When he said that, he leaned forward and gave Alexa a chaste kiss on the lips that was so sensitive and delicate, my heart reached out for each of them—especially for Alexa. She needed something like this, especially after having all of Daniella’s repeated conquests rammed down her throat for years.
“Sorry,” he said when they parted.
“Don’t be,” she said.
“I hope I wasn’t too forward,” he said. “I couldn’t help myself.” He looked around at all of us. “I promise that I meant no disrespect. I just think that Alexa is extraordinary. And since today might be my last day with her, I wanted to seal it with a kiss. I owe that to whomever hung the mistletoe.”
“Well, you are studying medicine at NYU,” Blackwell said. “And since Alexa is fresh out of college and is now living in the city with me, certainly you two can see one another again. Soon, Alexa plans to find an apartment of her own because she’s interested in working at Wenn Environmental. And from what I hear, Wenn Environmental is interested in working with her. So, I have a feeling that this won’t be the last time that you see my daughter. And I have to say that I approve of the gesture, Justin, because doing that took guts, especially since you were doing so in front of her mother. And by the way, just look at you—dressed in a Burberry suit for the evening. And so clean-cut. I’m very happy that you’re here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Blackwell.”
“It’s Barbara.”
“Well, then thank you, Barbara.”
“Now kiss my daughter again,” Blackwell said. “Because schedules are difficult—and neither of you know when you’ll even see each other again.”
“Seriously?” Justin said.
“Go for it,” Alexa said.
“Yes, go for it,” Daniella encouraged.
And man, did that boy ever go for it. With one fell swoop, Alexa was properly dipped and kissed. When they finally came up for air and righted themselves, Alexa looked as if she was about to faint.
“Somebody needs to get these two a drink,” Alex said. “STAT!”
* * *
“Why isn’t he here yet?” Barbara said to me as one of the servers brought each of us another martini. Christmas dinner was ready to go, and the catering staff had returned to serve it to us—along with pre-dinner drinks. “He’s twenty minutes late, for God’s sake. What could be the hold up?”
“I’m sure that there’s a very good reason,” I said.
“It could have been breakfast,” she said. “I wasn’t exactly at my best.”
“Or it could be the snow. Have you seen how it’s piling up outside? Relax—he’ll be here. And don’t forget that he manages a hedge fund, for God’s sake. There are ridiculous pressures when it comes to tending to something like that. Who knows what might have come up for him today?”
“Well, at the very least, he could have had the decency to call.”
“But I’m not sure that he has any of our numbers. Does he have yours? Because I know that he doesn’t have mine.”
“Do you really think that I’d give out my number so easily?”
“Then there’s your answer. Something must have happened, and because none of us thought of exchanging numbers, he’s clearly unable to reach us. Marcus has been nothing if not a gentleman since we met him. I’m fairly certain that he would have called if he’d had any of our numbers. So, let’s just settle down, mix and enjoy our martinis, and wait for him to come. Because he will come. You’ll see.”
“My stomach is in knots,” she said. “I’m terrified. A part of me doesn’t want him to come.”
“Remember our conversation,” I said.
She took a deep breath and nodded at me. “You’re right. It’s time to move on. It’s time to let someone else in, even if that makes me want to throw up, which you can’t repeat to anyone—ever.”
“You know that I won’t. Whatever you’ve told me about how you’re feeling right now is strictly between us.”
“I’m a wreck.”
“But a beautiful one. Now, take a sip of your martini—liquid courage and all that.”
She did, and then she checked her watch. “We can’t hold up dinner forever. All of you worked so hard on what you’ve provided for us tonight. And heaven knows that nobody wants a dry bird, so we can’t let that happen.”
“The bird in question is swaddled in tinfoil,” I said. “That alone will help it to reabsorb its juices. I’ve got this. I promise you that it won’t be dry.”
“Now you sound like that fat Contessa woman.”
“Yes, and I believe that she’s the one who saved your ass last year?”
“OK, so fine, she did.”
I nodded at her drink. “We’ll give him fifteen more minutes. If he doesn’t show, then we’ll have dinner. So, in the meantime, just take another long, cool sip from your cocktail and enjoy it. Consider it medicine.”
“It is rather therapeutic,” she said.
“You think?” I saw the tension on her face, so I put my arm around her waist and leaned into her. “He’ll be here,” I said close to her ear. “He’s not about to stand my mother up. So, we can either run this into the ground if you want, or we can distract ourselves by going over to say hello to Madison and Brock. We haven’t even spoken to them yet, which is beyond rude.”
“Fine.”
“Hi, good-lookings,” I said as we approached them.
“Jennifer, your necklace and your earrings are amazing,” Madison said. “Holy God! I’ve been admiring them since you and Barbara first entered the room. They’re as beautiful as your dress.”
“Which actually fits her ass,” Blackwell said. “So, let’s all have a moment of silence for that.”
“Thank you, Madison,” I said, overlooking Blackwell’s comment—even though I was happy to hear her being herself again because it meant that she was coming back into herself. “The necklace and the earrings were my over-the-top Christmas gift from Alex. I love them.”
“They’re kind of mesmerizing,” Brock said. “I don’t know much about diamonds, but those look as if they’ve been set on fire. My cousin sure knows how to bring it.”
“That he does,” I said. “But enough about that. Have you two had fun today?”
“We’ve had a terrific day. From the presents to breakfast and to cooking dinner for everyone with Alex and you, it’s been a blast. And now all of us have gathered to eat dinner together. I personally want to thank you and Alex for that, Jennifer,” Brock said. “You’ve made my first Christmas with Madison something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
“Well,” Blackwell said. “Even I have to admit that that was beyond romantic. Because what I heard in your voice is that you clearly did mean that, Brock. So, may you two carry on. You’re a lovely couple.”
“Your suit is amazing, Barbara,” Madison said. “Just look at how well it fits. And the detailing is sublime. It’s so you.”
“And so it is,” she said. “Jennifer outdid herself. And because she did, I have to say that I don’t even miss Chanel right now. I’m delighted to be wearing something new—and something that was made especially for me. Talk about couture,” she said. “I’ve never been blessed with something quite like this.”
“You’re a knockout,” I said.
“I hope that I am,” she said, and in her voice, I heard the underlying meaning in what she said. She wanted to make an impression on Marcus when he came—if he did come. Where was he? He was nearly thirty minutes late at this point. Soon, I’d have to just throw in the towel and get to Christmas dinner, because I needed to respect all of the work that Alex, Madison, Brock, and I had done today.
I was in a total quandary about when to pull the trigger and was about to conclude that Marcus might not come after all when Daniella said, “Hey! Here comes Marcus!”
Praise Jesus…
She and Cutter were standing next to the wall of windows that overlooked the house’s entrance. She lifted up a hand to wave at him through
the windows, and when she did, I took Blackwell’s hand, excused us from Brock and Madison, and quickly spoke to her.
“Do whatever feels natural,” I said. “He’s late for a reason. He’ll tell us what that reason is when he steps inside. He’s no fool—he knows very well that he’s late—and he’ll likely be filled with apologies because of it. So, let him apologize, and if his excuse sounds valid, then immediately let him off the hook for all of it. OK?”
“I’m terrified right now.”
“Why?”
“Because we leave tomorrow. I might not see him again. And I think that I might want to see him again. But what if he doesn’t feel that same? What if this is it? This is why I’ve never put my heart on the line again, Jennifer. At my age, going through this sort of bullshit is hell.”
“He lives in Manhattan. I believe that you also live there. If you want to see him again, then make him want to see you again.”
“And how on earth am I to do that?”
“Just be yourself. Follow through with whatever your gut tells you.”
“And I’ve already told you that my gut wants to throw up.”
“Well, I’d highly recommend that you keep that shit at bay,” I said. “Otherwise, you’ll need a mint, which unfortunately I don’t have on me.”
“He has flowers,” Daniella said. “And the snow is so heavy, it’s pelting him, the poor guy.”
Alex went to the door and opened it. And when he did, Blackwell’s grip on my hand turned into a talon.
“Relax,” I said.
“Impossible.”
“He’s here for you, not for the rest of us. Think about that for a moment. So what if he’s late? Something important must have held him up, and there could be very good reasons for that, which I believe we’ll hear because, as you’ve noted, he is a gentleman and will want to let all of us know why he’s late. What matters is that he showed up. So, you know, let’s go over and greet him without any attitude.”
“Attitude?” she said. “I have no attitude. In fact, I think I’m about to faint.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m about to take your advice and let myself go. That’s terrifying to me.”
“Then turn your terror into electricity,” I said. “Get your spine back. Just be yourself, because that’s clearly the woman he’s attracted to. You’ve been your unreasonable self ever since you met him, and look at how he’s responded to that. He gets a kick out of it. He’s told you that you make him laugh. He’s clearly enchanted by you. Now, go over there and greet him.”
“Oh, holy hell!”
“Hello, Marcus,” Alex said as Marcus walked through the front door and entered the vestibule. “I’m happy that you’re here.”
“I apologize that I’m late,” he said as he shook Alex’s hand. “I would have called, but I didn’t have anyone’s number. And that’s my mistake—it’s on me because I should have asked for Barbara’s number this morning at breakfast, but for whatever reason, it didn’t occur to me. So, I’m sorry for any inconvenience that I might have caused all of you. I know that I’ve held up dinner, and I’m very sorry for that.”
“There’s been no inconvenience,” I said.
“I think that you’re just being kind, Jennifer, but thank you for that,” he said.
“Those are some flowers you’re holding,” I said.
“At breakfast, I asked you what Barbara’s favorite flowers were. You told me that they were white peonies. So I started to call around to see if I could find them, first to the local florist, which was a bust. But since I’m nothing if not determined, I got on the Internet and found a shop in Portland that had them in stock, if you can believe that. It took me a good hour or so to find them, and when I did, I had to convince the owner to open the shop and then I had find a driver who was willing to bring them to me in this weather. That’s why I’m so late. I regret that. But these flowers were important to me, and since I knew they were on the way, I had to wait for them. They were just delivered to me about ten minutes ago. And now I’m here with them.” He looked over at Blackwell. “So I could give them to you,” he said.
I pressed my hand against her back and gently moved her toward him.
“They’re lovely,” she said. “And they are indeed my favorite. Just look at them—it’s like spring again. How did you ever find peonies in December?”
“What matters is that I did.”
“Let me brush the snow off your coat,” Alex said. “You’re covered in it.”
When Alex was finished, he took Marcus’ coat and placed it the nearby coat closet.
“Thank you,” Marcus said to Alex. “And it’s good to see all of you again. I want to thank all of you for turning what I thought was going to be a lonely holiday into a holiday to remember. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am that you’ve opened your home to me. And to see Barbara again—two times in one day. It’s like a gift. You leave tomorrow, right?”
“We do,” she said.
“Then tonight’s the night,” he said.
“What does that even mean?”
“Look above you,” he said. “I noticed it the moment I stepped inside. Mistletoe.”
“Oh, that,” she said. “Well, just so you know, it’s already been used by my daughter and her new suitor before you arrived, so its magical powers are moot at this point.”
He cocked his head at her. “Are they?”
And with that, Marcus Koch took Blackwell’s hands in his own and pulled her toward him so that he could seal the deal with a kiss full on her lips. And when he did that, the room gasped, because nobody was expecting him to go there so quickly—or for her to allow him to.
But she did—and I was so proud of her that I started to tear up. She could have pulled away if she’d wanted to, but she didn’t. Instead, she threw caution to the wind—just as I’d suggested—and gave herself over to him in ways that looked searing. When those two kissed—they kissed.
“Well,” she said when their lips parted. “I don’t know what to say, other than that my lipstick is all over your lips and that you might look as if you’re in drag. So, here, let me clean that up for you, because you can’t go on looking like that tonight. At this point, you’ll get lipstick on the turkey.”
“Yes I can,” he said. “Because maybe I like your lips on mine.”
And when he said that, he went in for the kill again, but this time his kiss was deeper and more passionate than the one that had preceded it.
With his arm wrapped around Blackwell’s waist, he pulled her in so close to him that he was able to plant the kind of kiss on her that shook the room into silence. When he released himself from her, I watched as they searched each other’s eyes, and then I looked at Daniella and Alexa to see their reactions, which I knew would be important to Blackwell.
And I was relieved when I did so.
Daniella’s head was resting against Cutter’s chest, her eyes were bright with tears, her lips were trembling—and Cutter was there for her. His right arm was strong around her waist and he was holding her steady as she tried to take all of this in.
As for Alexa, she was standing in front of Justin, who knew nothing about the magnitude that was unfolding between Blackwell and Marcus right now, but he nevertheless was sensitive enough to support Alexa with a hand on her shoulder when she welled up and suddenly put her face in her hands.
“Oh, my God,” Daniella said.
“Right?” Alexa said, her own eyes wet with tears.
“Is this even happening?”
“I think it is. Mom so deserves this.”
“Totes to the real!”
“Well,” Blackwell said as she pulled away from Marcus and lifted his hair away from his forehead. “Apparently, we’ve just caused something of a stink.”
“It would seem that way,” he said. “And under the fragrant mistletoe, no less. Who saw that coming?”
She placed the palm of her hand against the side of his cheek, looked into
his eyes, and said, “Let’s just say that I’m happy that it did.”
She turned to look at all of us. And when she did, I could see by the light in her eyes that she’d succeeded in shedding all of her fear, and that she was now willing to give herself the second chance she hadn’t thought she deserved. Would something substantial come from this? Who knew?
What mattered most was that Blackwell had made a conscious decision to toss aside her fears about being a divorced woman in her mid-fifties who, in her mind, might not be worthy of finding love again. To me, that sounded ridiculous, but to her, it was so real, it had nearly been paralyzing.
And yet she’d done it.
She’d listened to me, she’d taken my advice, she’d buckled down, and she’d kissed Marcus not just once, but twice—and in front of all of us, no less. That alone told me that she was ready to move forward with her life, and perhaps to find the right man to spend the rest of her life with.
Hopefully, Marcus would be that man. But if he wasn’t, I knew from Blackwell’s actions alone that she was at last free from Charles and his deceit, and that she was ready to move forward when the right man came along.
If he hadn’t already.
# # #
BOOKS BY CHRISTINA ROSS:
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 1
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 2
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 3
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 4
ANNIHILATE ME, HOLIDAY EDITION
ANNIHILATE ME: OMNIBUS
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 1
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 2
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 3
ANNIHLATE ME 2: HOLIDAY
ANNIHILATE ME 2: OMNIBUS
Also by Christina Ross:
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 1
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 2
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 3
UNLEASH ME: BOXED SET
Stand-alone novels
Annihilate Me 2: Holiday Page 19