by Toni Aleo
That was obviously hard for Victoria and Olivia Fisher.
Kissing his beautiful wife’s forehead, he said, “Wanna open my gift?”
“You got me something?” she asked sweetly and he smiled.
“You know I did. You probably already know what it is,” he said, getting up and going to the tree to retrieve the gift.
“I really don’t,” she reassured him as he handed her the large box. “Shelli, baby, hand me Daddy’s gift.”
“Got me something?” he teased and she shot him a grin.
“You know I did. I love Christmas.”
That she did. It was her favorite holiday, and that was one of the main reason he wished they weren’t going to Michael Fisher’s house. He didn’t want her sister and mother to ruin Elli’s favorite holiday.
When the kids stopped opening their gifts and gathered around them, Shea nodded toward Elli for her to go.
“No, you go first,” she said, basically jumping in her seat. “I’m so excited for you to see what it is.”
To please her, he nodded and opened the box. It was a watch box, and when he opened it to the expensive-looking watch, he smiled. “Thank you. I needed a new watch.”
“That’s not even the best part, look at the base.”
His brows pulled together as he focused on the watch to see that it not only had the time but a picture of Elli and the kids. “And the inscription,” she added.
He smiled as he read the inside of the watch: To the best daddy in the world. We love you. So much.
His grin grew as he put the watch on, looking over at Elli. “I love it. Thank you.”
He then leaned over, kissing her lips as the kids giggled and some said ew. Parting, she grinned as she bounced in her seat.
“Your turn.”
“What is it?” she asked as she pulled the wrapping off.
“A horse,” Shea deadpanned and she giggled. “Open it and see.”
Her grin was unstoppable as she torn open the box. When she looked inside, he smiled when a perplexed look came over her face. Pulling out a smaller box, she glanced at him and he chuckled.
“You thought it was that mixer, huh?”
“Maybe,” she said slowly as she started to unwrap the smaller box.
“It’s under the tree,” he answered and her face lit up.
“Then what is this?”
“Open it and see.”
The kids were basically bouncing off the walls in anticipation. Everyone knew what he had gotten her, and it had taken almost a year to plan. He was excited to see what she thought, though. Opening the box, her brows came together as she took in what she was looking at.
“Are these plane tickets?”
He nodded as she pulled them out.
“To Fiji?” she asked but then separated the tickets. “There are only two here.”
“Because only you and I are going. For a week.”
“What? I can’t leave the kids or even the team! You’re crazy.”
“Mom and Dad are going to come stay with the kids, and I already cleared it at work. We are leaving after New Year’s.”
“What!” she gasped, looking at him in disbelief. “Really?”
His hand came down on her thigh and he smiled. “We haven’t had a vacation since Shelli was born. I think it’s time we had some us time, don’t you think?”
When she looked up at him, tears gathering in her eyes, he knew he had done good. Great, even. “Yeah. I think so,” she agreed, wiping her eyes. “A whole week? Just us? No yelling, boogers, or hockey?”
He laughed. “Just us and the beach. We are staying in a hut with no one around but a guy to give us food and drinks.”
“Sounds like paradise.”
“It will be.”
“Oh my God, I can’t wait! Thank you!” she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard on the lips. When she parted, she was frowning though. “I only got you a watch.”
He scoffed. “Baby, you’ve given me the world and then some. Now it’s my turn to give you everything you can dream of.”
“You do that every day, Shea, just by loving me,” she said, tears rolling down her beautiful face. Her eyes still hit him straight in the gut, and her lips could knock him to his knees. She was everything and more. He would give her anything she asked without even really thinking.
“I love you,” she whispered, her lips ever so close to his. “More than words could express.”
“I love you.”
“Group hug!” Shelli exclaimed, and soon all five of their children jumped in where they could fit in. With Shelli in his lap, Quinn on his back, and Evan around his waist, he looked into the eyes of his forever and smiled. Elli was holding Posey and Owen close but still holding him too, a beautiful, happy grin on her face.
“Daddy, I love you,” Shelli said, kissing his cheek. “I love you too, Momma.”
“Yeah, I love you,” Quinn said.
“Me too, I love y’all,” Owen said.
“I love you so much. Thank you for my presents,” Posey said softly.
“I love you more than they do,” Evan informed them, ever serious but the instigator of the family. Soon everyone was protesting on who loved whom more.
Finally, Elli said, “Guys, stop. I love you all. The exact same. You are all the world to me.”
They all grinned and seemed content with that. Looking over at Elli, Shea smiled, holding her jaw. “You happy, baby?”
She nodded, kissing his nose. “So much so, it hurts, Shea. You’ve given me everything I could have ever asked for.”
His heart pounded in his chest as he got lost in her eyes. How did he get this lucky? To find his soul mate and not only marry her but make beautiful children with her. Kissing her nose, he said, “And to think, I still have the rest of our lives to give you even more.”
Her grin grew as her eyes clouded with tears and she said, “Merry Christmas, my love.”
“Merry Christmas.”
Of course, Elli forgot a present. It was her luck. It wasn’t bad enough she had to go deal with her mother and sister, but she forgot to get something for Karson and Lacey King. This was so unlike her, but she blamed it totally on everyone else.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, she had been so busy. Fallon had had her baby, so of course, she had to go over and love on her little Emery. After making sure her house was clean, Fallon was comfy, and food was cooked, Elli spent some time at work. The boys had hockey, Shelli had dance, and Posey had gymnastics. Quinn, poor guy, had to go everywhere with her and bitched about it relentlessly.
Then she found out Audrey was pregnant after years of trying. Apparently, it was the year of Christmas miracles because so was Harper, which was just mind-blowing. Being the friend she was, she went over and loved on them, made sure they had everything they needed and picked dates for baby showers. Since, of course, she would be planning them. Then Claire came home from Vegas, so she cooked a huge dinner and invited everyone over to celebrate not only her homecoming but the fact that she had picked a date for her wedding, and it was right around the corner! After making sure Claire knew that her aunt Elli would do everything and anything to help with the wedding, she worked, was the kids’ driver, and then did loads and loads of homework. Between all that, she had to reassure Piper that she could be a book cover designer and no one would think she was a flake, she had to trade away two players, and then she had to make sure her husband was sexually satisfied.
To say the Elli Adler was a busy woman was a damn understatement.
So while it wasn’t a surprise that she forgot to buy a gift for their friends, she was still disappointed in herself. But then she thought about sitting on the beach for a whole week. No kids, no hockey crap, no friends to take care of, and really, she wouldn’t even have to think. All she had to do was drink fruity drinks, eat food, and have sex with her husband over and over again. It sounded like the most amazing vacation in the world, and she was counting down the
days. All she had to do was get through this dinner with her family, the Assassins’ New Year’s Eve party, and then she would be on a plane to Fiji with her hot as sin husband.
Since her sexy husband was at practice, she had all the kids in tow as they rushed through Bass Pro Shop. Apparently Lacey had never gone hunting before and Karson had been trying to talk her into going. Elli’s uncle had a cabin in the woods out in Clarksville, so she decided to buy them a gift card to the pro shop so they could come and stock up for their little adventure that the Adler family was going to give them.
She held Shelli’s and Quinn’s hands, and they held on to the other kids as they navigated through the shop. She also needed to get a gun cleaning kit for her daddy, and she needed to get home to wrap everything, but this place was packed with people trying to get day after Christmas sales. This was a horrible idea.
“Momma! The fish tanks!” Quinn exclaimed.
“Yeah, Momma, can we stop! Please,” Owen begged.
“Please!” the other three chimed.
“Yes, of course. Come on, five minutes. We gotta go, my loves.”
“Okay!” they all chorused before running off to look at the fish tank. Crossing her arms across the stomach, she watched as the kids oohed and aahed over the fish. She loved watching them when they were interested in something. Each one was so different, it was insane. Even Evan and Owen were completely different. Shelli was her overachiever, pleaser, while Posey did what she wanted and didn’t care what anyone said. Owen was her quiet one, while Evan was her loud, obnoxious one, and Quinn was just downright insane. That’s the only way she could describe him.
Counting each one, she started to panic when she didn’t see Quinn.
“Shelli! Where is Quinn?”
“Right here, looking at the bear, Momma,” she said, pointing to her baby brother, and when Elli saw him, her heart calmed. The bear was blocking her view of him. Sheesh, she almost had a mini heart attack. Letting out a breath, she smiled, thanking the good Lord above, but then in true Quinn fashion, he yelled to her.
“Momma!”
She looked back at him to scold him for yelling, but she was speechless by what she saw. Quinn’s pants were around his ankles, his hand holding his penis, and his other holding the bear’s big damn penis.
“Momma! Look, it’s got a dick like me!”
“Quinn!” Shelli yelled, her hand covering her mouth as the boys lost their shit laughing.
“Oh. My. Goodness! Momma! Quinn is playing with his no-no!” Posey yelled and Elli couldn’t move. This was not happening. She was frozen in place as everyone stopped to look and laugh.
“Hell’s Bells, Quinn! Pull your pants up!”
“I swear, I have never been so embarrassed in my life! Holding his penis, screaming he and the bear both have a dick in the middle of the pro shop. A dick, Shea! That is your fault, I swear to goodness. I am so mad and freaking embarrassed.”
Looking across the island at her husband who was obviously holding in his laughter, Elli just got madder. “Speak, Shea Ryan Adler!”
“Yeah, I don’t have anything.”
“Nothing?”
He held up his hands. “I won’t use the word dick in this house ever again, and if anyone says it around our kids, I’ll punch them in the di—penis.”
Glaring, she whipped around to go to the fridge. “I swear to goodness. You have no clue what that was like. It was so horrible.”
When his arms came around her waist, she closed her eyes as she leaned back into him. Kissing up her neck, he nibbled at her earlobe before whispering, “I’m sorry you were embarrassed by our insane three-year-old.”
She knew how silly it was to be embarrassed, but everyone saw her little boy’s penis, along with the fact that he was holding on to a bear’s. The horror. Shaking her head, she let out a breath. “I was just so surprised by it all.”
“It happens. They are crazy. All of them.”
She giggled. “But they are all ours.”
“And I wouldn’t trade them in for anything. Dicks and all.”
Closing her eyes, she laughed for the first time as Shea chuckled in her ear. Turning in his arms, she kissed his lips, melting against him. He could still take every bit of stress out of her body with one kiss. That was probably why she hadn’t lost her damn mind yet. Because Shea loved her. More than she would ever deserve.
“We have to go to my dad’s.”
“Yay,” he said, but she didn’t miss that he wasn’t excited.
“Yeah. My sentiments exactly. Let’s go.”
When they arrived at her family home, her stomach sank. She’d much rather go back to the pro shop and let Quinn helicopter his penis around the damn store than deal with her mother and sister. She had dressed to the nines and even had the kids dress supernice just so her family wouldn’t have anything to say. Well, more her mother than anything.
When her father took her mother back six months ago, Elli thought it was a bad idea, but apparently, she had turned over a new leaf. She acted nice as all get out and loved on her kids like she cared, but she could see in Olivia’s eyes that she didn’t care one bit. She just missed the money her daddy had. She hated thinking that of her mother, but it was the truth. The woman didn’t care one bit about Elli or her children; it was about the security her father offered her.
Victoria, well, Elli didn’t talk to her. Victoria didn’t try, and Elli wasn’t sure if she was good to the kids because she wanted to be or because she was trying to get money out of their father. Elli just wasn’t sure. Shea didn’t like any of them, but like the good sport he was, he sat through dinner and said nice things when he was asked something. Elli, on the other hand, only talked when she was talked to. Which wasn’t much.
“Elli, darling, you’re looking thin,” Olivia then said, and everyone stopped eating to look down at her.
“Momma is beautiful,” Evan informed her, turkey hanging from his mouth.
“Yeah, like all the time,” Shelli added.
“She’s the best too,” Posey said with a nod.
“I agree, kiddos. I think your momma is the prettiest girl ever,” her father said with a wink. She smiled but didn’t miss the looks Olivia and Victoria gave him. It was easy to say you could cut the tension with a knife.
“Y’all sure do love your momma,” Olivia said with a big ol’ fake grin on her face.
“Ugh, yeah, she’s our momma,” Evan said with a look on his face that said he thought she was an idiot. “Duh.”
“Evan Marcus, that’s rude,” Shea reprimanded and Evan nodded.
“Yes, sir. Sorry, Grandma.”
“Oh, you’re fine!” she said, way too quickly, in Elli’s opinion.
Elli smiled as she laced her fingers with Evan’s. “Well, I sure do love y’all, and thank you, Mother.”
That ended the conversation, and shortly after dinner, they were gathered around the big Christmas tree, opening gifts. Sitting in Shea’s lap, Elli moved her fingers along his jaw as she watched her little bits open the presents her family had gotten them. Of course, they spoiled them and Elli hated it. She wished they were more involved than just buying them things. Minus her father, of course. Elli would never think that of her father.
“I love you,” Shea whispered in her ear, and she grinned as she leaned her head against his.
“I love you.”
“Good, can you go get me another beer, please?”
She giggled as she shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I need beer. I have to be at least almost drunk to deal with your mother,” he said softly with all the seriousness in the world.
“Touché,” she said with a nod before getting up to head to the kitchen. “Daddy, do you need another beer?”
“Sure, my sweetheart, thank you,” he said with a wink. She kissed his cheek before heading through her childhood home. Soon she noticed that nothing had changed. Her dad had let it go some since he had been drowning himself with work, but
she was sure it would not stay that way with Olivia back home. She would have this place back to pristine condition in no time. Probably the only good thing about her mother returning.
Taking frozen mugs out of the freezer, she poured two beers and threw the cans away. As she turned to leave, she paused when she almost came crashing into Victoria. Her sister was all legs and still as gorgeous as ever. Long, dark auburn hair curled down her shoulders, her green eyes were wicked, and her lips devastating to any man who came in contact.
Meeting her gaze, Elli looked away quickly and said, “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Victoria said, but she didn’t move. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
Elli’s brows came up as she set the mugs on the counter. “Um, yeah, I guess.”
Victoria cleared her throat and looked down at her hands. “We haven’t spoken much since everything went down.”
“No, we haven’t.”
“Yeah, well, I…well, you see, I—” she stopped and took in a deep breath before meeting Elli’s questioning gaze. “I want to change that. I don’t want to fight. I don’t want you to be mad at me. I want to be able to see my nieces and nephews. I want a relationship with you.”
Elli’s brows came in. Huh? “Why?”
Victoria smiled, but Elli could tell she was uncomfortable. Clearing her throat, she said, “Because I’ve learned being a bitch drives everyone away. I’m trying to change and fix the wrong I’ve done. I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you. The name-calling, the putting you down, the trying to ruin you and Shea. I was wrong, and I am very sorry for that.”
Elli could only blink as her older sister, who she’d always thought was Satan, slowly started to cry.
“I adore your children. They are beautiful souls, and I really would like the chance to spend more time with them and you. I want us to be sisters, not strangers.”
Looking away, Elli took in a sharp breath. This was completely crazy. They hadn’t spoken more than two sentences to each other in almost eight years. “I’m sorry, but this has kind of left me speechless.”
“I know,” Victoria agreed. “I don’t deserve your trust, or even for you to accept my apology, but I promise, I am being true and speaking from the heart. I’m not under Mom’s control anymore. I’m my own woman. I don’t need anyone anymore, but I want to have you and the kids in my life.”