Page 50 of Cakewalk

“And when we say best of the best, naturally, we mean the most embarrassing,” Caulfield added on.

“Join me on the couch. We can start from the beginning.”

“Mom, I really don’t think that’s necessary,” Holden said. But it was as if he was the only one in the room listening, because Gigi moved about as fast as he’d ever seen. “Gigi, really, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, but I want to!” The smile she gave him was mischievous and full of joy, making his heart squeeze. He loved seeing the light shine in her eyes like that, and if it meant he’d have to sit through his parents showing off every stupid thing he’d done as a child, well then, so be it. Better get cozy…

“Holden was quite the nudist when he was younger. But the best was when he was about four, we were out shopping for Christmas. Viv had gone off to do something, I don’t remember what. Anyway, I had to use the bathroom, and like any mother with a small child, I took him with me. So there I was, sitting on the toilet, trying to pee as fast as I could, and there was someone in the stall next to us who was…well, this poor lady had eaten something that hadn’t quite agreed with her. If that’s not embarrassing enough, having that kind of moment in the mall restroom, then Holden here drops to the floor, halfway slides under the stall, looks up at the lady and goes ‘I smell you!’ I wanted to die! I pulled up my pants as fast as I could but wasn’t fast enough, because Holden shimmied his way out of the stall completely and took off! Along the way, he decided to strip…so I’m running through the mall, trying to find my child, left with a Hansel and Gretel type trail of his clothing. Viv and I finally found him on a rocking horse in the little tot lot area, naked as the day he was born! Luckily, Viv had a camera in her pocketbook, and we got this photo.”

The whole group burst into laughter as Catherine finished her story. Even Holden couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and shake his head as his mother looked at him proudly. It was not the worst story she could have shared. But the look of happiness and ease on Gigi’s face would be worth every second of mortification.

“Wait…wait…” Gigi managed to say, trying to catch her breath from laughing. “The kid stripping in the mall, that was in A Murder of Crows! Raewyn watches the two women chase a naked toddler through the food court! That was based on you?”

* * *

Gigi

Caulfield stopped, his second Arnold Palmer cupcake halfway to his mouth, and stared at Gigi. She froze under his gaze, suddenly worried she’d said the wrong thing. It was Raewyn, in A Murder of Crows, right? Yes, she was sure of it. She knew his books like the back of her hand. That particular story was toward the bottom of the list when she ranked his catalog, but it had still been written by him, which meant it was better than most other books out there. At least in her opinion.

“Well, color me impressed. This beauty knows her books.”

“I told you she was a fan,” Holden said. Gigi couldn’t help but feel a bit shy as Holden shared this fact. Caulfield Montgomery probably met fans everywhere he went. He didn’t need to be bombarded with yet another one in his own living room on Christmas Eve.

“No, you told me she had read my stuff. You didn’t tell me she could quote my own work back to me. Tell me darlin’, which one is your favorite?”

“Oh, hands down At Midnight. I have lost count how many times I’ve read it. And each time, even though I know it’s coming, I feel betrayed by Cretia. Ellis trusted her so blindly, and in the end, she was just a pawn in Cretia’s game.” She felt as though she were rambling and hoped to God that the words coming out of her mouth made sense. Holden reached over and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. The contact felt good, natural, helping ease some of the anxiety rushing through her. Having him close like this made the moment feel as if she were a part of this family, and sitting adjacent to her favorite author was a regular occurrence.

Caulfield threw his hands up in the air, like he was signifying that there was nothing left to say after that statement. “Young lady has excellent taste in books, I vote we keep her! Now, would you like to know which scene in At Midnight was inspired by this one right here?” he asked with a nod toward Holden.

“Oh no! I draw the line at that story!” Holden said as his father burst into another fit of laughter.

“Is there a Holden anecdote in every book?”

“Sure is! Well, I take that back, he’s not in Convocation of Eagles, simply because he wasn’t born yet. But do you remember the café scene in On Parade? The baby boy that the waitress kept calling a girl? That was him.”

“So what in At Midnight is Holden?” Gigi asked, her curiosity gnawing at her.

“Don’t you dare!” Holden said sternly, pointing to his godfather.

“Oh honey, just tell her. It’s not that bad,” Catherine said.

Gigi looked at Holden, who was simply shaking his head in disbelief. She loved seeing this side of him—so at ease and so full of life. His family certainly brought out the best in him.

“Fine, but I’m telling the story!” he said. Caulfield motioned for him to continue, and Holden sucked in a long, deep breath, taking his time to exhale. “So, you know the scene where Godwin asks Xander for a big Band-Aid? Well, I might have had a similar experience.”

“Hold on…you…” Gigi stumbled on the words, trying to wrap her mind around what the always sexy, uber broody Holden was trying to tell her. “You nicked yourself manscaping?”

Holden groaned, launching himself against the back of the couch, head thrown back as if he were trying to avoid looking at her. She squeezed his hand, just as he had done for her a moment ago. She wanted to remind him they were in this together, and that she would be here for him no matter what. Even if she did learn all his embarrassing secrets in one sitting. Goodness knows she had plenty of her own.

“He’s leaving out the good bits!” Caulfield cackled. “He was a good bit younger than I made Godwin—so twelve, thirteen, somewhere in that range—and he’d read an article in Playboy or something that girls liked that kind of thing. Not that I have any idea who he thought was going to be seeing it. So he was upstairs in the bathroom, trying to give the boys a haircut, and sliced himself open! He hollered bloody murder, which I don’t blame him for, because that had to have hurt. So Heath and I go running up there, to find him standing in the bathroom, cupping his balls, hands all bloody.”

“I freaked out, thinking something was really wrong,” Heath said, picking up where his best friend left off. “And called for Catherine to call 911. So she comes rushing upstairs to ask why, sees the scene, and about faints. That’s when Holden decided to fess up about what he was up to and where all the blood came from.”

“I quietly excused myself at that point,” Catherine added in. “Best let the men handle that.”

“This was not a story I ever intended for you to hear,” Holden murmured, still staring at the ceiling.

“Would you feel better if I shared something?” Gigi asked, wanting to take some of the pressure off Holden. As much as she was enjoying hearing these stories about him, she wanted this occasion to be a good one for him too. For him to look back on this Christmas and smile. This was already the best one of her life, and she knew it was only getting started.