Chapter 30 Joelle
JOELLE
Thanksgiving
The turkey is in the oven, the potatoes are boiling, and Collette is wrestling with pie crust like it personally insulted her. Whose bright idea was it to host Thanksgiving for the family? Oh, that's right, it was me.
"This dough hates me," Collette mutters, flour dusting her hair. "Why does it hate me?"
"Because you're fighting it. You're supposed to be gentle."
"I am gentle."
"You're attacking it."
She glares at the counter. "It deserves it."
I laugh, then check the oven timer, two more hours until the turkey is done.
We're hosting Thanksgiving this year, our first time. We're determined to make it work, even if Collette is currently losing a battle with pastry.
"Harper texted," I say, scrolling through my phone. "They're bringing wine and some fancy cheese board."
"Awesome."
My phone buzzes again.
Pierre: On our way. Do you need anything else other than my winning personality?
Joelle: Your humility is truly inspiring.
Pierre: I know. It's a gift.
I smile and set my phone down, having my brothers here feels right. Feels like home, for the first time since leaving London.
"They'll be here in an hour," I tell Collette.
"Good. That gives me time to fix this disaster." She gestures at the pie crust, which looks more like abstract art than anything edible.
"Want me to take over?"
"Absolutely not. This is a battle of wills now. Me versus the dough. Only one of us is walking away victorious."
"Pretty sure the dough is winning."
"Shut up and stir the gravy."
An hour later, there's a knock at the door.
I wipe my hands on my apron and head over, expecting to see Pierre's smug grin and Felix's easy smile.
Instead, I open the door to find not just my brothers, but four additional people crowded in the hallway.
Emmett, Sully, and two women I don't recognize.
My brain short-circuits. Emmett is here.
In my hallway. At my door. On Thanksgiving.
"Surprise," Pierre says cheerfully. "We brought guests."
"I ... what ..."
"We knocked on their door to say happy Thanksgiving," Felix explains, gesturing to the group behind him. "And they mentioned they were having a bit of a cooking crisis."
"More like a cooking catastrophe," one of the women says. She's brunette, pretty, with kind green eyes and a familiar smile. "We forgot to thaw the turkey. We may have drunk a little too much wine last night.”
Oh shit. That will do it.
"We haven't come empty-handed. Cass makes the best strawberry and rhubarb pie," Sully adds.
"It's a Wisconsin thing," the other woman says.
It looks delicious. You can never have too much pie.
"Welcome. The more the merrier," Collette says brightly as she holds the door open and lets the extra four guests in.
"The place smells amazing," Issy says, giving me a kiss.
"You two look like you've been working hard," Harper adds as she greets me.
"Collette nearly lost a battle against some dough. But other than that, I think we're good."
"Hope you didn't mind, sis. But couldn't leave them on Thanksgiving without turkey," Pierre tells me as he walks in.
"Happy Thanksgiving," Felix says.
"Hi, I'm Ember. Emmett's sister," the brunette tells me. Now I see it. "Thank you so much for letting us barge in like this. Your brother was very insistent."
"He can be. Welcome. It is so nice to meet you."
"And I'm Cassidy. Sully's twin," the other woman says.
"You are both sets of twins?" I ask Emmett.
"Yep. It's how we became friends. We bonded over how annoying our sisters were," Emmett jokes.
"And we became friends over how annoying our brothers were. And still are," Ember says.
This makes me smile. "I have brothers. I totally get it." They laugh. "Come on in. Welcome and Happy Thanksgiving."
They all walk into our apartment, which is usually so large, but with all these people, it feels rather cozy. As Emmett walks past me through the door, his hand brushes against mine, my cheeks instantly flush. But I'm sure it's more from all the cooking. Not from that man.
Collette takes over hostess duties, directing everyone to the living room while grabbing wine glasses. Harper and Issy follow, already chatting. I escape back to the kitchen. Check the turkey. Stir the gravy. Anything to avoid standing in that living room with Emmett fucking Black.
"Need help?"
I spin around. He's in the doorway wearing dark jeans and a gray Henley, looking unfairly good.
"I'm fine."
"You sure? You look flustered."
"I'm not flustered." I totally am.
"Your face is red."
"That's from the oven. It's a billion degrees in the kitchen."
His mouth curves. "Right. Of course. The oven."
I turn back to the stove, gripping the wooden spoon. "Shouldn't you be out there with your sister?"
"She's fine. Cassidy's keeping her company."
"Then maybe you should keep Sully company."
"He's arguing with your brothers about last night's game. I'm good here."
"Emmett ..."
"Relax, Trouble." He pushes off the doorframe and walks closer. Not touching, but close enough that I can smell his cologne. "I'll behave today."
"You’d better." I glare at him.
"I'm here to help you. You seem under the pump."
"I've never cooked for so many people," I confess to him.
"You look like you're doing a good job. I forgot to thaw the turkey, and it was only for four people." This makes me laugh. "To be fair, I had a lot to drink last night. I'm blaming the girls."
"And yet they were able to bring pie."
"Hey. Don't tell me you're ganging up on me, too."
"Never." I chuckle.
"I'm serious. Do you need help?"
I shake my head. "I've got this. Most of it is done. I just need to do a couple more things, but it's more like a one-person job."
"I understand. I'll leave you to it. And thanks again for letting us barge in like this."
"It's all good." I stand there. Heart racing. Trying to remember how to breathe. This is going to be a long day.
Dinner is loud, chaotic, and perfect. The table is packed.
Pierre is telling embarrassing stories about Felix.
Felix retaliates with worse stories about Pierre.
Harper is laughing so hard she's crying.
Issy keeps trying to defend Pierre, but she's laughing too.
Collette and Cassidy bond over having annoying brothers.
Sully argues with Pierre about some hockey stat.
Ember sits across from me, quietly watching everyone with those sharp green eyes.
Emmett is a couple of seats down from me.
Far enough away to be safe. We haven't made eye contact since the kitchen.
Until I reach for the wine. His hand is already there and our fingers brush just for a second. My breath catches. He pulls back first, clears his throat, and goes back to his conversation with Sully like nothing happened.
But when I glance up, Ember is watching me. Her eyes narrow slightly before she looks away.
Shit.
After dinner, the guys insist on cleaning up. Pierre and Felix argue about the proper way to load a dishwasher. Sully dries plates. Emmett scrubs a pot like his life depends on it. The rest of us collapse in the living room.
"That was amazing." Harper sighs. "Jo, you're a magician."
"Collette helped."
"I fought a pie crust and lost," Collette says. "But it tasted good, so I'm calling it a win."
Cassidy laughs. "Your pie was great."
Ember is quiet, nursing her wine, she's in the armchair across from me, one leg tucked under her.
"So, Joelle," she says, casually. "How long have you been with the Mavericks?"
"Not long. I came in during the season."
"And you like it?"
"I love it. The team is great."
"That's good." She tilts her head. "Must be interesting, working with your brothers."
"It has its moments." I smile.
"I bet." She takes a sip of wine. "And the other players? They treat you well?"
My heart skips a beat. Does she know something? Everyone's been great. I love working with them all."
"Even the captain?"
Harper and Collette both go still.
"Sure," I say evenly. "But he's a stubborn asshole."
Ember's mouth curves into a small smile. "That he is. But hockey is his world and sometimes that makes him blind to everything else outside of that."
Huh. What does that mean? Before the conversation can go any further, the guys file back in.
Emmett drops onto the couch next to Sully.
His eyes drift over to me as if he notices the invisible tension between his twin and me.
But my brothers hijack the conversation, and everything that happened before is forgotten.
Later that night, after everyone leaves, Collette and I collapse on the couch.
"Well, that was fun," she says.
"Yep."
"Ember seems nice." She glances over at me.
"She does."
"She was watching you."
"I know." My stomach sinks.
"All through dinner. Every time you and Emmett were near each other, she was watching. You think she knows?"
"Seems like it."
"What are you going to do?"
"Nothing. There is nothing I can do."
Collette is quiet for a moment. "You think she was testing you to see if you were worthy of her brother?"
"You think that was what she was doing?"
Lettie nods. "The conversation about hockey being her brother's world and that he can't see anything else outside of that. Do you think there was a hidden meaning in that?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"She was either warning you off him or warning you to have patience," Collette muses.
"You think?"
She nods. "Look, I think Emmett's crush on you is cute. Like it's noticeable but not, like our brothers would never see it but I sure as hell know Harper and Issy have."
"Shit. Did they say something?"
She nods. "They asked if something was going on between the two of you. I, of course, denied it all. You're welcome."
"You think they would say something to the boys?"
"Never. It's girl code," she reassures me.
"You're not doing anything wrong with Emmett.
It's just a bit of flirting. The odd smooch.
But I think you two need to talk though because the tension between the both of you is noticeable.
" I nod. "Well, I'm beat. We killed Thanksgiving. But next year, let's hire caterers."
"Agreed."
We get up and head to our rooms.
My phone buzzes just as I am getting into bed.
Emmett: Thanks for saving our Thanksgiving.
Joelle: You're welcome. Next time, thaw your turkey.
Emmett: There won't be a next time. There will be no drinking the night before.
Joelle: Probably for the best.
Emmett: You put on a spectacular spread. Thanks for making my sister feel welcome.
Joelle: Anytime.
Emmett: Ember liked you. She doesn't like a lot of people.
My heart skips.
Joelle: Sounds like someone else I know.
Emmett: Funny that. Twins.
Emmett: She knows something's going on between us.
Oh shit.
Joelle: Let me guess. She's not happy.
Emmett: Opposite. She thinks I should go for it.
Oh. I’m not sure what to say.
Emmett: Jo?
Emmett: Hope I didn’t say something wrong?
Joelle: No.
Emmett: Are you not interested?
Joelle: It's complicated and I don't know if I can do it.
Emmett: We don't have to make it complicated.
Joelle: I'm not sure.
Meaning I'm not sure if I'm ready to blow my life up just yet.
Emmett: It's okay. I get it. Happy Thanksgiving. And thanks again for having us.