Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Nash
Our team won karaoke. Based on the team groupings revealed in the end, most of the score was thanks to Hailey and the cute kid duets.
It definitely wasn’t thanks to Hiram, who after his “see you soon” holed up in his quarters the rest of the evening.
Zara joined us, fidgeting with the ends of her loose curls, saying he was on a “work call.” I felt bad for her, getting thrust into a ready-made family without anyone in her corner. She deserved better than that.
After getting the kids down for the night, Stephanie’s siblings and their partners, except Gabe and Ivy, cracked out the alcohol and were enjoying the hot tub on the enclosed back deck, judging by the muffled raucous laughter.
Which left Hailey, Stephanie, and me in the living room with the enchanting glow of the light from the tree, hot mulled cider in hand.
Nana had yawned loudly about twenty minutes ago and excused herself for the night, saying an old woman needed her sleep, but she was as spry as the rest of us, so my money said it was a ruse.
But Hailey regaled me with stories of her and Stephanie growing up.
They were close, despite growing up in different cities and often different states.
It was easy to see that with their shared comradery, the “remember when…” stories, and the uninhibited laughter.
“Remember when I’d sleep over with you at Nana and Papa’s, and we’d be up till midnight talking? And Nana kept coming in and threatening to separate us if we weren’t quiet?” Hailey asked.
Stephanie snickered. “Yeah, but it was your idea to keep smuggling toys under the covers until there was a big lump between us in the middle of the bed.”
“You were older! You should have stopped me!”
“Would you have listened?”
Hailey’s head dropped back against the sofa as she shook with laughter, nearly spilling her cider. “Point taken.”
The ease between them made my chest twinge. I didn’t have these close sister-cousin type relationships of my own growing up, but watching them reminisce had me aching for my own kids to have these close connections one day.
Whoa, buddy. Brakes on. We’re not at the kids’ stage of this relationship yet.
I knew this and yet… somehow seeing Stephanie surrounded by her nieces and nephews clamouring for her attention flashed a mental picture to life.
Her with a passel of kids with our looks combined, swarming me when I came home.
Her big eyes sparkling as she smiled at me with a baby on her hip…
Yeah, that felt way too easy to picture as real.
The topic of conversation shifted to karaoke, and I learned these two were the perpetrators for starting the tradition of tonight’s suffering.
“It was all you.” Hailey wagged her fingers at Stephanie. “You got me obsessed with High School Musical, and we had to make home movies of our singing every single track.”
Stephanie didn’t deny it. “Hey, our rendition of ‘Gotta Go My Own Way’ practically got you your first audition. Besides, that franchise is golden.”
“I agree,” I slipped in casually. “They don’t make them like that anymore.”
Both women gaped at me, wearing identical wide-eyed expressions. Side by side, it was easy to see how they were related, especially with those hazel eyes and facial mannerisms.
“You know the song?” Hailey demanded.
“You’ve seen all three of them?” Stephanie gasped.
I shrugged. “Ryan—” Glancing at Hailey, I added, “—one of my best friends, had a phase in college. He was trying to impress a cute—his words, not mine—theatre major who loved the shows. Emmett, our other best friend, and I never quite recovered from that binge watch weekend.” I chuckled.
“Did it work?” Hailey asked, leaning forward in anticipation. Like needing to know if this couple got together over ten years ago was necessary to her current happiness.
I shrugged. “He married her.”
Hailey clasped her hands together, sighing moonily like it was the most romantic thing she’d ever heard.
“And I totally need to see these home movie versions,” I added.
Hailey’s grin was devious as she whipped out her phone.
Stephanie lunged at her cousin. “Don’t you dare!” she shrieked. “And since when did you make digital proof?”
Hailey shushed her. “Remember the children!” To me she mouthed Later, giving me a conspiratory nod.
Stretching, she added, “As fun as this has been, I’ve gotta get to bed.
Nana’s got a food list a mile long, and the annual snowball war is tomorrow.
And skiing on the twenty-sixth. I’m tired just thinking about it. ”
“Snowball war?” I asked. “You Addamses can’t do anything easy, can you? Why have a fight if you can have a war?”
“Now you’re asking the right questions.” Hailey smirked then glanced at Stephanie. “How much did you prepare him for this experience?”
Stephanie groaned, eyes sliding shut as she sagged against the back of the plaid couch. “Clearly not enough. Great-Aunt Edith just about got him earlier.”
Hailey shuddered with horror. “You’re a lucky man, Nash Prescott.”
“For escaping Edith?” I raised an eyebrow.
Fondness touched her smile when she glanced at Stephanie. “Sure. But also your taste in women. You picked a keeper.”
“Hail,” Stephanie warned, but Hailey jumped up before the throw pillow Stephanie tossed at her could do any damage.
Halfway up the stairs, she paused to blow a kiss and waggle her fingers. “Behave yourselves now! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
Stephanie tried to splutter out a reply, but the cackling pixie was already gone.
I only chuckled and draped an arm along the sofa back, lightly touching her shoulders. “She’s good for you. I’m glad you invited me.”
The suspicion on Stephanie’s face told me she thought I was kidding, but I wasn’t. Rising, I held out a hand to her. “Let me escort my girlfriend to her room for the night. Something tells me we’re going to need all the rest we can get for this war tomorrow.”
She grasped my hand, letting me pull her upwards.
Till we were standing close. Too close. I could make out the smattering of freckles on her cheekbones.
Adorable. The flecks of gold in her hazel eyes.
Funny how I’d never noticed them before.
She gripped my hand, setting her free hand against my chest as she swayed lightly on her feet, eyes slipping shut.
I lightly grasped her waist, waiting a moment for her to catch her balance. Her eyes blinked open again, and a man could get lost in their depths, twinkling with sparkling lights from the Christmas tree. The softness of her smile…
“Oh, sorry!”
We jumped apart at the chagrined voice. Zara lingered at the edge of the room, her bright pink nails fidgeting nervously with the belt of her blush-pink silk bathrobe.
Without the makeup, she appeared more normal, and weariness drooped her smile as she adjusted the clear framed blue-light glasses she wore.
“Hey, Zara.” Stephanie offered an awkward wave.
Zara’s smile brightened. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, just came to get some water but got a little turned around.”
I laughed lightly. “It’s an easy thing to do around here.”
She glanced between us. “It’s Nash and Stephanie, right? There are so many names. I’m trying not to mix everyone up.”
Stephanie nodded. “That’s us.”
I had to admit I was impressed by the woman. Hiram may have been a class-A jerk, but his newest wife at least had some humanity left in her.
“Are you joining us for the snowball war in the morning?” Stephanie asked.
Zara tittered lightly. “That’s one initiation I’ll be happy to participate in as a spectator.”
“Probably safest.” I shrugged with a chuckle.
Again, Zara studied us, likely trying to unravel the knot of how her husband’s biggest competitor ended up as his daughter’s date. A story for the ages.
When another peal of riotous laughter followed by a curse blanketed the room from outside, Zara glanced towards the noise wistfully. Guess she hadn’t been invited to join them. She yawned. “Well, I’m beat. See you two in the morning. Oh, and which door is the kitchen?”
Stephanie pointed down the short hallway. “Down and on the first right.”
“Thanks.”
When Zara disappeared into the kitchen, I led Stephanie up the stairs to the sleeping wing. She was quiet until we stopped outside her door, and she paused, glancing back at me.
I slid my hands in my pockets, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, and smiled. “She seems nice,” I commented blandly.
“I know. Not many of them try to learn our names.” Stephanie sighed. “Makes me sad for her. She’s one of the decent women Hiram’s collected like a participation trophy—like he does with his kids—and yet he’ll just drop her when he gets tired of her.”
“What makes you think she won’t leave him?”
Stephanie snorted. “Because of the fourteen times he’s done this, only two ditched him. Even though he only married seven of them, he’s statistically more likely to do the leaving. I would know.”
The hurt in her voice tugged at my heart, and I wanted to wrap her into a hug. But the way she held herself, arms around her middle and head bent, made me think the gesture wouldn’t be welcome just now. So it was time to make my exit. “Thanks for inviting me. I had a great time.”
“You mean that?” she whispered.
Slipping a hand free, I braced it on the door frame and bent closer to her ear. “I’m not a fan of lying, Steph.”
She bit her lip, her eyes wide and glossy, and I hoped she was remembering our last conversation about lying—the one about us being real.
I pulled back marginally to give her space, not wanting to push too hard too fast. “Good night. Rest well.”
Stephanie nodded, almost dazed. Then her soft hand gripped my shoulder as she leaned up and brushed a kiss to my cheek.
“Thanks, Nash. For everything,” she whispered in my ear, and then she was gone.
Disappearing through the door and leaving me alone in the dark hall with that third butterfly kiss burning my cheek.
I stood there for a minute, staring at the closed door like an idiot, the softness of that kiss flooding my senses.
It wasn’t even a real kiss, and it hadn’t been for an audience—not that I was complaining about that—but it was poignant.
The stuff of dreams and legends. Giving my head a small shake, I retreated slowly to my room on the opposite end of the sleeping wing.
The Cedar Room, again courtesy of a fancy gilded nameplate, was the marriage of luxury and hominess with the wood-panelled walls and plaid accents.
And that view of the Tetons out the window was worth a fortune.
I couldn’t see it in the dark, but the glimpse I’d caught earlier was breathtaking.
Almost as much as Stephanie’s picture of Glacier National.
As I tumbled into bed, lights off, the hum of voices, music, and laughter from the back deck seeped through the darkness.
My room was directly above them from the sound of it.
Closing my eyes, I replayed the events of the day.
Sleepy Steph. The drive when we teased and bantered.
The look on her family’s faces when we walked in the door.
That kiss… And by the time I fell asleep, I still felt that ghost of a touch on my skin. And I desperately wanted another one.