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Or so I’d hoped.
Still, it was on me to try to pave the way. If I radiated good cheer, perhaps the same would be returned to me. To us.
At least until they all learned I’d impregnated Zoe—on purpose. Without the benefit of matrimony. Or even a terribly long courtship. Then I’d probably be on the, what was it called, shit list yet again.
I tried to smile. Regardless, nothing would ruin our pre-Christmas holiday away. Not foul weather or relations who wished me dead. “Nick, how lovely to see you.” I cleared my throat. “Merry Christmas to us.”
Nick
An island Christmas was weird.
He was a California guy, well used to the month of December being hot and sunny. But he’d now spent just enough holidays at his wife Lila’s parents’ place in upstate New York that looking out the window and seeing a hammock rocking wildly in the wind and white sand and palm trees wrapped in giant red bows was unnatural.
Well, the decorated trees would’ve been unnatural regardless. Who did that?
“We should be visiting Mom and Pop with the girls. We would’ve been, if I’d known interlopers were coming before we got here.”
“Zoe is my cousin, and therefore, she is not an interloper.”
Nick grunted. Zoe was okay. Her choice of a romantic companion, however, left much to be desired.
“We discussed this, remember? You’re supposed to be nice.”
He rolled his eyes at Lila and moved away from the window to flop on the gigantic bed. At least the suite Simon and his wife Margo had bequeathed to him and Li for the duration of this trip was spacious. It even had a hot tub. All told, the accommodations were pretty swanky.
Still though, who would be dumb enough to go on a beach vacation when their wife was about to pop?
Oh, that would be Simon. The guy was his best friend, his brother really, but he was also about as good at planning as…well, he wasn’t.
He sucked at it.
Of course Nick had been making fun of Simon—whether in reality or just in his head—since they were kids. Building a world-famous band together, Oblivion, hadn’t changed that one bit.
Now they were adding families to the mix. Nick and Lila already had their twin girls, who were growing up by the minute and would be in school soon, God help them all. But Simon and Margo hadn’t planned on having kids until their oops baby had come along. This would be their one and only. Unless the fertile Myrtles had more oops, which Nick wouldn’t put past them.
For now, there was just the one Kagan kid on the way.
Like…really fucking soon.
Ian, however, was a different story. He was the black sheep secret brother—The Days of The Restless much—who’d shown up and caused general mayhem along with being indirectly involved in some fucking scary shit that had included Margo’s kidnapping.
You’d think that would blacklist you, but nope. In no time after that, he’d been accepted into the warm bosom of his family.
Well, Margo’s warm bosom anyway. Simon was a bit more discerning. But not by much.
“I’m pretty sure I was nice to Ian. I invited him and Zoe in, showed them around, gave them the lay of the land while Simon and Margo were out cavorting in the surf. I even offered them a cheese plate, for God’s sake.”
Which Ian had refused, claiming dairy didn’t sit well with him. Nick suspected he feared possible poisoning.
He should know better. Nick would never want to do the jail time.
“Well, then, how dare I say a thing? If there’s cheese involved, clearly you were a saint.”
Nick ignored his wife’s smirk. “I’m just saying, I was more than cordial. I’d almost say I was pleasant.”
“And the heavens rejoiced. Though, um, I think Margo is a bit too pregnant to be ‘cavorting’, whether it’s in the surf or otherwise.”
“I can’t believe she’s still ambulatory. She’s literally the size of this building.”
