Meghan heard a deep voice behind her and turned around to find Calder standing at her shoulder. “Sorry, I’m late. There was a slight delay.”
He kissed her on the cheek, shook Alex’s hand, said, “Happy Thanksgiving, man,” then turned and shook Ben and Gus’s hands as well. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, she asked, “Everything alright?”
“Right as rain, Red. Don’t you worry. Enjoy the evening, okay?”
“Ugh,” she groaned. “It’s so nerve-wracking.”
“It’s gonna be fine. Look, I have to say hello to everyone else. You hang in there and stay close to Alex. I know how much he looked forward to everyone being here together and to have you at his side.”
“Damn but you’re a smooth talker,” she giggled.
“Runs in the family,” he deadpanned a second before making a beeline to where Stephanie sat with Dylan in her arms. Brody, Cam, and Lacey gathered round.
She slipped her arm around Alex’s waist and felt him do the same only his hand ended up possessively caressing her ass. They both watched silently as Calder greeted Cam. Then he gave Lacey a quick peck on the check, obviously made some gentlemanly comment about her outfit, and then turned to Brody with a big smile. They did a bro-tap and a side hug that needed to be set to music and posted on YouTube. Which left only Stephanie.
Meghan felt her Major’s hand tense up on her ass. His reaction was not a surprise because she was actually holding her breath. Calder bent over and looked closely at the snuggling baby, and said something that brought a smile to Stephanie’s face. Then calmly and in full view of them all, for they were all watching, kissed Tori’s mother full on the mouth in a way that left little doubt about the direction of their relationship.
Tori gasped. Drae chuckled. Alex palmed her butt. Gus and Ben coughed.
“Okay everyone,” Carmen called from the doorway. “Now that we’re all here, you can start heading into the dining room. Bring your drinks, mis amigos. No hurry!”
“Showtime,” muttered Alex close to Meghan’s ear.
Everyone moved slowly from the family room to the dining room with multiple bathroom stops along the way. Meghan grinned broadly when the massive pocket doors were pushed open and the warm, inviting holiday tableau came into view. It was absolutely stunning and everything she’d hoped it would be.
The Villa’s formal dining room was immense, with a heavy, carved wood table and chairs that easily sat twenty-five situated in the center of the room. This space, more so than any of the others in the main house, maintained its original, heavily Spanish vibe.
On one end of the room sat an enormous fireplace with an ornately carved relief in the marble surround. Heavy iron lighting sconces hung overhead with a magnificent colonial chandelier in the center. And everywhere there was wood—from the rustic, majestic beamed ceiling to the heavy, dark furniture.
It was to this already magnificent room that Meghan let her creative whims fly to create an unforgettable holiday atmosphere for this very special gathering. Down the center of the long table was a stunning continuous floral piece with vines covered in fall leaves that curled high and low. There were shiny apples, mini pumpkins, pomegranates, and decorative squash plants littered through the entire length. Several tall dessert stands with unique domed lids were set at intervals filled with autumn displays. Here and there were scattered a dozen or more iron hurricanes lit with thick brown candles which made the tablescape glow and dance in the flickering lights. Visually, it was a masterpiece. Warm, colorful, inviting, memorable.
When she heard the appreciative murmurs and gasps of her guests, Meghan was filled with delight. Alex even squeezed her ass and whispered, “Bravo, baby.”
“Oh, my heavens,” Stephanie quipped in her adorably exaggerated Southern drawl. “This is incredible, Meghan! Ohhh gurl, it’s on like Donkey Kong now, shugah. Imma’ have to challenge you to a Party Planner Face-Off. I do events for a living, darlin’, and this…well— this is really something.”
“AFTER YOU, MRS. ST. JOHN,” Drae said with a bow. Tori gigglesnorted and swatted him on the arm as she chugged by. He looked positively drool-worthy tonight. There was something about this man when he was suited up that made her swoon. Hell, I must look like a grinning idiot to anyone watching, she thought with half a smirk. At some point, he’d tug on his cuffs and shoot her a wink, and before anyone knew it, she’d be giggling like a schoolgirl.
Ever the gentleman, he pulled out the ornately carved chair with the distinctive curved, Spanish style backs and offered his hand to help her get seated. “You look very pretty tonight, honey,” he whispered as she sat.
Tori lit up like the Carnegie Hall stage at his compliment. It wasn’t easy finding stylish, comfortable maternity clothes, but she’d totally lucked out with a champagne-colored dress. It had a low bodice supported by wide straps that gently gathered beneath her bust then cascaded in an abundance of swirls over her belly. She added a delicate lace bolero to give it a more dressed-up vibe and a cute pair of dress peep toe flats with silver and pearl embellishments that complimented the color of her outfit.
They sat, as they always did, at Alex’s right hand. That was where Draegyn would forever be—at the man’s side.
Everyone eventually sat down, remarking on the distinctive place settings that Carmen proudly explained were Villa heirlooms. Tori fingered the small, seating tags topped with a piece of autumn-colored ribbon that sat atop the coordinating linens on which Meghan had calligraphed each of their names. Hers read: Victoria St. John with an italicized Tori underneath. On the back of the tag was Family Justice. She couldn’t help the smile she sent Meghan’s way. Taking the place card, she inconspicuously slipped it into her miniscule bag. It was a keeper. Something for the memory book.
Draegyn and Alex were talking quietly over her head, which was normal. Her husband made sure that she always had the seat next to Alex. It was a loud and proud statement to one and all about the importance of her place in his life. But that didn’t mean her being smack dab between them slowed down their chatter one iota.
Tori glanced around the table as she absently rubbed her belly. What a wonderful gathering. Meghan was directly across from her, where she noted Big Daddy kept her hand firmly in his. She seemed a bit nervous, which was odd for the brilliant redhead. Cameron and Lacey were next to her with Brody and Betty side by side.
Alex had given his uncle a place of honor at the other end of the table signifying his role in the family. Tori nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek when she spied her mother seated next to Calder. She honestly didn’t know what to make of her mom’s behavior. First, there was the uncharacteristic fussing over putting together the perfect outfit that had gone down earlier, followed by the eye-opening smooch Calder had planted on her.
Ria was on the other side of Calder with Ben close by. Not surprisingly, Gus and Carmen were seated together, and she couldn’t help but notice the way Gus kept fiddling with his tie and smoothing his hair. He cleaned up pretty nice. Actually they all did.
Lost as she was in her thoughts, it took her a good minute to register that there was an empty place setting between Gus and Draegyn. Was somebody missing? Tori did a quick head count and paused, confused. Nope. There actually was an empty seat.
Elbowing Draegyn, she pried his attention away from Alex long enough to whisper, “Why is there an empty place next to you?”
Her husband looked surprised at the question, glancing to his side and finally noticing the empty spot.
“Hey, what’s up, Irish? We missing somebody?”
The entire table quieted at Draegyn’s question and turned expectant, curious eyes on Alex and Meghan.
Was she surprised when Dad leaned toward Irish Mom and kissed her sweetly before giving the rest of them his attention? No. Not at all.
But Tori’s curiosity was piqued. Everything he was doing had some sort of meaning behind it. She recognized the Valleja-Marquez Don hat when he figuratively put it on. His formi
dable presence and serious disposition kept the entire room quiet and everyone at the table set to high.
Rising at his spot at the head of the table, he clung to Meghan’s hand and looked around the table at all of them, stopping at the last for a long linger on Draegyn and her.
“Family is everything,” Alex declared in that professorial way he had that Tori got such a kick out of.
“Meghan and I were thinking,” he said with a loving glance his fiancée’s way, “that we’d make the New Year all about family. Reconnecting. Forgiving. Accepting.” He chuckled and some of the tension from his serious mood evaporated. “Hell, with this huge wedding coming up, we can’t afford any Hatfield and McCoy scenarios!”
Everyone laughed and nodded in agreement.
Meghan spoke up. “Stephanie and Calder are here now and Alex’s sister will be joining us after the holidays. The only one who wasn’t playing family was you, Drae,” she said pinning Tori’s husband with a caring look.
What the fuck? Tori wondered. Turning toward Draegyn as fast as her pregnant bulk would let her, she saw husband’s head snap up and his spine go rigid.
Then a voice came from behind them, “How’s it hanging, Ray Gun?”
Tori and Draegyn whipped around at the speed of light. There, standing in the doorway of the dining room, stood Desireé St. John-Morrison in all of her hippy-dippy, organic earth mama glory, smirking at her brother with unabashed delight.
Draegyn muttered, “Desi?” Tori had never seen him at such a loss for words. He was clearly astonished and overwhelmed.
“What?” the unexpected guest jeered with a chuckle. “No hug after all this time?”
Tori was astonished when her calm, suave, cool-headed secret agent husband stumbled over his chair, getting his feet tangled and nearly falling on his face in the process of getting to his sister. Actually, it was so damn sweet and adorably cute that she might have giggled out loud.
“Desi,” Draegyn groaned as he crushed his only sibling in a fierce hug.
“Ray Gun,” she cried. “I’ve missed your sorry butt.”
“What are you doing here?”
She grinned and shrugged both shoulders, raised her eyebrows, and tilted her head toward Alex. “It was him. That one,” she taunted with a wink at Alex. “The big guy. He sent a plane to Portland to get me. And since it is a holiday and I do have kids and a husband, he also arranged to fly John and the kids to his parents’ place for some quality family time to take the sting out of me making a cameo in Arizona.”
Tori was overcome by what Alex had done. She watched her husband look at his old friend. Something unspoken happened. There was some head nodding. She realized her jaw was practically on the floor.
Then she heard Desireé holler, “Where’s that poor girl you knocked up, Ray Gun?” as she peered around the solid wall that was her brother and glanced about until she found Tori. Her eyes lit up with joy.
“Victoria,” she cried, pushing Draegyn out of the way with a hearty shove and running with her arms outstretched in greeting. “Oh, my God! Look at you!” she laughed as she engulfed Tori in the mother of all hugs. Turning a hilarious stern frown on her brother she snapped, “Look what you did to this poor girl. Pregnant. Practically barefoot.” She turned and winked at Tori. “And why the hell isn’t she wearing the St. John tiara?”
The entire room got so quiet you could hear a pea drop.
“Aw, come on, you guys,” Desireé shrieked with laughter. “I’m just kidding about the tiara.” She looked back at Draegyn and said drily, “But not about the poor pregnant girl thing.”
Finally, her husband found his ass and he spoke. “You do know it’s never too late for me to make you a widow. Don’t like that guy who’s defiling my saintly sister.”
They laughed, hugged, laughed some more, and enfolded Tori in a memorable bear hug.
So far, dinner was nothing short of amazing, and Calder was enjoying himself immensely. He was even composing a mental email to his sister to let her know what a fine man her son had become. Pride such as he’d never known overtook him as Alex’s incredible gesture for the St. John’s was revealed. What an incredibly poignant way to make his point about family.
Stephanie, who was overcome by Alex’s support for Drae, just kept saying, “I can’t believe he did that,” over and over. He smiled, knowing she was in for even more surprises as the evening went on.
Once the hubbub and excitement over their surprise guest settled down, it was time to eat. In a nod to Carmen and Ria’s Hispanic heritage, they started with an albondigas soup that the housekeeper swore was a century-old recipe. There was lively conversation coming from all sections of the table and with a relaxed and happy cowgirl within his reach, Calder was a happy man.
After the appetizers, their wine glasses were refilled while last-minute prep went in to the main course. Desireé, who had been talking quietly to Tori and Meghan, came over to Stephanie and sat in the chair Betty vacated when she ran into the kitchen to help Ria.
“I’m so delighted to meet you at last, Ms. Bennett. I just love Victoria, you know!” She smiled broadly and whispered conspiratorially to Stephanie and Calder. “Wasn’t sure old stick-in-the-pants Ray Gun would ever settle down. Guess he finally met his match with your daughter.”
They all chuckled with good humor. Drae’s sister was an irresistible combination of a tie-dye wearing earth mother and a quick-tongued hellion—something she shared with her brother.
“May I ask why you call him Ray Gun?” Stephanie asked.
Desireé hooted with glee and nudged Stephanie playfully. “I had trouble saying his name as a kid. I mean—Draegyn. Really? Don’t know what the ‘rents were smoking before that decision! Anyway,” she continued breathlessly, “he used to have a serious hard-on for all things about outer space. Apparently, according to legend,” she joked, “he was watching some 1960’s sci-fi movie that had noisy ray guns and in my young mind…Ray Gun sounded pretty damn close to Draegyn. The name stuck, and yes, it drives him ape-shit crazy.”
“I can’t believe my nephew managed to pull off getting you here and keeping it a secret until the proper moment.”
She smiled and looked down the length of the table to where Alex was cuddling with baby Dylan. “He’s been my brother’s best friend and most steadfast supporter since I can remember.”
Turning enthusiastically to Stephanie she babbled, “I’m going to leave you with all my contact info, Mom Mom.”
Calder did a double take when he saw how wide and pleased his companion’s smile just got.
“That way, we can stay in touch, and you can keep me in the behind-the-scenes loop. After that baby comes, Alex has promised to fly the whole family in for a meet-and-greet. The kids already think their Aunt Victoria is pretty special, and they can’t wait to have a cousin.”
“I’m so glad you’re here today, Desireé,” Stephanie sniffed. “It’s hurt my heart that Draegyn doesn’t have supportive parents, but seeing you two and the bond you share, well…it helps me understand your brother better.
After a few more minutes of chit chat, Ria and Betty came bustling out of the kitchen with the main course of their feast. The enormous organic turkey that everyone had been raving about made an impressive sight. There were half dozen or more sides—clearly enough food for their large group.
Before the carving of the turkey began, Alex tapped his knife on a wine glass and asked for everyone’s attention.
“FAMILY JUSTICE,” HE BEGAN SOBERLY once he was sure he had a rapt audience. “We’ve had an incredible year. All of us here have ample reason to be thankful for a variety of blessings and bounties.”
Heads nodded, someone murmured, “Amen,” and for good measure, Dylan chose that moment to grunt and fart out an epic poop that literally brought the house down with laughter.
Drae had to wipe away tears from the belly laughing. Since he and Victoria were across the table from Cam and Lacey, they held on to each other in a fit of giggl
es as they watched the other couple lose their shit amidst the uncontrollable laughing as they hurried to manage Dylan’s ungracious contribution to the gathering. Honestly—they were like watching a comedy team bumble through a routine.
Would that be him and Victoria in a few months? God. He hoped so. This sudden passion for normalcy in his life was turning into an obsession. He and his feisty little woman bickering at the drop of every hat in that tongue-in-cheek way they had was surely going to be bringing the comic relief.
Lacey rescued the situation with haste and flopped into her chair with a grunt after returning the baby to his seat.
Cam looked at Drae and drawled satirically, “Bet she washed her hands a dozen times.”
Lacey’s predilection for hand washing around the baby was well known by everyone at the Villa.
She flashed her husband some side shade and pursed her lips then smacked him a good one on the arm. Husband control, Drae snorted.
Cam, of course, wasn’t done with his teasing commentary. “Every time I visit the head, she’d right there. Did you wash? Let me see.” He chuckled quietly and smirked at his Ponytail.
“I keep telling her that nobody’s going to die if my hands aren’t clean every time I touch my dick.”
“Cameron!” Lacey barked.
“What?” he answered sardonically. “You know I’m right. Hell, wife, for more years than I care to remember, we had to swat the flies away any time we’d whip it out to take a leak.”
Meghan groaned and shook her head. “Aw, jeez. Really you three?” she teased looking from Cam to Alex to Drae. There wasn’t anyone gathered around that table who wasn’t chuckling.
Finally, Meghan put on her stern teacher face, which got everyone sitting straighter in their seats, minding their manners.
Always (Family Justice Book 1) Page 35