Chapter 29
Chapter twenty-nine
Nash
Stephanie clung to my hand the rest of the morning as we sipped coffee in the breakfast nook with Nana and Hailey and stuffed our faces with Liz’s homemade shortbread.
Watching Stephanie fall apart this morning broke something inside of me.
In trusting me with her story, I got a clearer picture of the woman I’d called a friend and employee these last two years.
For the first time, I saw past the colour-coded planner, meticulous notes, and obsessive need for order as personality quirks to catch a glimpse of the little girl underneath, grasping to order an unstable world that hadn’t chosen her.
As the gift-giving wound down, the leftovers from Christmas Eve emerged onto the kitchen island, people wandering in and filling a plate at will.
Austin, professional chef that he was, commandeered the kitchen preparations.
He assigned jobs and tasks with precision, and once again, I witnessed that Addams take-charge attitude.
Stephanie and I were paired together peeling a mountain of potatoes.
From the catlike gleam in Austin’s eyes, I was betting this was a bottom-of-the-barrel job.
But it gave me time to watch family interactions.
The teasing and banter. And interestingly enough, the work talk.
Nova Designs truly was a family business, and even Austin, who didn’t work for the company directly, still worked for Hiram’s catering business.
Between tension and subtle jabs, they projected a front of moderate camaraderie.
One Gabe and Stephanie were clearly excluded from.
Gabe was hard to flat-out ignore—I mean, look at the guy.
But Stephanie? Unless they were throwing shade her way, it was like she didn’t exist.
Like she’d handed them the ultimate betrayal in disgracing the Addams name by working for the enemy and bringing him onto their home turf for Christmas. Sorry, guys. I intended to stick around for a good long while.
Once the food preparations were underway and close enough to finishing, we scattered to prepare for dinner. Because, of course, the Addams family did black tie.
My hands shook as I wrapped the burgundy tie with the white Swiss dots around my neck in my third attempt at a Windsor knot.
Why was I nervous? I didn’t do nervous. I’d negotiated multimillion-dollar deals without batting an eye.
But escorting a beautiful woman to dinner with her family had me—and my tie—in knots.
Once I was satisfied with the result, I shrugged on my suit coat—the Armani grey pinstripe Stephanie had suggested—and strode downstairs to wait.
At the foot of the stairs, I fiddled with my silver monkey's fist knot cufflinks. Get a hold of yourself. It wasn’t like I’d never seen Stephanie in formal attire.
I had a couple times when Genesis hosted gala events, but this was different.
She’d said yes to dating for real. This was the first time I’d get to escort my girlfriend to dinner, and I wouldn't even get a dance out of it.
A throat dramatically cleared behind me, and I whirled around, my blood thrumming with anticipation.
Hailey grinned down at me—probably in a nice dress, but I didn’t notice. She swept aside, making a motioning arch with her arms. I waited and then my breath caught.