Silvio was the first to shake the snow out of his hair. “Jesus Christ, it’s windy as hell out there.”
Orlando grinned, pushing the snow off his shoulders and shrugging out of his jacket. “Cursing on Christmas.”
“It’s not Christmas!”
“It’s Christmas dinner, so shut the hell up,” Isla chimed in before remembering she was supposed to be acting like a good host. “Give me your jackets.”
Both men smiled, doing as they were told so Isla could spin around and hang the jackets on the hooks that were literally two feet away.
“We could have done that,” Orlando offered, though he seemed more amused than anything else by this whole thing.
Isla put her hand on her hips. “Nope. You’re both esteemed guests today. No work for you.” She looked at them. “You are both done working, right?”
Silvio laughed. “We are.”
“Arturo is still at the office, checking up on some accounts. When the snow started he sent us home early. I guess he’s going to do our share before coming back.”
The word snow brought back the swift reminder of what had followed the two brothers into the house. Snow. Lots of it.
Isla pulled up the blinds next to the window beside the doors. Her shoulders sagged.
“It wasn’t this bad when we left,” Orlando commented, standing over her shoulder.
It wasn’t a complete white out, but it was so damned close that it was a small miracle Orlando and Silvio hadn’t gotten into a car accident on the way home.
Isla’s phone vibrated again. She pulled it out of her pocket to have a look.
Gonna be a little late. Love you.
Isla stared at the message and then stared at it some more before looking back out the window. “Well, shit.”
2
Well, just because Arturo was going to be late, didn’t mean that Isla wasn’t going to go through the almost Christmas dinner she had planned. She sent him a quick reply text, telling him it was all right, not to put himself in danger hurrying home, and that she would save him some pie.
She knew better. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to drive through that mess outside. Not unless he also happened to own a snow plow and kept it hidden in that big garage beneath his office building with the rest of his cars.
She sincerely doubted he owned a snow plow.
“I’m sure he’ll be here,” Orlando said, smiling in that pleasant, easy way he always managed to pull off.
The look on his face was almost enough to give Isla a sense of hope, but not quite enough to make her forget about the blizzard that was happening outside. “Right, well, come on inside and have something to drink. Martina showed me where you guys keep all the good booze.”
“Where is Martina?” Silvio asked.
“Right here, right here.”
Martina walked down the hall, wiping her hands on her apron before opening her arms. Silvio and Orlando grinned wide as they rushed towards her. Isla almost felt as if she was imposing on something private, but she also couldn’t look away.
Martina held Silvio tightly, kissing his cheek before Orlando swooped in for a hug of his own, giving her his cheek and then kissing hers.
Isla couldn’t stop smiling at the sight. It was such a beautiful thing to see, and even though Arturo couldn’t be here, Isla was glad she’d set this up.
“Do you need anymore help in the kitchen?” She asked.
Martina waved her hand. “No, everything is set. I need to check on the food from time to time. Everything will be ready in a few hours. You should spend some time together while it’s getting ready.”
“Hopefully before the power goes out,” Isla said.
“Not likely.” Silvio stuck his hands behind his head. “There’s a couple of generators in this place that’ll make sure the lights barely flicker if the main power goes out.”
Isla shook her head. “Right, of course.”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She reached for it.
Silvio grinned. “That Arturo?”
Orlando was a little more serious. “Is it Sebastian?”
Isla didn’t know who she wanted it to be more in that moment, but when it was Arturo’s name, she was still relieved.
“It’s Arturo.”
The relief melted away when she saw his question. “He’s asking if Sebastian showed up.”
Martina didn’t miss a beat. “Well, just let him know we haven’t seen him yet. The storm could keep him from making it on time.”
That was very true, and more than a valid excuse.
It was also just an excuse. Martina had to know that, but Isla sent along the message anyway.
She waited for a response, and when the little ellipses appeared, she held her breath.
Arturo returned a smiley face with his text.
That’s fine. See you tonight.
He was still going to try making it?
Of course he would. He was sweet like that. He couldn’t help himself sometimes, that was the best part about him.
“What did he say?” Orlando asked.
“That he’s still going to try to make it home.” Isla sent her text back.
Don’t get killed or anything.
Silvio clapped his hands together. “All right, so I was promised alcohol, and Arturo keeps a good stash, so…?”
He trailed off, but Martina shook her head at him. “This way, please.”
Orlando snorted, looking to Isla and shrugging his shoulders as if to ask what could be done about his other brother.
Isla shrugged back, following the other three to the sitting room.
“Thanks for inviting us and setting this up, Isla,” Orlando said when Martina let them into the sitting room. “This was a great idea.”
“Definitely.” Silvio plopped himself down onto the leather sofa, reaching for the tablet on the coffee table and turning it on. He activated the app required to work the projector in the ceiling, and he turned on the Sports Channel. The Rogues had just started their game against the Ottawa Senators. Isla had purposely picked today to have the Christmas dinner because she’d wanted to watch the game with Arturo’s brothers.
She’d known Arturo would likely catch the last period, but that had been fine. Now she wished he would get here so she could watch any part of the game with him at all.
Martina went to the wooden cabinet and pulled out some bottles of expensive brandy and Vodka. The bottles were opened, but still mostly full and good for a small party.
Isla went to the other woman to help her. Martina looked at her, but then smiled and softly shook her head and allowed Isla to help her. Martina poured two drinks, and Isla poured another two.
Martina frowned.
Isla lifted the glass. “This one’s for you.”
Martina’s dark eyes widened. “No, I couldn’t.”
“Yes you can, live a little!” Silvio called. “I will!”
Isla smiled, walked over, and handed him his glass.
“I shouldn’t.”
“It’s just us,” Orlando said, looking back at her. “You should relax a little, watch some TV with us.”
“Yeah, you’re part of this family, too,” Isla said, knowing that sentiment would be mirrored by Arturo if he was here
“Come on, Martina, do it. We’re going to pressure you until you do,” Silvio singsonged.
Isla lifted the glass to her. Martina took it reluctantly, a soft blush on her olive skin.
“You should come sit with us.”
“I’ll refill drinks when needed,” Martina said, lifting her glass. “But I will also enjoy this.”
Isla smiled back at the other woman.
It felt strange, hosting a Christmas dinner party in Arturo’s house, especially when he wasn’t here, but it felt almost right. She could definitely get used to this.
Slow down, cow girl, it wasn’t like they were getting married any time soon.
Isla had placed bags of potato chips in the room
earlier for snacks while they watched television. Silvio had found one and was eating right out of the bag. Isla shook her head, opening one of the bags and pouring some dill pickle into a large plastic bowl. She set it along with some dip on the coffee table before Martina could do it first.
She grinned at the other woman, who smiled softly back.
Martina didn’t often get a real chance to relax, and it was more than clear that had nothing to do with the Calendri boys overworking her. She was too high strung with her job, and Isla was going to make sure she had just as much fun as everyone else.
Her phone vibrated again. Isla pulled it out of her pocket. It wasn’t Sebastian, something Isla was slowly getting used to, but it was Arturo.
Call me.
Maybe he was on break.
A thrill of pleasure rushed through her body at the idea, and at the chance she had to talk to him.
“I, uh, need to take this.”
“Oooh, it’s Arturo, right?”
“Silvio, shut the hell up.” Orlando tossed a pillow at his brother.
Silvio laughed and tossed a handful of chips back at him, but then scrambled to his feet to pick up after his mess when Martina moved to clean up after him.
“I got it, I got it.”
Isla grinned and headed for the doors. “Make sure they behave themselves, Martina.”
The older woman nodded, setting her glass down and glaring at the man with crossed arms. “I always do.”
It was beyond hilarious watching Silvio, a billionaire, get shamed by the intensity of Martina’s gaze.
Isla would have liked to see more, but she had stuff that needed to get done, and Arturo was waiting for her.
3
“What are you wearing?”
Isla couldn’t stop the wide smile from pulling at her lips, not for all the money in the world. “You’re stuck at work while I’m trying to make you a nice Christmas meal and the first thing you do is ask about my clothes?”
She made sure to lock the bedroom door. “I like it. So romantic.”
Arturo groaned on the other end of the line. “I promise I’m not trying to take forever. I’ll be home as soon as possible. The drive might be longer, though.”
“So you’ve managed to look outside your window and see this?”
“Nothing to see. It’s a total white out.”
Isla smiled at that before walking over to the king sized bed and sitting down. “Don’t rush if you don’t have to.”
“I want to be there.”
“I know you do.” Isla briefly pressed her lips together. “It’s not like it was before. I know you’re not avoiding me or your family for work, and I know you did want to be here—”
“I will be there.”
Isla smiled again. “You are so damned stubborn.” She got serious in that moment. “I’m not playing head games with you. I’m telling you it’s all right if you can’t make it but am really thinking how much I’ll kick your ass if you don’t. It’s all right. This is a blizzard. I don’t want you to get into a car accident for this. I don’t think your brothers or Martina do either.”
The line was silent for a few long seconds. “At least Silvio and Orlando made it all right.”
“You should have seen it when they tracked snow into the house. Snow in their hair, and it took only a couple of seconds before they were dripping wet when it melted.”
“Did Sebastian show up?”
Now Isla was the one who stayed silent for a couple long seconds. “Not yet.”
The yet in that sentence was something Isla didn’t know if she could trust. She didn’t want to tell Arturo how she suspected he wasn’t coming. Not at this point.
If she told him he was here, Arturo would get nervous. If Isla told Arturo his brother was not here, then he would be sitting around in anticipation, and if she told him Sebastian hadn’t texted her to so much as make an excuse about the weather, well, that could piss him off to hell and back.
Arturo sighed. “Well, keep me up to date if he does contact you.”
“I will, definitely.”
Isla needed something better to put her mind on. Her first thought was mentioning how amazing the house smelled right now, but that could just as easily make him regretful for the things he was going to miss out on.
Arturo and his brothers had already missed out on a real Christmas dinner. Isla couldn’t spend Christmas alone with Arturo because he’d been busy closing a deal. Not that she’d been alone. Isla had her brother who was briefly home from university, and even though her parents were still fighting and divorcing, they were making an attempt to eat together during the holidays.
As if Isla and her brother were both children whose fragile mental states would be put at risk if their parents were caught screaming their heads off at each other.
Isla had expected to miss out on a couple of holidays and birthdays just by being with a billionaire who owned and ran his own company. He’d barely managed to get some time off for Thanksgiving, though that had been a somewhat awkward event at her parents house.
Not because of him, or how they’d gotten together. Isla’s mom and dad still didn’t know anything about the arrangement she and Arturo had come to, but it was just sitting with her parents, who had been trying desperately to be civil that might have spoiled the mood.
When Isla found out Arturo didn’t really get Christmas time off, that he and his brothers didn’t sit down to eat a proper dinner together, instead eating turkey sandwiches during lunch hours at the office, well, that was when Isla got her idea, and she brought Martina in on it, too.
Of course they’d had Christmases when they were children, but Christmas in this house had always been a dour thing, especially after their mother’s death. Isla needed to fix that. She helped put up the decorations, and even when Arturo was dead tired after coming home, she didn’t let him go to bed until he stuck at least one ornament on the tree, or put a wreath on the door.
He’d bitched a little, but he’d also liked it, and Isla let her plan grow like the evil villain she was.
The brothers would take a short day at work, come home, and for Isla’s sake and Martina’s (mostly Martina’s) they would sit down like a proper family for the first time in years.
Only this time, it would be a happy affair and their father wouldn’t be around to put a dark cloud over their heads.
“You’re quiet on me. Are you okay?”
Isla swallowed, getting caught up in all the emotional drama she was thinking about. “Yeah, yeah I’m good.” She stroked her hand over her collar bone. “You wanted to know what I’m wearing?”
A soft, throaty chuckle sounded on the other end of the line. “Do I ever.”
“Mmm,” Isla let her hand stroke softly over her chest. “I’m wearing that sweater you gave me.”
“Are you?” Arturo sounded delighted. “What’s under it?”
Isla chuckled. “A saucy little number you’re going to get to see, whether you get here on time or not.”
“This is why I love you.”
Isla never stopped feeling that warm and cozy sensation whenever he said that to her. She loved hearing those words. She loved it when Arturo said them to her more, especially in that low throaty voice that was like a physical caress on her skin.
“You’re going to love me even more when you get back home tonight.”
“Why? You have a surprise for me? I already opened it a couple times before, but I can act surprised if you want.”
Isla laughed. “You asshole. Not that! Well, kind of that. A nice set of panties came with my new bra, but I’m being bad. I’m walking around the house not wearing them.”
“Seriously?”
Isla nodded even though he couldn’t see her. She was loving this a lot more than she thought she would. “Seriously. So how bad are you going to punish me for not wearing panties while your brothers are around?”
“As badly as you want me to. Do they know you’re going commando?”
“I don’t think so. Not unless guys can tell through a woman’s jeans.”
“Guys can totally tell.”
Isla blinked. “What? No they can’t.”
“Of course they can. Why wouldn’t they?”
Isla was struck speechless, and for a horrifying moment, she was left with the intense fear that she’d been walking around this house with Martina and two of Arturo’s brothers, not wearing any underwear, and that Silvio and Orlando had been able to tell all along.
Would Martina be able to tell? Probably since she was always so attentive to seemingly every detail.
Isla was so caught up in the horror of this new potential problem, that she almost didn’t hear the way Arturo chuckled at her expense.
She flew up into a sitting position. “You asshole!”
Arturo full on laughed out loud, he didn’t even try to hide it.
His laughter was infectious, and Isla found herself laughing right along with him. “You’re a bastard.”
“But it was funny.” Arturo moaned. “Wish I could have seen the look on your face.”
Isla let herself fall back onto the bed, she looked towards the ceiling high windows, and the fat, cotton ball-like flakes of snow that rushed the glass. There was something comforting about being inside, on the bed she and Arturo sometimes shared, warm and safe, while it was cold outside.
“This trapped in a cabin feeling I’m getting would be a thousand times better if you were actually here with me right now.”
“Hmm, maybe I should take you to one of my cabins and we can be trapped together there; without my brothers getting in the way.”
“They can chop the firewood for us. We’d have to shut off the generator you probably have. Do you really have a cabin?”
“A log cabin on a crystal clear lake with a real fireplace.”
“Not something I would need a remote for? Speaking of which,” Isla reached for the remote and powered on the fireplace. She sighed. “Now it really feels like a cabin experience in here.”
Home for the Holidays: A Contemporary Romance Anthology Page 64