Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
Stephanie
“What is this, an intervention?” I sat cross-legged on the quilt-covered bed, opposite my cousin Hailey, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat, while Ivy perched next to her and Gabe stood blocking the closed door, arms folded and stern lines guarding his expression—like this was a military mission…
More like I was the mission, and he would be taking no prisoners.
We had a brief pocket of time before dinner, and my closest relatives decided now was the ideal time to undertake a debriefing.
No one asked if I thought it was a good time because, for the record, I did not.
I was hungry, and whatever Austin was cooking smelled divine.
Perks of having a brother who was a professional chef.
He was the most decent of my siblings who worked for Hiram.
Maybe because Austin didn’t technically work for Nova—he worked for the catering company Hiram owned.
And I was nervous leaving Nash alone with only Nana downstairs, since the rest of my main allies were all holed up here with me.
Too bad Aunt Robin and Uncle Jim, Hailey’s parents, were on their anniversary cruise to the Caribbean.
They’d have been a helpful buffer compared to the rest of the vipers downstairs. But Nash would be fine. Right?
Ivy pushed her tortoiseshell glasses up her nose and raised an eyebrow at me. Wow, she’d really mastered that mom look. “Boyfriend, girly pop? Spill it.”
“And leave out no details,” Hailey cut in, batting her lashes and clasping her hands under her chin dramatically. “Is he a good kisser?”
Gabe let out a strangled gurgle. I tossed a buffalo-plaid throw pillow at Hailey’s head, but she ducked with ease, cackling like a cartoon villain. Cousins. But it was impossible to be angry with her because Hailey was a lovable, vibrant soul without the Addams last name to weigh her down.
“Your boss?” Gabe prompted gruffly.
Ooh, that’s the unimpressed voice mixed with—am I a dad or a brother in this situation?
I puffed out my cheeks, letting my head drop back against the wood-panelled wall.
What should I tell them? I was still sorting through the idea of dating Nash for real, so for now this was part of a bargain.
The fulfilment of a debt. I organized a Christmas party; he would pretend to date me.
Suddenly I was wondering how he got the raw end of the deal.
But these were my people. The ones in my corner.
They’d shown up again and again. Until the day they don’t.
Everyone leaves, the dark voice in my head, that sounded exactly like Zoe, whispered.
I doubt she ever thought those harsh words spoken from the heartache of her own teenaged self would have gripped me so deeply.
I shoved the words—and the memory—away but still tasted their bitterness.
“We’re dating,” I said at last, opening my eyes and meeting their gazes.
“He knows about all of you. I keep pictures on my desk, and he asks about the kids and Gabe’s deployments and Hailey’s music”—I pointed at her—“he loves your newest album by the way. Why is our relationship so hard to believe? Am I that out of his league?”
I tried not to sound defensive, but Samantha and Anika’s words from the office party did more damage than they’d ever imagined. My insecurities were coming out to play hardball, and I was still in the minor leagues.
“No!” Hailey practically shouted, bounding off her bed and onto mine.
Her arms squeezed me tight in a Hailey-hug that never failed to make me feel better.
Pulling back, she pinned me with a firm look.
“You’re a total catch. And for the record, I’m Team Steph all the way.
If he shares your values, makes you happy, and treats you right, you’ve got a keeper. ”
I leaned my head against her shoulder and glanced expectantly at Gabe and Ivy.
We had a unique relationship. There were twelve years between me and Gabe.
Since my dad was absent for most—read: all—of my growing up years, I lived with Nana and Papa and then later with Gabe and Ivy for a while.
Ivy was a year younger than Gabe, making it an awkward balance at times to straddle the brother and sister dynamic with the stand-in parents’ role they played in my teens.
“We’re glad you brought him home, Steph,” Ivy said at last, her voice gentle. Ever the diplomat and peacekeeper. This wasn’t her first time refereeing between us, and I doubted it’d be the last. “You just never told us you were dating. This is new, yeah?”
“It’s not like he’s a stranger,” Hailey added. “We’ve only been hearing about him every other week for the last two years.”
Okay, maybe I overestimated when I told Nash that Nana would be the hardest sell. Clearly, I talked about him more than I’d realized to my favourite relatives. But they were nosy, and I loved them for it. Except for maybe right now when they were standing between me and dinner.
“Yes. It is new,” I confessed. “I like him, and he feels the same about me. So I don’t want you scaring him off with your bad-guy routine.” I glared at Gabe with all the heat I could muster.
Gabe still didn’t say a word. This wasn’t a good sign because Gabe’s poker face was impossible to read.
Hello, military training. Which left me no choice but to deploy my own training.
A little something I called Operation Dollface.
Which I hadn’t used since I was sixteen and trying to soften him up to let me go to prom with a boy.
The same guy who Anika dared me to kiss, but Gabe didn’t know about that, and I’d take that news to my grave. This was almost the same thing. Kinda.
Slipping out of Hailey’s hug, I crossed the room and paused in front of Gabe.
At over a foot taller than my five-foot frame, he towered above me, which worked to my advantage.
Lightly gripping his folded forearms, I leaned into him and gave him my best soulful, wide-eyed pleading expression—the same one his daughters now used.
As a youngster, I’d discovered I had Gabe wrapped around my finger and only had to flash this look at him to get him to cave.
It had worked the last time I used it for prom, but I was twenty-eight now. Were the odds still in my favour?
Gabe’s cheek twitched, and the firm muscles under my hands relaxed. Oh, I had him.
“Please understand?” I added for good measure. “He’s a really good man.”
The military stance crumbled, transforming him into my squishy big brother with a heart of marshmallow fluff. “Fine.”
Score! I bit my lip to hold in my laughter. I hadn’t been sure it would still work, but man, I was good.
As if he could read my thoughts, Gabe flicked my forehead lightly.
“Hey!”
“I’m only agreeing to this because I’ll get to keep an eye on him for the week, and if he hurts you, he’ll have my guns to answer to.”
I patted his biceps and cooed, “So you did this for me, too, and not just Ivy?”
Gabe swatted my hand away with a grunt. “Not those guns.”
“Chill out, big brother. I said no bad-guy routine.”
“You should have thought of that before you pulled that ridiculous stunt. Your eyes look weird when you do that.”
“More ridiculous than you still falling for it?”
“Dork.” But the word didn’t sting as Gabe chuckled and kissed my forehead. “You’re a good judge of character, Steph. No one’s questioning that. We’re just surprised you sprung this on us.”
“But we’re happy.” Ivy stood and hugged me. “Truly.”
“Thanks.” I shifted uncomfortably, trying to find the words to tell them how much they meant to me. How much their trust and opinions mattered. How much I wanted them to love Nash like I did. Whoa, there. We’re not at love yet, girl. Not if you can’t even commit to not-fake yet.
Hailey squeezed my hand. “We’ve got you, Stephie.”
Roaring laughter erupted from the floor below, and there was absolutely no telling what sort of torture the rest of the Addams clan was inflicting on Nash. This family played low and dirty, particularly with the enemy. And if they were laughing, chances were high it was at Nash’s expense.
“Now if you’ll excuse me,” I said, grinning through my apprehension. “I have a boyfriend to save.”
It was so much worse than I thought.
Nash was cornered between Great-Aunt Edith, the mistletoe, and the punch bowl. A triple trifecta of a bad idea.
Someone had the brilliant idea to go all out on the mistletoe this year—whoever you are, you are dead to me.
But it was probably Nana, since she was in charge of assembling a team to decorate the cabin.
But Zoe did interior design on the side so…
maybe it was her? I did a quick scan of the crowd for my oldest half sister—her expensive platinum hair as bright as a lighthouse beacon—but I didn’t see her.
Moving on. I had bigger flames to put out.
Great-Aunt Edith was a scary woman on a good day. But catch her at Christmas in a bah-humbug mood that included spiked eggnog, and you’d better run for your life.
But Nash clearly didn’t have the same level of self-preservation skills because he engaged her in conversation, all the while slowly moving backwards in the direction of a sprig of mistletoe.
Great-Aunt Edith was no fool. She knew exactly what she was doing, luring her prey with senile complacency. And Nash was about to become her victim.
I rudely shoved my way across the room, tripping over someone’s foot.
And a random elbow clocked me in the temple so hard I saw stars.
Pretty sure that one was on purpose. My knees nearly buckled, and I grabbed the sofa back for support, but I needed to rescue Nash.
Fainting could wait. Rushing up to him, I gripped his shirt front and hauled him towards me.
The momentum startled him, and he grasped my waist tightly. Questions swirled in his eyes as he glanced between me and the enemy… er, elderly relative.