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“That’s right. We’ll run the place together. She’s talking about dividing it into two sections – one section with all the TVs, and the other a quieter space for those who aren’t interested in the games to be able to talk.”
Damon punched Nate’s arm, and Xander was glad that it wasn’t him. Damon seemed like a great guy, but he was huge – like maybe six four, and all muscle.
“Come on, you can talk while we work,” he told Nate.
Nate rubbed his arm and gave Xander a rueful smile. “Tell me more? Keep my mind off the torture he’s about to put me through – please?”
~ ~ ~
Tori looked at her mom when they heard a car door slam outside.
“That must be Xander. I thought he’d take longer than this.”
Her mom smiled. “He’s probably in a hurry to go car shopping.” She chuckled. “And to make sure that you’re okay.”
Tori tilted her head to the side. “That I’m okay? What do you mean?”
“You know, sweetheart. He left you here all alone with Alexandria the Dragon.”
Tori got up from the chair where she’d been sitting and went and plunked herself down on her mom’s lap. She wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“It’s not like that, Mom!”
Her mom just smiled.
“It’s not!” She met her mom’s gaze and held it. “At least, not anymore.” Her heart sank. “Does it still seem that way to you?”
Her mom wrapped her arms around her waist and held her tight. “No, darling, it doesn’t. I’d understand if it did to you, though.”
“It really doesn’t. If I’m honest, I’m surprised at how quickly things have changed for us – I’m surprised, but I couldn’t be happier about it.”
“Nor could I.” Her mom’s eyes shone with tears as she asked, “And you’re sure about this? You truly feel comfortable enough to stay?” She dropped her gaze. “To live here – to live where I do?”
“I’m absolutely sure. I love it.” She grinned. “In fact, I already said to Xander that I love the idea of me being the one who’s closest to you – because I live here.”
Her mom nodded. “That was the only downside to moving here for me – leaving Napa meant leaving Bentley and Willow. I never dreamed…” She met Tori’s gaze and smiled. “It turned out that what I thought was a downside was just one more benefit of moving here. And see, we have more in common than you thought – we both fell in love with the same place.”
Tori nodded happily. “I totally get why you love it here so much. Hopefully, you’ll love it even more when you have a new place to go out.”
Her mom chuckled. “I can assure you that I’ll be doing my best to drum up business for you. But you have to know, darling, that the reason that I love Summer Lake even more now is because you’re here.”
They both turned again when the front door opened, and Russ came in, followed by Xander.
Both men smiled when they saw Tori sitting on her mom’s lap.
“I take it that you’re happy with our news?” Xander asked her mom.
“I’m thrilled. I’m happy for myself that the two of you will be living here, and I have to say that I’m happy for both of you.” She met Xander’s gaze. “I know that Napa didn’t feel like home to you any more than it did to Tori. I hope that we’ll all be able to create a sense of home and family here.”
Tori got up and went to Xander, slipping her arm around his waist. She was worried – his family could never be what she wished it were. He curled his arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“I know that we will,” he told her mom.
Half an hour later, they were on their way out Route 20 toward the dealerships. Xander reached across and took her hand.
“I hope Mom didn’t upset you,” Tori said.
“Not a bit, sprite. You don’t ever need to worry about that. I know that you feel for me about… about my parents’ whole deal, but you don’t need to worry. I’m not going to say that I’m fine because I’m not. It still hurts. Sometimes, I do feel a little envious.” He squeezed her hand. “But I’m a realist. I know I can’t have what I really want – I can’t have them back – and I’m grateful for what I do have. You can’t feel bad for me that your mom wants to create a sense of family and include me in it – it’d be way worse if she didn’t want to include me, look at it that way.”
