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Lynn stood at Mrs. Whitestone’s door, gripping a gift bag in one hand and Oscar’s damp fist in the other. He’d insisted on walking from the car to the house. Luckily, she’d wrangled him into a snowsuit instead of his adorably tiny wool coat, so when he’d fallen and crawled several feet the suit had protected his clothes.
She had brought a change for him. Maybe two. Along with all the other paraphernalia an evening away from home entailed when you had a toddler, crammed into the large diaper bag that slipped from her shoulder at any move. She bounced to readjust it.
It was possible she’d over-packed. This would be their first evening with Benjamin’s mother and she hadn’t wanted to look unprepared or incapable. Not to the woman who had raised him.
Gift bag dangling from her pinkie, she reached to press the doorbell, hesitated, and dropped her hand. She needed another minute. Oscar was happily occupied, using his free hand to bat evergreen fronds sprouting from a decorative arrangement on the doorstep so she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
The last couple of weeks had swept by with unexpected ease. With the team in town, incorporating Benjamin into her life had been effortless. Their interactions at work, whether days in the office or evenings on game nights, hadn’t changed, as by unspoken agreement neither had shared their new relationship with their colleagues. But he had spent several nights in her bed, and an afternoon with her and Oscar at a local Christmas tree farm, when he’d hauled her choice out of the field and strapped it to the roof of her vehicle, grinning the whole time.
He fit in so easy, in fact, that it occasionally made her uneasy. Tonight might be the night that ended that honeymoon period, however.
Without further useless reflection, she pressed the doorbell, rolled her neck, and pasted a smile on her face. Seconds later, the bright blue panel swung open and a flood of sound and scent greeted her—chatter and music, roast turkey and boiled potatoes. Through an arch directly ahead she caught a glimpse of Benjamin and his mother huddled over the stove and other bodies, both big and small, hustling about. To her left a large artificial Christmas tree blocked most of her view of a living room.
“Hi!” She adjusted her gaze down. The dark-haired girl was maybe ten years old and dressed for the season with a black, red, and white plaid skirt and a white, long-sleeved T-shirt adorned with a sparkling silver snowflake. “Are you Lynn?”
A tall blonde woman appeared from the bustling kitchen. “Don’t be rude, Ella. She’s Ms. Kolmyn to you.”
“It’s okay. You can call me Lynn. Both of you.” She hovered in the open doorway, feeling distinctly overwhelmed. Big family meals hadn’t been a part of her childhood or her life with Lance. Oscar apparently felt the same as he clutched her pant leg and let out a startled squawk.
“I’m Sadie Malhotra and this is my daughter, Ella. Let me take that.” The woman plucked the gift bag from Lynn’s fingers. “Come in. Ella will take your coat. I can’t wait to get some baby cuddles, but we’ll let him settle in first.”
Sadie’s cheerful acceptance of their presence eased her anxiety. As Ella disappeared down the hall, Lynn tucked the diaper bag behind a chair in the living room, hefted a clingy Oscar to her hip and followed Sadie into the kitchen. Kelly was setting the table with the help of a boy and girl that shared the same dark hair as Ella and the air was so thick with delicious scents she could taste them.
Benjamin looked up, a smile lighting his face. With a quiet click, her remaining nervous tension vanished. She grinned at the frilly bib apron he wore to protect his clothes from whatever he was stirring at the stove. Before either of them could speak, Thea Whitestone approached. “Lynn. I’m so pleased you could make it. And Oscar, of course.”
“Thanks for having us.” They hadn’t met since that awkward evening at the restaurant, and Lynn had rather expected her to be cold and formal. Instead, her eyes gleamed with wistful acquisitiveness as she stared at the baby. Her unabashed granny lust worried Lynn. When things ended between her and Benjamin, she didn’t want to be responsible for breaking more hearts than her own.
She gestured hurriedly at the bag Sadie still carried. “I brought you a little gift. I hope you like it.”
Sadie handed the bag to Thea. She dragged her gaze reluctantly from Oscar and opened it, removing a scented candle and a silver holder in the shape of a snowman. “Thank you. It’s lovely. I know the perfect place for it.” She vanished into the living room.
Lynn breathed a sigh of relief. One hurdle down. Fourteen hundred and fifty-two potential pitfalls left to go.
“Hey, there.”
She latched onto Benjamin’s familiar voice like a woman drowning at sea. Sadie left to mediate a dispute between her two youngest children and Lynn went to him, wishing she could lean into his strength and comfort, just for a moment.
“Sorry I didn’t meet you at the door. Mom’s got me working.” He continued stirring the brown liquid bubbling in the roaster she assumed had held the turkey.
“Homemade gravy?” She leaned sideways, keeping Oscar far from the stove, and inhaled, closing her eyes in ecstasy. “You’re forgiven. This is much more important than greeting me.” She opened her eyes to find him only inches away. The heat that had yet to fade between them flared up and her gaze dropped to his lips.
“Don’t I get a hello kiss?” His voice was husky.
She darted a glance at the chaos surrounding them. No one was paying them the least attention so she gave him a chaste peck.
Amusement creased his cheeks. “I guess that will do for now.” He looked past her. “Jujhar. Come meet Lynn.”
She turned to see a tall man with coal-black hair and a generous beard approaching from the archway. He held a bottle of beer in one hand and a can of cola in the other. His dark eyes regarded her curiously.
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” He placed the drinks on the counter and unerringly opened a drawer to extract a bottle opener.
“You, too.” Benjamin had shared some of his history with Jujhar with Lynn. Enough that she knew meeting Jujhar and his family was an even bigger test than officially meeting Thea.
“I’m glad he got the guts to invite you. He’s kept you pretty close to his chest.” He popped the top off the beer and handed it to Benjamin.
“Ever think I was protecting her from you?” He took the bottle without losing the rhythm of his stirring and shot his friend a narrowed glare. “If you wanted to know more you could have asked.”
“Uh-huh.” Jujhar’s grunt was disbelieving.
Maybe she should have been insulted Benjamin hadn’t told his best friend much about her. Instead, she was relieved. Sure, she’d introduced him to the Silverberry Book Club, but no one other than Stephanie knew how much time they’d been spending together. Or that some of that time had been sleepovers—minus the sleep.
The fewer people who knew the depth of their relationship, the easier it would be when it ended.
Jujhar picked up the can of cola, pulled back the tab, and settled against the counter as if prepared for a long discussion. Oscar made a sudden motion toward his beard and he smoothed it out of the baby’s reach in an automatic gesture. “That’s not for you, buddy.”
“Sorry.” Lynn stepped back, removing Oscar from temptation.
“No biggie. He wouldn’t be the first to get a good tug in.” He sipped his cola. “So, you work at the arena, too?”
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BENJAMIN KEPT A CLOSE ear on the conversation between Jujhar and Lynn, ready to step in if things turned awkward. This was the first time he’d introduced a woman to his family—and Jujhar and Sadie were his family in every sense of the word—and would do anything necessary to ensure it went smoothly.
He also kept a wary eye on his mother. When he’d asked if it was okay to invite Lynn and Oscar to Christmas dinner—being held on December twenty-third as Jujhar, Sadie, and the kids were heading to Jujhar’s parents in Surrey for the last week of the school break—he’d been pleased by his mother’s quick agreement. His parents had effortlessly gathered people into their circle and holidays had always been filled with those who had nowhere else to go. He’d thought it would be perfect camouflage.
Since then, his spidey-senses had been sending warning signals. A few things she’d said and done made him worry she thought wedding bells and an instant grandson might be in her near future.
A thought that made him alternately queasy and giddy.
When Thea announced all was ready for the feast, Jujhar led Lynn toward the highchair set out for Oscar, one that his mother still had on hand because of the Malhotra children. She cast Benjamin a wide-eyed look and he nodded encouragingly as he poured the gravy into a boat.
Everyone pitched in bringing dishes to the table, even four-year-old Elaine. Oscar watched open-mouthed, fascinated by the parade of people and food. It struck Benjamin that this might be the biggest gathering the toddler had ever seen. Lynn had no family in town, and while she was close with the Silverberry Book Club, he doubted they spent many noisy meals together.
He took a seat on the opposite side of Oscar from Lynn. She’d pulled a silicon bib and plate out of the enormous diaper bag she’d brought and placed a little of almost everything in front of him. He wielded his spoon with rather reckless abandon and Benjamin laughed.
“Sorry. You’re sitting in the splash zone.” Lynn’s grin was wry and apologetic.
“Not a problem.” And it wasn’t. Having Lynn and Oscar with him tonight made him feel truly home for the first time.
Which was a thought to examine at a quieter time.
He stole a glance at Kelly, seated beside his mother. While he could never take the place of his father, the man made her laugh. It had been a long time since he’d seen her look so happy. Maybe that was on him, for not spending as much time with her as he should, but he decided that didn’t matter. With her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, she looked ten years younger. He welcomed the man that made her that way.
Into one of those pauses that occur no matter what the size of a group, a phone trilled. Lynn cocked her head. “Sorry, that’s mine. I left it in the diaper bag. I should have put it on silent.” She pushed back her chair and passed behind Oscar and Benjamin to the living room. He twisted round in his seat, watching her just for the joy of it, as she dug out the phone and frowned at the screen. Swinging her hair out of the way in a gesture that made his stomach flutter with desire, she lifted it to her ear.
“Rupert? Is everything okay?”
Benjamin recognized Lynn’s father’s name from the online searches he’d done after learning her parents were musicians.
“What do you mean you’re here?” Her tone rang with denial and disbelief. “No, of course I’m happy. It’s just, I’m at a friend’s for dinner. You caught me by surprise.” Another pause. Her expression melted from shock to frustrated acceptance. “If I’d known you were coming I would have arranged things differently. You’ll have to give me some time. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She swiped to disconnect and stared blindly at the Christmas tree’s blinking lights.
Benjamin made sure Oscar was safely occupied with his meal and rose. Conscious of his mother and Jujhar’s interested gazes, he drew Lynn out of the archway and deeper into the living room. “What’s going on? Where do you need to be?”
She shook her head as if trying to realign her world. “My parents decided to surprise me by coming for Christmas. They’re waiting at the airport to be picked up.”