His For Christmas Read online

  A thunderous sound of running feet down the stair treads ended with Dani and Joe sliding to a stop inside the room while three little monsters crashed into their backs.

  “What’s going on?”

  “She said yes.”

  Alex, Esme and even the cool preteen Janie, jumped up and down in a happy dancing circle.

  “I knew it!” Alex said, looking in triumph towards Dani and Joe who both shrugged.

  “You called it.”

  Before he could question their strange conversation, Dylan distracted him with a champagne bottle.

  “Open it! I’ve been saving it for just this sort of occasion. Call it intuition but I even bought some apple juice ‘champagne’ for the under aged set.”

  “Yay!”

  Chapter 4

  Derek smoothed the tabletop he’d spent the morning working on. The reclaimed piece was part of a Christmas rush order. His client’s wife was a big fan and Henry Thibodeux had paid good money for Derek to complete the console table in time for Christmas.

  There was no way to fix Anabelle’s model in time but he’d find something. She’d given him the best present last night. He knew he wore a goofy grin but it couldn’t be helped.

  “Hey man, got a minute?”

  “What’s up?”

  “By the way, congrats again. It’s all over Facebook. Someone posted it on the Sugar Bay home page.”

  “Yeah, I know. I had to silence my phone today. It was blowing up with well wishes.” He grinned.

  “About that though…”

  “What’s up?”

  “Last night the little girls held an emergency family meeting.”

  “How’s that? I wasn’t invited and hell, Dylan was snoring right next to us for most of the movie.”

  “Yeah…well. It was about you and Anabelle.”

  “Go on.”

  “Esme and Alex got the idea that they needed to make up for the foiled dream house model.”

  “It was an accident and mainly my fault for not putting it away.”

  Joe shrugged. “The girls feel pretty bad so they’ve come up with a plan.”

  “And you and Dani are helping them?”

  “Yep.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “At first I was worried on your behalf but now, I think you may, actually, like it.”

  Derek waited for his friend to get to the point.

  “The girls are planning your wedding, man.” Joe said with a shrug.

  “Come again?” He must not have understood Joe correctly.

  “The girls are planning a Christmas eve wedding for you and Anabelle.”

  “How’s that? Weddings take forever to plan.”

  “I know that but it’s sort of hard stopping them. They’re pretty cute in their earnestness to do it. They gave me a checklist of things I need to get done and it’s pretty complete, as far as I can tell. But before I get on it and follow their bidding, no matter how sweet their intentions, I wanted to clear it with you. It’s your big day, man. Yours and Anabelle’s.”

  Derek wasn’t really surprised. His nieces had always been super smart and full of bright ideas. They certainly picked the right assistants for their plan. Dani was genius smart and Joe was a man of action. He got things done.

  “Anabelle already went through the fancy wedding her first time around, and from the brief bits we’ve discussed, she wants our wedding to be low key. So I’m thinking whatever the girls plan will be perfect.”

  “You sure?”

  “Hell, yeah, I’m sure.” He’d been excited when she said yes, but now, knowing the date was moving up with limited fuss, he was beyond excited. “What’s on your list man? I’ll help you. I’ve got to finish some projects, but yeah…count me in.”

  “Since there’s no way to apply for a Florida marriage license without Anabelle’s presence, we’re going to focus on a great wedding party and dinner. As far as the location, it’s a toss up between Dylan’s barn or my beach house. What do you think?”

  “The beach would be nice and definitely, romantic, but it’ll be hard to surprise her by going there. So, the barn will make things easier, more seamless, in terms of a surprise.”

  “The only problem with that is the state of the barn. Dani mentioned it was a mess.”

  “Yeah. Unfortunately, it’s been used as a catchall.”

  “Charlie said she could get a few guys to help clean and prep the barn.”

  “Perfect.”

  “Derek, excuse me, but you have a guest.” Dani stood at the door with a weird look. It didn’t look reassuring. “It’s Anabelle’s mom.” She grimaced.

  Shit.

  “Brace yourself, man.” Joe hadn’t met Claire Broussard in person yet.

  A petite lady with hair almost the same as Anabelle’s came into the room. “Hello, Derek,” she drawled in a sweet southern accent but he wasn’t fooled, he knew the sweetness hid a sharp tongue.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Joe stand a little taller. He knew exactly how his friend felt. Claire Broussard was one scary woman. How she produced a creature as sweet as Anabelle was beyond him. You had to rethink the concept of nature versus nurture when it came to the relationship between Anabelle and her mother.

  “Hello Mrs. Broussard.”

  She turned towards Joe. Derek wanted to warn his friend not to bother turning on the charm that had softened many a woman, child and baby, but he couldn’t without being obvious.

  “Hello Mrs. Broussard, my name is Joseph James and I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “I knew your father.”

  At once the charming Joe froze and Derek could only watch while his friend floundered.

  “You look just like him, but are you like him, hmmm?”

  Joe’s mouth was pressed in a thin line. Derek interrupted before Joe could erupt. “Mrs. Broussard, what can I do for you?”

  “Where are your manners? Show me around first. I’ve never been to your studio. Although I’ve waited for an invitation, that hasn’t happened, so I decided to invite myself to see what has my daughter so enthralled.”

  Derek closed his mouth. He knew he had gaped like a dumbass during her speech. “Yes ma’am, of course.”

  Over the next hour he showed her his process, some raw materials he’d salvaged as well as finished items ready to ship. She flipped through his portfolio of past projects without saying a word, stretching his nerves. She had a school master look to her, sort of like his former design professor who’d often ripped students apart with harsh criticism and made them flee in tears.

  Derek braced himself.

  “Very nice.”

  He nodded, a little dumbfounded. “Thank you ma’am.”

  “Okay boys. I’ll admit I was curious about your work. I thought it would be butt ugly since Anabelle seemed to be protecting you. It’s not as if I were a dragon lady or something.”

  “Of course not.” Joe muttered under his breath so only Derek could hear him.

  “I heard from the Ladies League that y’all are planning some sort of surprise wedding.”

  “Shit.”

  “Watch your mouth, young man.”

  “Beg your pardon, ma’am. But how did they find out? It’s supposed to be a surprise?”

  “Mildred said she heard it at Charlie’s Decadent Den.”

  “Hell.” Derek could feel a headache coming on and squeezed the back of his neck.

  “You know, this could all work out in our favor.” She tapped her mouth in thought.

  “How do you figure?”

  “Planning a wedding normally takes months and y’all are trying to pull this off in days. You need all the help you can get. Think about it, boys. Supplies, flowers, food, décor?”

  Derek assumed from her drawn out sigh, He and Joe wore similar looking clueless expressions. “You’re in luck, boys. Follow my lead and we’ll give Anabelle a romantic Christmas wedding courtesy of the folks of Sugar Bay.”

  Joe looked at
Derek. “Man, all I planned was to clean up the barn. Dani and the girls may have other ideas.”

  “Dani!” Derek yelled.

  He didn’t have to wait long since his sister had probably parked her nosy butt around the corner and listened the entire time.

  “You bellowed.”

  “Yes. Anabelle’s mom wants to help with the planning, so work with her, okay?”

  “I can do that.”

  He didn’t know how his sister kept a straight face because Joe was acting like he was being hung behind Claire’s back, but she did.

  He popped Joe in the stomach. “Cut it out. She’s my future mother-in-law.”

  “May God have mercy on your soul.”

  “I heard that.”

  “Apologies, ma’am.”

  Claire gave a regal nod seemingly pleased her troops were in order and they were ready and willing to follow her blindly into the battle of wedding planning.

  “Shall we, Dani?” The ladies walked away and Derek heard them discuss the kind of flowers that could be found on short notice. At the door she turned back. “I expect the barn to be ready in two days. I trust that’s enough time, boys?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” They chorused then slumped in relief when she left the room.

  “Whose bright idea was this?” Joe grumbled.

  Derek shrugged. He focused on the fact in a few short days, Anabelle would be his for Christmas. All grooms had to suffer through wedding planning and thankfully his would be relatively short. He could endure.

  Weddings were for women.

  Wedding nights were for the groom.

  That thought alone put a shit-eating grin on his face.

  How bad could all this wedding planning get?

  Chapter 5

  Who knew Florida was so stinking hot in December? Christmas in Seattle had been wet but at least it had been cold. It seemed Florida hadn’t gotten the white Christmas memo or it was in rebellion. Derek wiped his brow and flapped his T-shirt for circulation. Except for the fact Anabelle’s mom darted in and out like a sugar plum fairy on crack with sharp fangs, ordering grown men to do her bidding, he’d take of his shirt in a heartbeat.

  Like a smart man, Joe kept himself under her radar. Joe hated when his father’s name came up in conversation. Other than the mention of a scandal, Joe had been tight lipped about the whole thing. Anabelle probably knew, she’d complained often enough about the small town rumor mill. But as far as Derek could see, there was a decided bonus in small town living.

  People had dropped off food, flowers and miscellaneous wedding items on Claire’s never ending list. The effect was a little on the mismatched side, but Claire seemed pleased, mentioning something about rustic elegance, whatever the hell that meant. Derek had to admit it was pretty. The lanterns were hung at various heights and he could imagine the glow in the evening dusk would lend itself to a magical feeling.

  According to Alex, of-the-constantly-checking-weather-app, Mother Nature may even provide an assist because a cold front was on its way in. Perfect, because nothing would be more unattractive than the groom keeling over in a sweaty mess surrounded by a shitload of candles and lanterns.

  Alex had taken to Claire and her drill sergeant ways. Derek shuddered, fearing the result of Alex as a miniature Claire.

  Over his dead body.

  Janie willingly followed Claire’s lead as well. With everyone, Claire was brisk and business like but something about Esme and her cuteness factor had brought a brief smile to Claire’s face. She’d patted Esme on the head and sent her off to practice writing names on place cards. Said it would be charming.

  Thankfully, Anabelle was busy with the Ladies League Winter Formal set for New Year’s Eve. His poor darling had been kept busy by something or another because it seemed the town of Sugar Bay was populated by a bunch of romantics and they adored Anabelle. Her personality was such that she hated the extraneous attention but what Anabelle saw as pity in the town’s eyes, the town had seen it as concern for her well being.

  A pink jeep pulled up and Charlie got out with Decadent Den boxes. The men turned into boys and crowded her arrival. He assumed because she came bearing goodies or it could have been because they found her presence exciting.

  He shook his head, not understanding the attraction.

  Charlie was scary.

  Anabelle’s best friend was a younger version of Claire Broussard except for the auburn colored hair and magical baking ability. She had a reputation for being a man eater/heartbreaker about town. Joe knew her through her younger brothers with whom Joe had gone to school. The only people not salivating at her arrival besides him were Joe and Heath.

  Derek had to admit the guy he once knew as ‘bow tie’ wasn’t all bad. Sure, he had a prissy English accent but he didn’t mind getting dirty with the rest of the guys and had helped clear the barn on Claire’s orders. Derek grudgingly admired him for it. Even now, the guy kept working despite the group gathering around Charlie.

  “Hey Derek, how’s it hanging, man?”

  “Not bad, Ethan. Just a few more days of this chaos and all this wedding nonsense will be over.”

  “Excited?”

  “Yeah, man. I am. Thanks again for hauling in the Christmas boughs and garland and also for volunteering to officiate on short notice.”

  “No problem. You know I’d do anything for Anabelle.”

  Derek nodded. He knew but there had been a time when that thought would have bothered him, especially since Ethan was a fancy doctor who Claire had handpicked for Anabelle. But since Anabelle’s relationship with Ethan had evolved into a familial type of bond, Derek was no longer worried.

  “Ms. Claire, when are you going to make an honest man out of my dad?” He asked to a busy Claire.

  Derek couldn’t believe the transformation that came over Claire at Ethan’s words as she stopped in her tracks.

  His respect for the man doubled.

  “Ethan, dear. Don’t talk like that. That’s not appropriate.”

  “You know I’m a poor motherless boy, Ms. Claire.”

  Derek looked askance at Ethan. The “boy” was in his late thirties and had a thriving orthopedic practice with a trail of broken hearts behind him.

  “You’re a sweet boy, Ethan, but your father and I are just friends.”

  “The kind of friends like Derek and Anabelle were?” Ethan winked and Claire went from a light pink blush to a painful sunburnt red. She may be scary but Derek felt the need to save her.

  “The barn is coming along. The boys brought the chairs on loan from the Ladies League and Heath showed us how to put the slipcover on them.”

  “Good. My friends, Callum and Mikael, will be around to prep the flowers, candles and Christmas greenery. They’ll be like little elves on the twenty third so all we’ll need to do is light the candles and have the ceremony.”

  “What about the music?”

  “Janie is working on a playlist as we speak.”

  Derek winced, hoping he wouldn’t be stuck hearing One Direction or Five Seconds of Summer for his big day. He wondered if he should mention the fact that Joe played the acoustical guitar but figured Joe was hiding for a reason.

  “Don’t worry. She found several wedding playlists on Spotify that she’s modifying. Besides, your sisters will do the final approval but right now, they’re prepping the menu with Charlie’s mother. Charlie is supposed to go help if she can draw herself away from her entourage long enough.” She said with a sniff.

  “Thank you for your help, Mrs. B.” He paused, waiting for her to protest the name he’d given her, but she didn’t so he cleared his throat and continued. “The wedding will be more than I thought possible considering the time frame. I had hoped for a small family wedding, nothing fancy. The most important aspect being joining my life with Anabelle’s in front of our family and friends, but now, it has the look and feel of a real wedding. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”

  “I love my daughte
r, Derek. I may not show it very well, but I’ve only ever wanted the best for her.”

  “Thank you.”

  “One more thing…”

  “Yes?”

  She moved closer. “If you ever hurt her like that sorry son of a bitch ex of hers did, I will open a can of whoop ass on you so fast, it’ll make your head spin.”

  Derek chuckled at the threat uttered in a sweet southern accent. His respect for her went up. “Understood, Mrs. B. Understood.”

  ***

  “Is that a girl thing? The ability to curl ribbon like that?” Derek watched as Anabelle stripped ribbon with a pair of scissors and created a perfect bouncing curl.

  Anabelle laughed, the sound husky, and reminded him an hour had passed since he’d given her a kiss. He took his time and solved that problem.

  She held onto his shirt. “Hmmm…that’s nice. Hold that thought though. We’ve got to finish wrapping presents for the girls. We’re running out of time since tomorrow is Christmas Eve. This is the last night we can get it done since we’ve been invited to spend the night there so we can share Christmas morning magic with the girls.”

  “Thanks for doing this for them.”

  “Are you kidding me? I grew up an only child and you’ve met my mother.” She gave him a pointed look and he grimaced. He couldn’t imagine Claire being big on Christmas magic and holiday traditions.

  “Exactly. This is for me as much as it is for them. Do you know how lonely Christmas is for an only child with every holiday movie showing lots of family fun? So yeah, I’m very excited to spend Christmas with your nieces.”

  He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her cheek. “You’ll never be lonely again, sweetheart. The Wheaton/Grayson clan will embrace you and surround you with so much noise and chaos, you may long for solitude and peace again.”

  “Never.”

  He squeezed her tight then grabbed a sweater box to wrap. “By the way, Joe’s coming this year.”

  “Yeah?”

  “This is his first Christmas without any family since his aunt died this year.”

  “That’s right. She was nice. She liked craft shows, didn’t she?”