“He called you?” I ask as I try to figure out how to tell them everything. But it sounds like Blaine might have already done that, the fool!
“Yes, and he said you two were living together. Now, I know that can’t be true. So, you tell me the truth, young lady,” he says in his dad tone that he uses only when needed.
“Okay, I knew you guys would be upset if you knew that I was fraternizing with the enemy. But he’s changing, Dad. He’s very nice to me. He always has been. He’s changing his business ways too.”
“I am so ashamed right now,” he says, sounding a bit devastated.
“Dad, don’t be. It’s all right,” I tell him. “There’s nothing to feel ashamed about.”
“I’m ashamed I have a daughter who would sell her family out like you’re doing. Stop seeing that man, this instant! Do you hear me?”
“Um, Dad, I’m not going to do that. Now tell me what he said to you. He must’ve had a reason to be calling you.”
“I don’t know what the hell he called for. To upset us, I guess,” he says, and I know Blaine better than to think that’s why he decided to call my parents without talking to me, at all, first.
“Let me call him, then I’ll call you back. Maybe he was going to invite you to Christmas at our place.”
“Our place? Delaney, you cannot be serious about this man. He’s evil! The devil and him have an agreement. I’m sure of that. No one gets rich off of selling complete shit! No one!”
“Dad, he’s not a bad man. I promise you that. Not anymore. I’ll call you back.” I end the call without another word, as there are no words to make my father understand what I’m doing with Blaine Vanderbilt.
What was Blaine thinking?
Chapter 4
BLAINE
When my phone rings again, I know who it is, and I know I’m in trouble. “Delaney, I’m sorry.”
“Why would you call them, Blaine?” Her voice is weak, defeated sounding.
I feel awful. “Baby, I thought you had to have told them something about us. I’m sorry. I was going to invite them to join us tomorrow. I was going to send a private jet for them in the morning. That’s a nice thing to do, right?”
“It would be,” she says. “If they’d have known about us. Dad sounds like he might have a stroke, he’s so mad. He told me he was ashamed of me, Blaine. He’s never told me that before.”
“Damn, baby! Ashamed is a pretty strong word about you being with me. I’m not a monster.”
“In his eyes, you are. He actually thinks you made a deal with the devil. He really thinks that, Blaine. So, in his mind, I’m in bed with the devil. I don’t know what I should do about this.”
“Well, what does that mean?” I ask, as it sounds like she’s kind of thinking she needs to do something different. Like leave me!
“It means I need to fix things with my parents. I need to make things right again.”
“I’ll buy them brand new cars,” I say, then shake my head, as that’s too small. “A new house too! Anywhere they want one. I’ll get them anything they want and even give them a great settlement for their company—one that will last them for the rest of their lives! How about that?”
“Dad’s not one to accept bribes. But something along the settlement lines is a good idea. We can brainstorm when I get home. Speaking of home, I get off in an hour. Are you going to be here to pick me up?”
“I am. I got your present this morning. I hope you like it,” I say and feel a little better now that it doesn’t seem like she’s going to leave me because of her parents.
“I have to pick yours up. It’s being gift wrapped. We’ll have to stop off at the studio to pick it up on our way home,” she says, intriguing me.
“Want to give me any hints, baby?” I ask with curiosity.
“Here’s one,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her sweet voice. “You can find out tonight when we open the presents we’re giving each other, brat!”
“I knew you would be that kind of woman,” I tease her. “The kind who makes you wait for it. See you in an hour.”
“I can’t wait. I’m so tired. I’m going to need a nap when I get back home.”
“Okay, I’ll take a naked nap with you. And just to further entice you, the chef has made all kinds of delicious-looking cookies and snacks, so get ready to pig out later.”
She groans, which I didn’t expect would be her response to such good news. “See you in an hour.”
Just as her call ends, I find my phone ringing and see it’s from her parents. I steady myself to get yelled out and answer with a timid voice, “Hello.”
“This is Delaney’s mother.”
I sigh, relieved it’s not her father. “Yes, ma’am?”
“My husband ran to the store, so I took the time alone to call you. I hope you don’t mind,” she says with a very nice attitude, so this should go better than the last phone call went.
“Look, my husband is very upset with this news. So upset, he headed out to get himself something hard to drink. I don’t like what this is doing to him. Now, I’m calling you to beg. You took our business. And I’m afraid you taking our daughter is too much for the poor man. Please think about ending things with her. I’m afraid for my husband’s health if you don’t.”
“Okay, look, here’s the thing. I love your daughter. I love her more than I knew was possible. What you’re asking me to do isn’t something I can do. But listen to me. I’m going to make you and your husband a settlement for the business you lost because of me. A great settlement that will take care of you both very well for the rest of your lives.”
“What about all the other businesses you shut down? What about those people?” she asks, and I find myself shocked she wasn’t happy about what I just offered.
“Well, I’ll deal with each case on an individual basis.”
“But you will rectify things to the best of your ability with the others as well?” she asks me, making me feel like she’s a pretty great negotiator.
“I will. Since you and your husband are people I want to make happy because I love your daughter, I’d like to start with you guys. If you two would come to our estate for Christmas, I’d be glad to discuss things with you both. If you could keep your husband from killing me, that is.”
She laughs, then stops abruptly. “Wait. Did you say our estate? Whose house are you inviting us to? Your parents?”
“No, this place belongs to me, and since Delaney is such a huge part of me, I always incorporate her when I talk about this place. I think of it as ours. She’s taken over running it since she moved in, and it’s never felt more like a home than it does with her here.”
“That’s sweet,” she says, and I hear it in her voice that I might be able to win her over, at the very least.
“I can send a car to get you two in the morning and take you to the little airport in Lockhart, where a private jet will bring you to Houston. I’ll have my driver pick you guys up and bring you out here. I had lunch planned around noon, but I can push it back. It’s not a problem at all. My brother and sister will be here too.”
“Where’re your parents? Won’t they be there too?”
“They’ve both passed on. So, what do you say? Talk it over with your husband and let me or Delaney know.”
“Passed on? Already? How terrible!” She sounds very sincere as she adds, “I’ll let my husband know that. It might help soften him up some. Bye, now.”
As I put the phone down, I have to wonder if I’ll be in trouble with Delaney for what I’ve just done. But I can’t let that stop me from extending the olive branch to her parents. I want us to be one, big, happy family, after all.
Roxy comes into the den, wiping her hands on a towel. “Mr. Vanderbilt, I’m off with the rest of the staff. We wanted to let you know that we’ve volunteered to help prepare and serve the food at the homeless shelter where you made the food donations. We thought that having your entire staff, both personal and company-wide, helping the home
less have a nice Christmas might help your reputation a bit this year. That’s our present to you and Miss Richards.”
“She will be very happy to hear that. We both want you all to enjoy this next week off, so you all can have a break from work. That’s Delaney’s gift to you all. She felt terribly that she had very little money to buy you guys gifts.”
“About that, Mr. Vanderbilt. We don’t need an entire week off. We’ll take the typical Christmas day off and one more day, but we can come back. This place is huge and hard to care for alone,” she says as she gestures to the huge place.
“Nonsense,” I tell her. “We’ll have family to help on Christmas day, and she and I can fend for ourselves after that so you all can enjoy some much-deserved time off.”
“Promise to call me if you need anything. I can get a skeleton staff together on short notice.” She looks at me with her no-nonsense look.
With a nod, I say, “If we get into a jam, I will call you. Now, go enjoy the Christmas bonuses that should’ve arrived in your bank accounts. You might find you want the week free with what you’ll have to spend.”
Her eyes go wide. “Sir, you’ve already given us our bonuses two weeks ago. Don’t you remember doing that?”
“This is a special bonus. For years of hard work. So go home and see what Santa brought you, Roxy.”
With a smile, she turns, and as soon as she gets out of the den, I can hear her shoes moving much faster with my news.
I never knew it felt this damn good to give!
Chapter 5
DELANEY
With the present I got for Blaine wrapped up in a way that will never let him know what’s really inside of it, I walk back out to the car with the box. The lady who runs the shop did a fantastic job on it, and I’m looking forward to seeing if Blaine is impressed by it.
Getting a gift for a man who has everything is damn hard!
I place it in the back seat of my Mercedes he’s driving me around in as he cranes his neck to get a look at it. “That’s pretty big and boxy.”
“It is,” I say and slide into the passenger side. “What’s the size of mine?”
“A secret,” he says, then smiles at me. “A great, big secret.”
“Great and big?” I ask as I think about what he might have bought me. He’s already given me a car, but he has tons of them so it could be another one. Or a house in some remote area. He could’ve done that too. With a man of his wealth, one never knows what she might get when gift-giving time comes around.
“How’s Meagan?” he asks, and my smile disappears.
“Not good. The pastor has been with her and her family all day. They’ve called in the rest of the family too.”
“Is that how they do things when there’s nothing else they can do?” he asks, and I see him swallow what looks like a lump in his throat.
“Yes,” I say, then take his hand. “But these things happen. At least you got the gift she gave you. Your faith.”
He nods, then glances at me. “I saw Santa today.”
“Oh, Blaine!” I say with a laugh. “Now that’s a little too much faith.”
“No, really! Stop laughing at me!” He looks a little irritated, so I stop laughing.
“Sorry. So, tell me about your sighting. Was it in the sky, driving his eight, tiny reindeer? Or somewhere more personal than that?”
“It was more personal than that. He talked to me. He asked me what I wanted for Christmas.” He glances sideways at me.
“And what did you tell him you wanted, Blaine,” I ask, trying very hard not to smile and attempting to take him seriously.
“I told him I wanted Meagan to get better. I’m not saying I’ll lose what I’ve found if she doesn’t, but man, how great would it be if she did get better?” His smile tells me he’s taking this way too seriously and is doomed to go very low if the poor girl doesn’t make it.
“Blaine, you need to understand things better. That little girl’s body is shutting down. It would take a miracle to save her now. Please don’t get your hopes up. I’d hate to see you dive down into the depths of despair because Santa couldn’t save her.”
“I won’t,” he says with an annoyed tone. “I’m not an idiot. I know Santa isn’t real.”
And now I feel like an ass!
“Hey, why don’t we talk about how we’re going to get my parents to chill out over us?” I say, to steer away from the subject of Meagan.
“I talked to your mother,” he says, making me freak out.
“What? Did you call her? Blaine, damn it!”
“Chill, baby! She called me. And I told her about the money I’d give them in an amount we could mutually agree on. I invited them for Christmas, and she said she’d talk to your dad.”
“She called you?” I ask as I try to stop shaking with the anger that has risen up in me like molten lava in a volcano.
“Yes. Right after I got off the phone with you. She called, and I was not about to not answer the call, even if it was your father calling to cuss me out some more,” he says, and now I feel badly that Dad cussed him out.
Running my hand over his shoulder, I apologize, “Baby, I’m sorry. I got mad too fast.”
“As usual,” he says, and I punch him in the arm.
“Oww,” I whine, as that was a mistake. His bicep is like a rock!
“Ha,” he laughs. “Maybe don’t punch me.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I rub my hand as we pull into the driveway of the estate. “So how did Mom act?”
“Nice. I think she’ll smooth things over, and hopefully, they’ll decide to join us tomorrow. But for tonight, it’s just me and you, baby. I hope you’re ready for one hell of a romantic Christmas Eve.”
“What all do you have planned, my personal Santa?” I rake my nails along his arm and purr.
“You sound a little naughty there, my personal sexy elf. And my plans will be revealed one at a time. First, let’s get this thing parked and into the house. A nice, hot bath is in order, I would think, to relax you for the fun and festivities of the night,” He stops the car, and I can see a glow in his light-brown eyes.
“I think you’re going to make this the most memorable Christmas Eve ever.”
Getting out of the car, he comes around and gets my door open before I even get my seatbelt off. As he helps me out, he pulls me right up into his arms. “I’m going to treat you like my queen tonight. I want you to know how much I really love and care about you.”
Wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders, I lean my head against his wide chest. “Blaine, you make me feel loved and cared for every day. I can’t imagine a day where I would doubt your feelings for me. I hope you can feel that coming from me as well. I love you more than you will ever understand. If I never got another thing in my entire life, I’d never complain, because I have you and that’s a gift in itself.”
The house is warm as he takes me inside. “I’ve made a fire in the den, where we’ll be spending the evening. It’s nice and cozy in there, and I can’t wait to give you the gift I got you. But first things first. To the tub with you, my sweet.”
Relaxing in his arms has never been easier!
Chapter 6
BLAINE
When I was a boy, things were vastly different at Christmas time than they are now. Pops would wrap our presents in the paper from the Sunday comics of the local newspaper. We would eat a canned ham for our Christmas dinner, along with mac and cheese and green beans. Nothing fancy at all.
Our presents would be things that we could use. New bags of underwear and socks for all three of us. A new set of pens and pencils for school. And every year we would get a brand-new coat. Our stockings were filled with fresh fruit—never any candy. I don’t know what pops aversion to giving us candy was, but we got it very rarely from him.
There was never any mention from any of us as to why Santa never came to our house. I had friends whose families made huge deals out of Santa bringing their gifts in the dead of night while they all
slept. It just never was that way at our house.
I suppose pops was too busy working and taking care of us that he didn’t think about doing things like waiting for us to go to sleep on Christmas Eve before he brought out the presents and put them under the tree.
Holding Delaney as we lay out on a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace, with Christmas lights blinking happily on the tall Christmas tree off to one side, has me thinking about the future.
“You know, I think tonight is the night I want to make up the ideas of how our family will spend this night. What kind of traditions did your family have for this night, baby?”
She’s lying between my legs as I lean my back against the sofa. We’ve donned our matching Christmas PJ’s, which are red with candy canes all over them. Her hands move up and down my thighs as she says, “On Christmas Eve nights, we’d go to my Gammy’s house. She and Pawpaw would make us dinner. Usually pot roast. They were my father’s mom and dad. His other two brothers would come most of the time, too, with their families.”
“That sounds nice,” I say as I pull her hair over to one side and press my lips to the side of her neck. “What do you think we should do?”
“Something like this. Spend the night here with our kids. If you wanted to invite your brother and sister and what will one day be their families, then you could,” she says, then turns in my arms and sits in my lap sideways so she can look at me.
Grazing my knuckles across her pink cheek, I say, “I think I’d like this night to be just about us and our family. The actual day of Christmas can be for the rest of the family too. All of them—your parents too. But on Christmas Eve, I’d like it just to be us and those we create together.”
“And just how many of those creations do you think you’d like to make to form our family, Blaine?”
“Nine or ten,” I say and watch a smile spread over her gorgeous face.
“Lower please,” she says, then giggles. “How about two?”
I shake my head. “Four or five. I want a big family, baby.”
“We’ll see,” she says, then kisses me. “I’m not ruling it out yet.”
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