by Thea Dawson
Holly went on about the potential job as Rachel got drinks for her and Steve. The producer was in LA trying to get funding, but he’d be back in New York after the holidays and needed an assistant.
It sounded promising, but Rachel wasn’t sure she was ready to leave the Davidson law office just yet, and in any event, she was distracted by her surreptitious study of Steve. He wasn’t as good-looking as, say … Bryce, but he was personable, friendly, and attentive to Holly. Maybe Savannah was being weird about him for no good reason.
After a few minutes of small talk with Holly and Steve, she excused herself to go hover near the front door. Telling herself she was being helpful, she opened it each time the doorbell rang and pulled new guests into the crowd. She wanted to be close at hand if Bryce and Nora showed up, but the doorbell rang less and less frequently as the evening went on and the house filled up.
By eight, she’d resigned herself to the fact that he probably wasn’t coming, and let her teenage cousin, Jake, who’d volunteered to tend bar, pour her a rum and Coke.
She took a sip. “Whoa, Jakey, easy on the rum!” She laughed. “We’ll run out in twenty minutes if all your drinks are this strong.”
Jake’s pimply face turned red. “Sorry, Rache.”
She grinned at him. “Not complaining. You can pour all my drinks this strong. Just go easy on the rest of ’em. Especially for any women Aaron’s got his eye on. He needs more of a challenge, not less.”
Jake’s blush deepened. Rachel was about to tease him more when her mother began tapping on a glass. The party chatter ceased as all eyes focused on her.
“In five minutes, we’re going to light the menorah!” she announced. “All kids and interested grownups, start making your way to the kitchen!”
The chatter swelled again as guests urged their offspring toward the kitchen. Rachel glanced at her watch. The doorbell had stopped ringing altogether. Bryce and Nora weren’t coming. She glanced wistfully at Holly and Steve, who stood in a small circle of people, Steve with his arm around Holly’s waist.
And then the doorbell rang again.
9
“You made it!”
Bryce had waffled until the last minute, but the look of delight on Rachel’s face when she greeted him at the door confirmed that coming had been the right decision.
She was wearing a bright green silk dress that hugged her curves and showed off more leg than he’d ever seen at the office, and her makeup had been taken up a few degrees. But her cheery smile was the same, and her genuine happiness at seeing him lifted something in him that he hadn’t even realized was being held down.
“Come in, come in! Let’s get Nora out of her seat thing so she can look around. Coats are going in the spare room. Come on, I’ll show you. We’re just about to light the menorah!”
Rachel bounded up the staircase that curved upward from the front hallway. Bryce dutifully followed, hefting the car seat that doubled as a baby carrier. The bed in the guest room was covered in coats. Bryce shed his and added it to the pile as Rachel extracted the baby from her car seat.
“Do you mind if I hold her for a bit? I haven’t seen her in so long. Wow, did she gain weight? I think she’s bigger.” Still kneeling on the floor, the baby clutched to her chest, Rachel looked up at him, her eyes shining.
“Please,” he replied. His gaze softened as the baby fisted a clump of Rachel’s hair and tried to put both fist and hair in her mouth. “I think she really likes you.”
Rachel gently disentangled her hair and fished a rattle out of the diaper bag. “Is she hungry?”
“She shouldn’t be,” he answered. “She had a bottle right before we came over. I think she’s just ready to party.”
“All right, then! Come on, Nora, time to meet your adoring fans!”
Bryce followed Rachel back downstairs and through a throng of guests in the living room and into the kitchen.
“My mom,” Rachel stage whispered, jutting her chin toward a slender blond woman, who stood by the table in front of a menorah surrounded by a sea of children of various ages. Adults had been pushed to the edges of the room.
Rachel’s mother lit the server candle, led her audience in some Hebrew prayers, then used the lit candle to light the others. Once the ceremony was done, she began distributing small gift bags to all the kids. Eventually, she made her way to Bryce and Rachel.
“So glad you could come!” She shook Bryce’s hand and looked down at the baby in Rachel’s arms. “This little creature is even more precious than Rachel said she was.” She handed Bryce a gift bag. “She’s too young for chocolate coins, so she gets socks.”
“We’re very practical gift-givers,” Rachel added.
“That’s very kind of you.” He withdrew a packet of eight infant-sized socks, each decorated to look like a different type of shoe. He looked down at Rachel. “Why do I get the feeling you might have picked these out?”
Rachel confirmed it with an impish smile. “I know what she likes. She’s going to be a shoe girl, like me.”
He spent the next twenty minutes following Rachel around as she introduced him and the baby to the crowd of well-dressed partygoers. He was surprised—and surprisingly gratified—at the fuss people made. They ooh’d and ahh’d over the baby, extending fingers for her to curl her tiny fist around, asking questions about her sleeping and feeding habits, and complimenting him on everything from her size to her bright eyes to her good nature. He didn’t feel like he could take credit for any of her attributes, but he had to admit the attention was kind of nice.
And no one asked any awkward questions, which was a bonus.
They worked their way around the room in concentric circles until they reached an elderly woman who was holding court seated on a couch in front of a roaring fire.
“Nan, I want you to meet someone very special.” Rachel leaned down and gently placed the baby in the arms of the older woman.
“This is Nora, and this is my boss, Bryce Davidson. Bryce, this is my grandmother, Barbara Cohen, but everybody calls her Babs.”
“A pleasure to meet you.” Holding the baby expertly in one arm, the old lady extended a bejeweled hand to Bryce. “What a beautiful daughter you have! I love that name, Nora. It was my mother’s name.” She turned to Rachel. “Did you know that, that it was your great-grandmother’s name?” She turned back to Bryce before Rachel had a chance to answer. “Where did you come up with the name Nora?”
He hesitated just briefly. “She was named after her mother,” he replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel flash him a curious look, but he kept his gaze focused on Babs.
“I see. Well, it’s just perfect for her.”
To his relief, Babs didn’t inquire further. He wondered just how much of his story Rachel had shared with her and decided he’d rather not know.
“Thank you for giving my troublesome granddaughter a worthwhile job,” Babs continued. “I hope she’s behaving herself.”
“Nan!”
Bryce smiled, both at the old woman and the look of embarrassment on Rachel’s face. Until now, he hadn’t known she was embarrass-able.
“She’s wonderful. I’d be lost without her,” he assured her.
“I’m delighted to hear it,” Babs replied. “Now, listen, if you two kids would like to walk around unencumbered for a while, I can tell you nothing would make this old lady happier than spending some time with my new friend here.”
Nora did, in fact, seem quite content sitting on Babs’s black velvet trousers. Her eyes were wide and bright, and she stared around the room curiously.
“If you don’t mind …” Bryce said.
“Of course, I don’t mind. I had four children of my own, and I don’t even know how many grandchildren. She’s in very good hands.”
Bryce smiled. “I can see that, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, you two go enjoy yourselves.”
“Come on. Let me get you a drink.” Rachel patted his arm and gestured towa
rd a bar in the corner where a boy who couldn’t have been more than sixteen was serving drinks. “Sorry, I should have offered you something when you got here. Don’t worry about Nora. Nan’ll take care of her. And she knows exactly how many grandkids she has. Don’t let her fool you. She’s very sharp.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he replied. “I think I see where you get it from.”
Rachel made a snorting sound and didn’t comment. Instead, she led him over to the gangly teenager who was standing behind a makeshift bar.
“Jakey, this is my boss, Bryce, so be extra nice to him. This is my cousin, Jake. What he lacks in experience, he makes up for with very strong cocktails.”
Jake’s face was almost as red as his hair. “Can I get you a drink, sir?” he asked, clearly trying to sound professional.
“Gin and tonic, please.”
“Easy on the gin,” Rachel added. “I’ll have another rum and Coke while you’re at it.”
Jake quickly poured a generous splash of gin into a highball glass and topped it with tonic water and a slice of lime, before making Rachel her rum and Coke.
Bryce thanked him and lifted the glass toward Rachel. “What shall we drink to?”
“To … the holidays!” Rachel suggested brightly, and they clinked glasses.
A booming voice cut in. “Little Rachel Cohen!”
Rachel turned around and was promptly pulled into a bear hug by a broadly built man in a navy-blue suit. Bryce frowned, unreasonably irritated at the sight of his receptionist being swept off her feet.
“Tony Russo!” Rachel stepped back and gave the interloper an admiring once-over. “Aaron didn’t tell me you were going to be here! Bryce, this is Tony, he’s my brother Aaron’s oldest and most annoying friend. Tony, this is Bryce, my boss. Jake, hon, get Tony a drink and make it as strong as he wants. He can handle it.”
Tony wasn’t a tall man, but he was built like a linebacker, with broad shoulders and a powerful grip. He flashed Bryce a wide, white-toothed smile as he shook his hand.
Bryce’s irritation increased. Did Rachel think he couldn’t handle his alcohol as well as this well-dressed gorilla?
Tony turned his attention back to Rachel. “‘Most annoying’—listen to the pot calling the kettle black.” He turned to Jake with a grin. “You old enough to serve drinks?”
Jake shook his head. “No, sir.”
Tony laughed and caught Bryce’s eye. “‘Sir.’ Kids these days! So polite, am I right?” He looked back at Jake. “Can you make a martini?”
Jake nodded. “I have a bartender’s guide right here.” He picked up a somewhat sticky paperback book and waved it at Tony.
“Go for it!” Tony laughed again and turned back to Rachel. “Aaron told me you were back, but he didn’t tell me how pretty you are now!”
Bryce took a sip of his not-too-strong cocktail and glared at Tony over the rim of the glass.
“You flirt!” Rachel gave Tony’s arm a playful slap. “Didn’t you always think I was pretty?”
“Last time I saw you, you had braces on your teeth and that terrible haircut. What are you up to these days? Keeping out of trouble?”
Rachel tilted her head toward Bryce. “Temping at Bryce’s law office until I figure things out.”
Tony gave Bryce an approving nod. “You lucky dog.”
Bryce managed an uncomfortable smile, and Rachel’s cheeks grew rosier. “You still working for your parents?” she asked quickly.
Tony grinned proudly. “I bought out the company, and they’re retired. My mom’s making my dad travel all over Europe with her right now. They’re having a blast.”
“That’s wonderful! Congratulations to you and them.”
Jake handed Tony a tumbler filled to the brim with ice and alcohol. Tony took a sip and gave Jake a thumbs up. Jake’s face glowed with pleasure.
Tony looked at Bryce. “Hey, listen, do you mind if I borrow Rachel for a moment? There’s someone I want her to meet.”
“Not at all.” Bryce nodded politely, though privately, he was both annoyed at losing Rachel and curious about who Tony wanted her to meet.
“Thanks, man. I won’t keep her long.”
Rachel shot him an expression he couldn’t read as Tony put a beefy arm around her shoulder and pulled her away from the makeshift bar.
“I’ll be right back,” she promised.
“Take your time. I’m fine,” he assured her. But as soon as her back was turned, he felt lost.
“Thanks for the drink.” He gave Jake a nod and stepped away.
10
Rachel let Tony lead her over toward where his sister was standing next to the wide plate-glass window in the living room that overlooked the bay on the fringes of a group of twenty-somethings. Aaron was at the center, talking and gesturing animatedly, and she recognized several other friends of his and Tony’s from high school.
“I brought my sister, Mina, here with me,” Tony explained as they pushed their way through the throng of partygoers in the living room. “She just got home from college for Christmas break yesterday. She’s eight years younger than Aaron and me, so she doesn’t know a lot of our friends very well, and I think she’s feeling a little shy.”
Rachel grinned. “That’s just because she hasn’t met me yet.”
Tony’s warm brown eyes crinkled with delight. “I knew you’d help her out.” He took a sip of his drink and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Your little bartender friend just gave me about five shots worth of pure gin, by the way. C’mon, let me introduce you to Mina.”
Mina was a petite brunette with large brown eyes and a shy smile.
“How is someone as pretty as you related to this lummox?” Rachel asked by way of greeting. Mina blushed and smiled as she shook Rachel’s hand. “Did no one even offer you a drink? Honestly!” She rolled her eyes at Tony as she took Mina by the arm. “Come on, let’s get you a drink, then there are some people I’d like you to meet.”
Mina obediently followed Rachel to Jake’s bar and requested a chardonnay while Rachel looked around for Bryce. He was near the fireplace, talking to Deb’s husband. He wasn’t being a total wallflower, and he wasn’t being hit on by unmarried women, so he was probably good on his own for a few more minutes. She’d get Mina situated and get back to him.
It would be rude to leave him alone, given that she’d invited him and all.
Jake filled Mina’s glass almost to the brim. She was still sipping her wine in an effort to keep it from spilling over when Rachel pulled her into the dining room. She quickly introduced her to Holly, Steve, and Savannah, who were talking with Rachel’s aunt and uncle, and directed Mina her to help herself to the array of hors d’oeuvres that were spread across the dining room table.
She’d known she could count on Holly and Sav to make Mina feel at home, and the two of them promptly pulled her into the conversation with a battery of questions about college.
Rachel gave it a few minutes to be polite. She was on the verge of excusing herself to go find Bryce again when she felt a pat on her arm. She turned to see Deb. “What’s up?”
“Can I borrow you for just a moment? Mom needs some help in the kitchen.”
“Um …”
Savannah flashed her a reassuring look that said she’d look after Mina. No other excuse came to mind, so Rachel nodded and followed Deb through the living room. No sign of Bryce, but Nora was still on Nan’s lap so he couldn’t have left.
They stepped into the empty kitchen, and Rachel turned to her sister. “Mom’s not even in here. What’s going on?”
“Welllll.” Deb’s eyes were gleaming. “When you said your boss was a grouchy lawyer, I pictured some potbellied guy in his forties. You didn’t say he was totally hot.”
Rachel didn’t even blink. “I didn’t notice.”
“Bullshit. Tell me you’re not undressing that man with your eyes every day at work.” Deb glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the living room. “’Cause I would be.”
> “You’re married.”
“Married, not blind.”
“Bryce is my boss.”
Deb sighed. “You’re right. It’s completely inappropriate of me to even suggest that you do what literally ninety-five percent of everybody does, and meet your future spouse at work.”
“It’s completely inappropriate for you to suggest I date my boss. Also, who says I have to get married?”
“So you’re completely, hundred percent for sure not interested in him?” Deb raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Nope, not interested.” Rachel shook her head, slowly and decisively, hoping it wasn’t obvious she was lying.
“Okay, then!” Deb clapped her hands together. “I have someone I want you to meet. He and Jason did their residencies together, and he just opened his own dermatology practice—”
“Deb!” she groaned. “Quit trying to set me up!”
“—his name’s Robertson Roberts, but don’t hold it against him, he’s really nice—”
“I’m sure he’s great, but I shouldn’t leave Bryce alone—” Rachel looked longingly toward the living room.
“I’ll take care of your boss.” Deb grabbed her by the arm. “Robertson needs a girlfriend.”
Temporarily baby-less and better rested than he had been in ages, Bryce found himself having a surprisingly good time. He wasn’t by nature an outgoing person, but he’d realized a long time ago that being able to socialize well would be monumentally helpful in his career, and he’d trained himself to make small talk and work a room. Now, he put those skills to work, chatting with Rachel’s family and their friends.
A woman put a gentle hand on his arm. “Are you Rachel’s boss, the one with the baby? I’m Deborah, Rachel’s sister.”
Deborah gave him a warm smile as he shook her hand. She was shorter and stouter than Rachel, and a few years older, with dark brown hair and equally dark brown eyes. If he remembered correctly, Deb too had been filled in on Nora’s history.
“I understand you’re a pediatrician,” he replied, hoping to head off any awkward questions.