Jaci Burton - Holiday Games

“You know I do. I can’t believe the wedding is only a few weeks away.”

“I can’t, either. Ty and I put it off for so long. The whole wedding thing just wasn’t important, because we love each other and are committed. I really wanted to just go to city hall or maybe to Vegas for a quickie wedding.”

“But then there’s your mother,” Tara said. “Who would have never forgiven you.”

Jenna nodded. “Exactly. Denying her a wedding, especially for her only daughter, just wasn’t an option, especially after the two of you married Mick and Gavin in such elaborate ways.”

“Uh, sorry?” Liz said with a grin. “I never thought I was the fancy-wedding type. Or even the marrying type. Until Gavin came along.”

“I can relate, believe me. I never believed in the whole commitment thing until Ty. And marriage wasn’t all that important to me, but I loved Ty and he wanted to get married, and then there’s Mom. So I caved.” Jenna took a deep breath. “And so here we are.”

Tara dipped her hand into the bag and pulled a place card out, handing it over to Liz. “With these.”

The place cards had a purple border, matching the color of the tips of Jenna’s hair, and the ink was in Ty’s hockey team color. The upper quadrant had a musical note and a hockey stick coming up through it, signifying parts of both Jenna and Tyler, with their initials woven through it.

“I love these. So much,” Liz said.

“Me, too,” Jenna said. “You don’t think they’re hokey or stupid?”

“Of course not. They’re you. And Ty. And perfect.”

Jenna grinned. “Thank you. I love them, too. Tara helped me with the design.”

Liz slid her glance over to Tara. “It’s what you do best.”

“Thanks. I’m ridiculously excited about this wedding. At least this time I’m not pregnant.”

“And how is our gorgeous nephew?”

“Pulling himself up to stand.”

“Oh, my God. Already?”

“Yes. Mick thinks he’ll be walking soon. He said when he was a baby, he walked at ten months, so he thinks Sam will walk early, too. I’m not ready yet. I want him to stay my cuddly baby as long as possible, though he can crawl through the house like a speed demon. I have to watch him every second, or he disappears. We’ve already got the gate up across the stairs.”

“He’s adorable, Tara. And where is he?” Jenna asked.

“With your parents. When I told your mom I was meeting with the two of you this morning, she asked if she could have him for a couple of hours.”

“Figures. She’s always grabbing Sam.”

Tara leaned back on the sofa. “You know you can have him whenever you want. Or come over whenever you want.”

“Sure. In my spare time, when I’m not overseeing the bar, or working at the club.”

“Oh, cry me a river,” Liz interjected. “I never get to see him, either.”

“I never thought the two of you would be fighting over my baby. You are the two least likely women I’d ever have guessed would have motherly instincts.”

“Hey,” Jenna said. “I love your baby. Not that I want any of my own right now. Too busy. But your kids? Love them madly.”

“That’s because one is in college, and the other you can love and cuddle and spoil, but you don’t have to keep him.”

Jenna nodded. “Exactly.”

Liz laughed. “Speaking of the one in college, how is Nathan doing?”

A streak of motherly pride crossed Tara’s face. “He’s doing so well. He’s putting his studies first, which I insisted on. And of course as you know, Texas ended up winning the Big 12 Conference championship this season. I’d like to think Nathan leading the team at quarterback had a lot to do with that.”

“He’s an exceptional quarterback, like his father,” Liz said. “I watched every game. He has a natural talent, very much like Mick’s.”

“Agree,” Jenna said. “In some ways, he’s better than Mick, because of the way he runs. He confuses the hell out of the defense.”

Liz nodded. “I’m eager to get my hands on him and get him an NFL contract.”

Tara looked horrified. “Oh, God, don’t tell him that. He’ll want to come out next year, and Mick and I want him to stay in school and finish up his degree.”

Liz laughed. “My lips are sealed. And I tend to agree with you. Some of these boys leave school too soon, the lure of the big contract and big money too much to resist. The longer they stay in college, the more experience they gain. At least that’s what I always advise them.”

“Obviously, they don’t always listen.”

She shrugged. “Bottom line is the choice is theirs to make. Many of them go on to have highly successful careers, but it’s my hope they all get their degrees. Or at least stay through their junior years, then finish up their degrees later.”

Tara nodded. “We’re going to push for Nathan to stay in school as long as possible, but you’re right, it’s his career and his choice. We just hope he makes the right one.”

They went over wedding planning, then went out to lunch. Liz parted ways with Tara and Jenna, then headed home, hoping to find Gavin there. Instead, he’d left a message on her phone letting her know he was going for a tux fitting, and then lunch.

Which was fine with her. She had some work to do, anyway, so she opened her laptop and answered a few emails. When she was done, she reviewed her calendar.

It was going to be an extremely busy holiday season. Not only was Jenna getting married—with Liz taking a very active role in that, which she was very excited about—but in addition, she and Gavin would be hosting Christmas for the Riley family in their home this year. Since this was the first time they’d have the entire family over for Christmas, Liz felt the burden of doing everything just right.

Not that Gavin’s family put high expectations on Christmas or anything. His parents were the kindest people she’d ever known. Kathleen and Jimmy Riley had been family to her—more parents to her than her own—since before she and Gavin had ever gotten together. She loved them so much, and they were genuinely warm people. So there was no pressure, other than the normal pressure she put on herself, which was always high.

But still, there’d be a lot of coordinating to do. The Riley family was formidable, and now that there were wives and kids and significant others in the picture, Christmas was going to be huge this year. And Liz intended for this to be the best holiday ever.

She made a few notes about food. Catering was out, unfortunately, because the Rileys just wouldn’t go for that. Nothing but homemade at Christmas. Kathleen would help her, of course, and so would Tara, along with Kathleen’s sister-in-law, Cara. They’d all have to get together and discuss options.

This would totally work.

She leaned back in her chair and stretched, then thought about Gavin and that wretched pregnancy test from earlier.

She pushed back and stood, heading into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. She’d be damned if she’d let her body defeat her. She poured tea into her cup and leaned against the kitchen counter.

If someone had told her two years ago that she would be married and trying to have a baby, she’d have laughed in their face. She’d been totally career driven, and there had been no man on her radar.

Except Gavin, of course. She’d always loved Gavin, but in secret. He’d been the man of her dreams, someone she’d been close to as a client only. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought she and Gavin would get together, let alone fall in love and end up married. That’s when her desire for a child—someone who was part of both of them—had started to take hold. She was almost in her midthirties now. If she was ever going to have children, it was time to get going on that. A now or never kind of thing, because she wasn’t getting any younger.