. She saw that Travis was absolutely loving the fact that he was getting to hold and carry the colorful boxes around. Everyone took a turn drawing a number and they were given the wrapped gift that coordinated with it. You could shake the gift, but you couldn’t open it.
They went around the room one at a time, giving each person the option to keep the present they received or to pick a different number. Travis was giddy at the fact that they were going to open a present tonight. He sat on Jakob’s lap and clapped every time someone got a box. Somehow, Nikki ended up with her own box: the snow globe. She was more than happy to keep the gift and secretly hoped that she’d end up with the box at the end of the night. One person got a variety of bath soaps, another got a scented candle, and the gifts went on and on until it got to Nikki.
“Mama, that’s ours- you have to change it,” Travis announced in the silence. Jakob’s family began urging her to switch boxes with someone. Nikki turned to Evelyn and swapped gifts with her since she was sitting beside her. To which, Jakob promptly swapped with his mother in order to get the gift back. Nikki looked at him surprised and laughed merrily at his mock innocent face. As they opened the gifts, Nikki was surprised to get a football – however- Travis was beyond happy, snatching it from her immediately.
“Interception! And the other team has the ball,” Jakob crowed, and everyone laughed goodheartedly, including Nikki. She’d not pictured him a football fan, but the fact that he recognized it and was showing Travis how to tuck it under his arm to keep from losing the ball again, warmed her heart.
“Open yours,” Julia prompted, making Nikki sink into the sofa with embarrassment. Everyone knew it was her box and it wasn’t as anonymous as it was supposed to be. Jakob opened the box and rolled his eyes at seeing the box hidden inside. He pulled it out and held it up for everyone to see, bringing another surge of laughter. Opening it, he glanced inside and slid a sideways look at Nikki.
“You are truly special, have I told you that yet?” Jakob whispered softly with a smile. He leaned over and kissed her in front of everyone drawing a large “AWWWWW” from the adults and a cohesive “EWWWW” from the children.
“He smells her face like that all the time,” Travis blurted out with an exaggerated sigh well past his years. Evelyn laughed with everyone else knowingly. She clapped her hands towards him, encouraging Travis to sit in her lap instead of Jakob’s. Once freed, Jakob held up the silvery snow globe for everyone to see, making several mouths drop open in surprise at the silly photos she’d put inside.
“I thought you hated pictures that made you look dumb- and frankly you look like an idiot with icing on your nose,” Julia taunted her brother. Nikki turned immediately before Jakob could respond.
“No, he doesn’t, and I happen to absolutely love that about him,” she argued and stood her ground as it got quiet in the room. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she realized that she’d just made two tactical errors: A, she confronted a family member in front of everyone and B, she just announced that she loved of him. Julia, Evelyn and several other family members got a massive smile on their faces. Evelyn abruptly stood up with Travis.
“Let’s head to the dining room and we can finish after dinner, yes?” Hurricane Evelyn was at it again and directing the evening. Nikki sat frozen staring at his sister, unsure what to do or say at this point. Julia laughed and got up with her mother, leaving them alone. She heard Jakob get to his feet behind her and shut her eyes painfully. She’d not planned this, nor had she wanted to admit her feelings. They were still so new, so raw, and things were so very, very…
“Nikki?”
“Look Jakob, I just lost…” she yelped as he bent down suddenly and picked her up over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“We need to talk, and I don’t need any prying eyes watching us,” Jakob announced loudly, enough for anyone who’d been snooping to get the hint. He carried her into a small office just off the living room and set her down on the office chair. He walked over and locked the door. Turning, she saw the intense look on his face and shut her eyes, knowing he was emotional. His eyes had that stormy look to them that she’d seen that first day. Here we go, she thought, you’ve been waiting for him to blow it and it’s fixing to happen.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered softly as she heard him walk over to her. “It just kinda slipped out and I don’t wan-“
“Nikki, stop,” he told her, pulling her from the chair into his arms. His kissed her thoroughly, his tongue making her knees weak at the unrestrained passion directed her way. Her arms curled around his neck as she held him to her as fiercely as he held her. He broke the kiss and began nuzzling her neck, kissing her cheeks and nibbling on her earlobe.
“I need to smell you here…and here… and here, “he whispered against her neck, chuckling. Nikki laughed throatily as she held his shaking shoulders, thinking of Travis’ description of them kissing. She loved that they could laugh together.
“Because I love you too,” she heard him whisper against her neck tenderly.
“You do?” she whispered, staring at his beautiful face as he looked down at her.
“More than the air I breathe,” Jakob told her softly. “Do you know how hard it’s been for me to keep from saying anything to you? I know you are worried and this is so new between us, but I can’t help myself.”
“I love you,” she breathed as he kissed her again. She felt his hands roving over her back and pulled away immediately. It was too much for her and she’d been there once before. She’d promised herself that she’d never, ever make that mistake again without the sanctity of marriage. He’d said as much too. She would be strong enough for the both of them, if necessary.
Jakob stepped back, running a shaking hand through his hair. He stood beside the desk, his hands clenched, and he took several deep breaths. She understood because she felt that overwhelming desire as well. The temptation was there but this was the wrong time, the wrong place, the wrong setting.
Jakob suddenly gave a soft chuckle. Nikki looked at him in surprise. He glanced over to her, a wry grin on his face. “This isn’t the most romantic of settings, nor how I’d planned to tell you that I loved you,” he admitted. “And now I’m the one apologizing.”
“Don’t. I’m kinda glad it’s out in the open between us.”
“Me too. Don’t be surprised if you hear me say it a lot.”
“I hope you do,” she admitted. “I plan on telling you every chance I get, honestly.” Jakob took a step towards her and she put a hand up. “Hang on there, tiger,” she grinned. “I think we need to rejoin your family, so we don’t get barged in on. You know as well as I do that there is at least one person on the other side of that door trying to listen.”
“I bet there is more than one.”
“Four?”
“I’d say at
least five,” he wagered with a smile. “Want to bet on it?”
“No, I’m not betting anything against you. You know them better than I do,” she teased, straightening her dress and smoothing her hair. “How do I look?”
“Absolutely lovely,” he told her tenderly and reached out a hand, taking hers. He kissed her knuckles. “I am blessed to have met you.”
“I think I am the lucky one; now, let’s see which one of us would have won the wager?”
To her surprise and Jakob’s’ – neither would have won a wager. His family respected their privacy and accepted the couple back into the fold with not much ribbing. A few members raised a glass in a mock salute to the two of them, but they took their seats at the table like nothing had happened. When dinner wrapped up, they finished the exchanges, but there was a difference in the air now. An ease, a warmth that she felt flourishing around her.
Acceptance and love.
9
When Jakob drove Nikki and Travis home, she saw a Christmas card taped to her front door as they pulled in the driveway. She was surprised to see the red envelope there. Glancing behind her, she frowned. Sure enough, Travis was asleep in the car.
“I’ve got him, you go ahead,” Jakob told her with a warm smile and tender kiss. “I love you – and I love being able to tell you that.” Nikki liked it as well.
“I love you too,” she whispered against his lips. She slipped out of the car door quietly and watched longingly as Jakob picked up Travis against him. They’d done this routine before several times over the last few weeks and it was like clockwork now. She’d get the door and he would carry her son inside. She’d remove his shoes and as much clothing as possible to get him ready for bed without waking him. Tonight, would be the same, except it wasn’t. The card on the door had a name scrawled across the front:
Perfectly Matched: Opposites Attract (Match Made In Heaven Book 1) Page 7