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From the way her eyes lit up as she smiled and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Ally.” Xander figured that he’d done his part – they didn’t need him for anything more. And since Jade would be otherwise occupied for a while, he should get back behind the bar and help Tori and Damon out.
~ ~ ~
“Can you take a break yet, Sis?” Willow asked. “Everyone’s dying to talk to you.”
Tori looked around; it was much quieter at the bar now. Damon came and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Go on and take Xander with you. I can handle things back here, and if we have another rush, I’ll pry Jade away from that singer guy.”
Tori had to laugh; Jade and Ally had been chatting with Carson and Brock for the last fifteen minutes. She wasn’t mad about it – Jade had worked her ass off for them all week – if she wanted to flirt with Carson, she’d earned it.
“Thanks. We won’t be long.”
“Take your time,” said Damon. “Those guys have come all the way from Napa to be here for you. Hang out with them a while. I’m good, I promise.”
She went to him and rolled up onto her tiptoes, but he still had to bend down a long way so that she could kiss his cheek, he was so tall. “Thank you so much. We wouldn’t have made it through tonight without you.” She chuckled. “And don’t tell Taryn that I said this, but if ever you’re looking for a change…”
He laughed with her. “Yeah, thanks, but let’s keep that one quiet, can we? If ever you need extra help, I’ll do what I can. But I’m happy working for her – even apart from the fact that we know she’d skin us both alive if she knew that we were having this conversation.”
Tori giggled. “You’re right, we should pretend that I never even mentioned it.”
Damon winked and pretended to zip up his lips before moving away down the bar to serve customers.
She went and caught hold of Xander’s hand. “Damon said he can manage things back here while we go and catch up with everyone.”
“Okay, we should probably do that now. I reckon it’s time to get Clay up to sing soon.”
As soon as they came out from behind the bar, Willow took Tori’s other hand and towed her over to where their friends were gathered around a group of high-top tables that they’d pulled together.
When they reached them, Xander slung his arm around her shoulders, and grinned at them all.
“Thanks for coming, everyone.”
Tori nodded. “Yes, it means the world to us.”
Willow grinned at her. “We wouldn’t have missed this for anything. This is awesome, Sis. And I hate to admit it, but it’s way better than some old wine bar.”
Tori had to laugh. “Thanks. I think so.” She sought out Cam and Piper. “And I can’t thank the two of you enough. If you hadn’t offered us your house, none of this would have happened. We probably would have just stayed here for a couple of days to visit with Mom and then we would have moved on.”
Piper grinned at her. “You are so much more than welcome. I love that we were able to be a tiny part of this.”
Chelsea smiled. “I love this for you, Tori. I always hoped that you might come home, but at least this is a damn sight closer than Nashville.”
“It is,” said Tori. “You can come and see us anytime here, can’t you?”
Chelsea laughed. “We can. And I take it that means you don’t plan to visit Napa too often?”
She shook her head, and Xander tightened his arm around her as he said, “You know better than that, Chels. Tori and I were never really Napa people.”
Chelsea made a face at him. “I know, but I was hoping …” Tori wondered what she was about to say when she gave Xander an evil grin. “Since I don’t get my wish for the two of you to move home, tell me that I get my other wish?”
Tori gave Xander a puzzled look when she felt him tense beside her.
Chelsea laughed. “Don’t look at me like that, tough guy! You don’t scare me. And anyway, I might be the only one brave enough to say it, but you know that everyone’s wondering – when are you guys going to get married? Just do me a favor and don’t be in too much of a hurry, okay? You need to wait until after our wedding.”
“Give it a rest, Chelsea, would you?” Smoke scowled at her, but Chelsea just laughed. Although, her laughter faded when she realized that everyone else was giving her disapproving looks, too.
Tori felt bad. Chelsea was just like that; she was always the one to wade in and say what no one else dared to. She might feel bad for her friend, but she didn’t know what she could say to help her out.
