“I did.” He stopped pulling things out of the box to pull something out of his jacket pocket. “But I’ll be adding something new this year. It’s the first ornament I’ve actually purchased.”
A small brown bag was in his hand, and he handed it to me. “What is it?” I asked. The bag was flat, almost as if nothing was inside of it.
“Open it.” His smile went wide as he watched me.
I opened the flap that closed the bag and found clear plastic inside. Pulling it out, I found a brass baby bootie inside and pulled it out too. He’d had it engraved with the words, “Daddy and Mommy’s first Christmas with their little orb.’
Tears clouded my vision as I thought that it had to be the sweetest thing he’d ever done in his entire life. I threw myself into his arms for a hug and tried to hold back the tears, but just couldn’t. “Nix, you’re the sweetest man on the planet.”
“Aw, it’s just a little something to help us remember our first Christmas together.” He looked down at the ornament I held and took it from me, placing it on the table with the rest of the things. “So, first we have to put this thing in a tree stand, and that’s no easy task.”
I’d never had a real tree before. My foster parents had had this little plastic tree they’d put up each year. It went up right after Thanksgiving and didn’t come down until sometime after the New Year. And we never got to decorate it. Mrs. Davis did that alone.
All I’d ever gotten was one present each year. I was thankful for that. And it was always something useful, never a toy. I didn’t ever have any toys that I could recall. But I’d make damn sure my kid had a ton of them.
“I nearly forgot,” Nix said. As he snapped his head up, he wore a grin. “Can you go out to my car? It’s parked in the front. Somebody left something for you inside. It’s sitting on the passenger seat.”
“For me?” I asked, surprised. I made my way to his car and opened the passenger door to find a small box and a red envelope. “Hmm, who’s this from, I wonder.”
I thought it had to be a small early present from Nix but when I opened the card I found it was from Shanna. The envelope housed a Christmas card with a lighted tree on front that wished me a Merry X-mas.
When I opened it, I found she’d written me a note inside. The first line hooked me.
To the woman who’s stolen my best friend’s heart.
I had to read it all now. How could I not?
Nixon Slaughter has been like a big brother to me since I can remember. So I might come off kind of overprotective of the man now and then.
That said, I can see that he looks at you with love-glazed eyes. And that makes me happy.
I’m sorry for my prejudice about what you two enjoy sexually speaking. (I know—not your typical Christmas card material!) Anyway, please forgive me for jumping to conclusions about you. I don’t know you well yet, but you’re my best friend’s girl so that means we will become great friends too.
I hope you can give this old friend of the man you love a chance to prove I’m not always a bitch. Maybe that could be your Christmas gift to me, forgiveness for being an overbearing, prejudice, buttinsky.
Now open the present I gave Nixon to give to you and we will consider this hatchet buried.
My heart felt full of emotion as I put the card away, making sure to put it up nice and neat as I’d keep it forever. I felt it was such a sweet sentiment and would treasure the card.
When I opened the small black box, I found a bracelet inside. It had a sterling silver charm bracelet and there were a few charms on it already. One of the charms stood out amongst them all. One in the shape of a heart that said friends for life on one side and on the other she’d had our names engraved.
I took my present and card inside and found one tear had fallen. Nix looked as me as I came inside and his smile beamed at me. “Do I see a tear?”
I wiped my eye with the back of my hand. “I’m afraid so. I think I’ve made a new friend.”
He nodded and went back to pulling decorations out of the boxes. “Good. That girl’s like a sister to me. She’s a little on the tomboy side and doesn’t like to hang with girls much. She’s kind of rough and tumble. That’s how come she and I ended up becoming such good friends. I never want you to be jealous of her. There’s no reason to. I hope you can look at her like you’ll look at any of my family, because she’s as close to me as they are.”
I came up behind him, hugging him. “I think she made a great gesture and I will accept her for who she is. I’m just so happy we can all get along. I don’t want to spoil one thing in our life. I only want to enhance it.”
He turned around, wrapping his arms around me. A sweet kiss told me he was happy with things and that always seemed to make me happy.
I knew the odds were stacked against us. I knew most people thought we’d never make it. But with that against us, I still wanted to see if we could beat those odds.
I wondered if Nix thought that way too.
Mona was in the kitchen, making us something for a special Christmas Eve dinner. I’d told her in secret that I wanted her to take the entire day of Christmas off. I’d been gathering recipes from the Internet and watching cooking videos all week long. I’d even made a trip to the store to buy all the ingredients I’d need to make Nix a proper Christmas dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and homemade rolls.
Nix and I managed to get the tree into its stand and were taking our time placing the ornaments on the tree. Nix told me where each and every one of them came from. His family was huge, and I had to admit that I was intimidated about meeting them all.
“How am I going to remember all of their names, babe?” I asked as I placed a pale blue satin ball on the tree. It had a large yellow stain on it and he told me that was from when it had fallen in a glass of his Aunt Rose’s iced tea as she took the ornaments down on her very last Christmas.
“You shouldn’t worry about that.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Half the time my mother can’t even remember her own kids’ names. She’ll go through the gambit of family names then end up shouting, ‘You know who you are and why I’m calling you, dammit!’”
I laughed as he tickled my ribs. “Nix!” I wiggled to get away from him. “You’re gonna make me pee!”
He stopped and pulled me in for a kiss. As our tongues twirled, I thought I’d never had such a memorable Christmas. He’d brought things to my life I’d had no idea I’d been missing.
Mona popped out of the kitchen. “The formal dining room awaits your arrival, you two. And I’ll be on my way. You can just toss the dishes in the dishwasher when you’re done. I’ll tend to them when I come back.”
Nix took my hand as I called out, “Thank you, Mona. You have a Merry Christmas.”
“You too. Bye now,” Mona called back just before she slipped out the garage door.
A small squeeze to my hand had me looking at Nix to find his green eyes sparkling at me. “Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?”
A blush stained my cheeks. He made me feel so out of sorts when he looked at me that way and said things like that to me. “No, you haven’t said a thing about that.” I ducked my head shyly.
He lifted it with one finger and kissed me softly. “You’re very beautiful all the time, but tonight even more so, somehow.”
“You’re very handsome tonight too.” I ran my hand over his light green sweater. “This brings out the color of your eyes.”
I’d put on a red dress in honor of the occasion. He ran his fingers over my shoulder. “Red always looks good on you.”
We made our way to the formal dining room, and there we found candles lighting up a gorgeous table that looked like something out of a magazine.
Two gold domes covered our plates, and sparkling water glistened in wine glasses next to them. “Mona is amazing,” I whispered.
How can I ever top this when I make the meal for Christmas?
But all that worry went out of my head as Nix helped
me into a chair and took the one at the head of the table. We sat there, looking at everything, and then he took my hand. “You know, back home my daddy says a prayer before we eat on special occasions. I suppose as we’ll be parents from now on, we should start doing that too.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know any prayers. You go for it.”
He bowed his head and so did I as he said, “Our father in Heaven, please bless this food that we’re so thankful for. And please bless our little baby that we’re also thankful for.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “And bless this woman at my side as she’s made this all possible. Without her, I’d be lost. Amen.”
When I looked up at him, I saw unshed tears shimmering in his eyes. I ran my hand over his beard. “You’d be lost?”
He nodded and leaned over to kiss me. “You’re my hero.”
I gulped and tried not to start bawling. “You’re mine.”
He kissed me again, and I felt like I was floating on air. Would this be the right time to admit my love for him?
But when his lips left mine, he pulled the dome off his plate and smiled. “Wow, she really outdid herself. Roasted game hens, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, peas with pearl onions. Yum.”
I pulled the dome off mine and enjoyed the aromas that drifted up to me. “It smells wonderful, doesn’t it?”
“It does.” He dug right in, and I followed suit.
The moment had passed, and now it would be awkward to say the words to him. How did one say something like that—especially for the first time—when the recipient of the sentiment was feasting on delicious food and savoring every bite?
Maybe I’d tell him on Christmas. Maybe that would be the perfect time to let him know that I loved him.
Chapter 23
Nixon
After the delicious dinner on Christmas Eve, Katana refused to just leave the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. She cleaned up the dining room and did all the dishes, and even went so far as to put them all away.
While she did that, I took a glass of wine out to the deck to look at the stars. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs had me turning my eyes from the sky to find my neighbor, John, trotting up to visit me. “Hey, John. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too, Nixon.” He took a seat on one of the deck chairs and pulled a bottle of beer out of his jacket pocket. “I saw you out here and thought I’d join you for a little drink.”
I raised my glass of wine in a toast to him, and he did the same with his beer. “To new beginnings,” I said.
“Here, here,” he said then popped the bottle’s top and took a drink. “Did Katana tell you I met her the other day?”
“She did,” I told him then set my glass down.
His expression turned sheepish. “Did she rat me out?”
I froze for a second as I wondered what the hell he meant. What had he done? She hadn’t said a word about him saying anything that would have him asking me a question like that. “No. But I’d love it if you told on yourself.”
“Yeah, well,” he seemed hesitant. “After I got back home, I thought about what I’d said and it sunk in that I might have said things that might’ve put her off about you.”
“Well, if Katana’s put off about me, she’s not showing it.” I laughed and picked up my glass, taking a drink. At least whatever he’d said hadn’t affected her.
“Good. I can be a motormouth sometimes and talking to her proved to be one of those times.” He took a long drink of his beer before he went on. “You see, I pointed out how you are, or were, anyway. I told her that you could be very neglectful of people. Especially women.”
“Oh, that.” I was well aware of that major downfall. “Well, I’m not that person when I’m with her. She makes me a better person. I don’t know how she does it. She doesn’t ask me to be any certain way. I just want to be around her—with her—or at least talking to her throughout the day when I can’t be with her. She’s what I think about most of the time.”
“And there’s the baby now too. She told me about that. And how that’s why she’s here with you, so you guys can raise it together.” He took another drink. “You know about my divorce and how I’d never get married again. Plus, if I could have a do-over, I’d leave the kids out of it.”
“Now, come on, John. You’ve whined a lot about the divorce and how your wife cheated, but how can you second guess your children? That’s just going too far. There are no mistakes in bringing a child into this world. I believe that with everything in me.” I knew I’d gotten up on my soapbox a bit as I was talking a little louder than normal, but he had to stop beating himself up over this thing.
“They have some issues because of what they went through, Nixon. I don’t always let that be known. Sandy has trouble trusting people. And Brady is a womanizer. Both drink too much.” John shook his head. “If I would’ve known they would end up with problems, then I might’ve left sooner and just taken them with me.”
“As if you could’ve done that,” I said as I ran my hand through my hair. The wind had kicked up and mussed it up a bit. “In this day and age, you could’ve never gotten complete custody of them.”
“I didn’t mean like legitimately take them. I meant run off with them. Escape from the woman who ruined all of our lives. Rescue them.” He took another drink, looking like a man who had too many regrets.
“I doubt your kids are that messed up—I’ve seen them. As a matter of fact, are they going to be stopping by to visit you tomorrow for Christmas?” I asked to try to get him off his pity party and on to something better.
“Yeah,” he said then finished his beer. “After they stop by their mother’s place. She’s got a new man—poor son of a bitch. They’re having a real old-fashioned Christmas with his three kids as well. I guess she’s pretending she has a big happy family with love just flowing in the air now that she’s rid of me.”
It was wrong of me to do, and I knew it even as the chuckle left my mouth. “Sorry. I really am. I know you’ve had it rough, but listen to yourself. She didn’t get rid of you. You left her. And you did what you thought you needed to do for your kids—and that’s admirable. You did the best you could with what you ended up with. Now don’t you think it’s time to move on?”
John looked at me with a frown. “No. I don’t want to move on. And I didn’t come over to talk about me, anyways. I wanted to come over here to talk to you about your upcoming bundle of joy. Don’t make Katana think you’ll be there for her through the raising of this child. We both know you’ll get busy with some new and exciting project and she and this kid will be left alone, waiting for your attention to return to them. Which it won’t. It won’t because men like you are driven.”
I was slightly incensed that the man thought he knew me better than I knew myself. “Driven isn’t a bad thing to be—look at where it’s gotten me,” I said, gesturing around my deck. “And as far as how I was, that doesn’t matter. I want Katana and this baby. I’ve already put her and this baby ahead of everything else. And I happen to have a project on the table right now. We’re going to open the nightclub, Swank, on New Year’s Eve. And I haven’t lost sight of her as I’ve been moving forward with that project.”
“Maybe that’s because she and this baby have become your new project. You were already working on that nightclub when you met her.” His words sent my heart into a spiral.
He was absolutely right. I had already been working on the nightclub for months. John did know me well. I always had a project in mind before finishing the one I was on at the time. My mind just worked that way.
Even when I’d been a kid playing sports, I’d be near the end of football season, and already I’d be messing around, playing basketball and getting ready for that season.
I was the kind of person who always looked for the next thing.
Would I do that to Katana? Would I do that to my own kid?
“I can see your wheels turning, Nixon. I hope you’re not mad at me. But h
aving a kid is a big deal.” He stopped as I waved my hand at him to get him to quit talking.
“I’m not mad. I know you think a lot about kids and what happens to them if their family life is sucky. And I know you don’t mean any harm.” I gulped down the rest of my wine as I tried to wrap my head around everything.
“I don’t mean any harm to anyone. But you need to be realistic about the girl and that kid you’ve got coming.” He got up and tossed his beer bottle into the small trash bin at the top of the stairs. “You’re a great guy, Nixon. I don’t want you to think I think anything else. But you’re a driven man, and men like you make lousy husbands and fathers. People get left behind by men like you. Just don’t lead this girl into thinking you can be something you’re not. Let her do what she needs to with this baby.” And with that, he left me.
Alone now, I sat there thinking about who I really was.
I knew I’d never turn my back on Katana or our child. She’d always have everything she’d ever need to take care of our kid. Always.
But was I putting Katana in a position where she’d be hurt and alone when I moved on to my next project?
When I looked up, the stars seemed to blur and spin. My life had just started to resemble the world I’d always dreamed of having. I’d never been home so much and been so happy to leave the office behind. But it wasn’t just about coming home to my Malibu beach house—it was Katana.
I’d always been a bit more than merely content with my life. But I’d never been as happy as I’d been since Katana came into my life.
Since the night we met, I’d had a thing for her that wouldn’t quit. So there was only one real question. Was this real?
Were my feelings real or just the typical excitement I always got when starting a new project?
Katana didn’t feel like a project to me. I wasn’t trying to mold her or shape her into what I wanted her to be. That’s what I did with projects. I built things, changed things, rearranged things. I didn’t stop until I was completely satisfied with what I’d done.
Nightclub Sins: A Billionaire Romance Series Page 29