You want me to do what?" Zack asked, staring down at Kaity's bright smile. It was early. Too early. Especially after a sleepless night spent tossing and turning and thinking about a particular woman.
"Come with us to Nashville. It will be fun! We're combining the bachelorette and bachelor parties and taking a road trip to Nashville. Everyone's going so you have to go, too."
He wiped a hand over his face and turned, leaving the door open for Kaity to come in or stay as she chose to do. "I need coffee."
Not surprisingly, Kaity entered his apartment full of pep and cheery smiles. "Didn't you work last night?"
"Yes," she said, grinning, "but I'm too excited to be tired. Come on, don't be a grump. It's Nashville. And it's Christmas. Do you have any idea of how beautiful it will be?"
"How did you get reservations for so many people at the last minute?"
"We booked the last few available rooms. The girls are all staying in a suite together and so are the guys. But you get a regular room, Daddy's treat."
I'll bet ol' George loved that. Zack shook his head an yet another attempt to clear the cobwebs from his brain and removed the old-fashioned coffee pot from its resting place, grateful to whomever had invented the timing mechanism. "Does your father know he's paying for this?"
Katy grinned and shrugged.
"I guess that's part of the package when he insisted Mama get her way and they host a wedding. The bride's gotta be happy, right?"
Zack sipped the steaming brew, mentally shaking his head at Kaity's antics.
"So will you?"
"Turn down a free trip to Nashville? No."
"Awesome!" Kaity clapped her hands together and beamed like the happy bride she was. "You won't regret it. The hotel is so beautiful! I can't wait to see the pictures you take inside the atriums."
"Thanks for inviting me to tag along," he said, offering a cup of coffee she quickly declined with a shake of her head. "I'd better get back to my place. I guess Bex had a rough night with Eli."
The comment woke him up faster than the coffee. "What happened?"
"Apparently Eli napped yesterday because he was so worn out and then couldn't sleep last night. He woke up in the dark and had a meltdown because Bex was so tired she'd forgotten to leave a nightlight on for him."
"I see."
"So... I heard he napped over here," Kaity murmured, leaning against the door frame, her sudden hurry to get back to her apartment put on hold. "And you fixed dinner?"
"Don't get excited. Nothing happened."
"Nothing?"
"We talked. Ate. That's about it."
Katie's gaze narrowed on his and she searched his face for a long moment.
"Uh uh. I don't buy it. You talked, yeah, but something else happened, didn't it? Tell me!"
He took another long draw on the coffee and smiled at her impatience. "Physically, no, nothing happened. But I think it was a good evening. We shared a meal, good conversation, played with Eli. Nothing too heavy or emotional."
"You sly dog."
He drew back, confused. "What?"
"You're sweet talking her."
He grinned and lifted his cup in a salute. "Honey, not vinegar."
Katy laughed and glanced over her shoulder towards her open apartment door.
"Okay, so now you can sweet talk her amongst the Christmas lights and decorations and beauty of Nashville. Bring your A-game and romance her."
It took him a couple of hours to pack a bag, gather his equipment, and to drive Moses up the mountain to Emma and her husband, Ian's, house to stay while he was gone. Thankfully Emma had plenty of room in the barn-turned-kennel, and Emma was all too eager to help out.
Kaity had messaged him and asked him to ride with her fiancé and Becca, but he didn't like the feeling of not having a vehicle available. He did join the caravan for the drive to Nashville, and more than a few times caught Becca looking back from the backseat of David's car.
The drive went quickly and in a matter of hours they were rolling onto the hotel’s massive parking lot.
Zack self-parked and shouldered his camera bags, overprotective of the valuable equipment it had taken him so long to acquire.
The group had checked in and their bags were being loaded onto a bell cart when George and Wynona spotted him entering the lobby. They weren't the only ones to see him. Eli saw Zack as well and the little boy left his mama's side and ran over to Zack, grinning from ear to ear as he shyly held up what looked to be an old camera bag.
Zack knelt down and waited patiently for the boy to unzip and open the top, and inside was the digital camera Zack had given the child. "What is this? Ah, buddy, that's just great. You're a professional now. Are you going to take pictures of your Aunt Kaity, too?"
Eli nodded, that little-boy grin tugging at Zack's heartstrings.
"He insisted on having a bag for his camera," Becca said, joining them. "So Kaity let him have an old one of hers."
"It's perfect," Zack said, sharing a smile with Becca because he knew what it meant to her to have Eli expressing his joy over something. "I'll show him some tricks to take pictures while we're here. You can be my assistant if you want to."
Eli quickly looked at his mom for approval.
"So long as you behave for Zack, that's fine. You just can't get in his way, okay? He has to take a lot of important pictures that's going to go into a book about Aunt Kaity's wedding, so you have to be a very good boy."
Eli nodded, his expression even more serious than the norm.
"I'm sure he'll be good. Right, kiddo?" Zack winked at Eli and the kid grinned, the first big smile Zack had ever seen from the boy.
"Well, we had better go get settled," Becca said, lowering her hand to Eli's shoulder. "Ready?"
"Zack," Kaity said, David at her side. "Here's your room key. Everything's taken care of. You're on the fifth floor."
Zack accepted the key and the folded paper map of the hotel's layout. He'd looked online to get a general idea of the scope but until he explored, the map would come in handy. "Thanks."
"No problem. See you later at the restaurant, right?"
"I'll be there," he said. Becca turned away and followed the soon-to-be bride. He watched them go, his gaze lingering on the sweetness of Becca holding Eli's hand as they walked through the crowd of people in the lobby.
When they were no longer in view, Zack glanced around, locking gazes with Becca's father.
Zack lifted his chin in a nod and readjusted the heavy backpacks he carried, deciding now would be a good time to make his escape before he found himself cornered by the father of the bride and Maid of Honor.
It didn't take long for him to unpack and settle in. His room was nicely furnished and decorated and after a shower and change of clothes, he grabbed his gear and headed back downstairs.
He explored one of the atriums within the hotel before searching the map for his destination. Dinner would be interesting since he would be sharing a table with a man who'd sworn revenge if Zack didn't stay away from his family.
Zack found the restaurant easily enough and paused a moment to don the suit jacket he carried with him. He'd guess the upscale restaurant's clientele were more comfortable in boardrooms and charity balls, and even with the jacket on, Zack knew he stood out as the hired help thanks to the camera bags.
"Zack," Kaity said, her smile as warm and welcoming as her tone of voice. "You found it."
Kaity never judged. It was one of the things he loved most about her. "Hey. I thought I would beat everyone. Sorry if I'm late."
"No, no. You're right on time. Everyone is just arriving. But I should warn you..."
"Warn me about what?"
Kaity made a face and tilted her head to the left. Zack looked over her shoulder and saw Wynonna rushing toward a handsome, thirty-something man, a smile on her face.
"Elliot! I'm so glad you decided to join us." Wynonna made a show of hugging her now ex son-in-law. "Christmases are meant for families, and ours should be together."
"I feel the same way. I wouldn't miss it," Becca's ex-husband said.
Silence descended amongst the group as Becca and Eli's presence became known. Zack noted the shock on her face and realized she had no idea that her ex would be in attendance. A small part of him relaxed at the sight, but just as quickly he reminded himself that he was the outsider in this scenario, not the ex-husband who spotted Becca and his son and crossed the room in hurried strides, lowering his head to kiss Becca's cheek.
"Elliot, what are you doing here?" Becca said.
The words were low, hoarsely spoken but Zack heard them and waited for the man's response.
"I'm here because I love you. I've finally come to my senses, Becca. I want you back. I want my family to be whole again." He turned and indicated the people and festively decorated restaurant around them. "What better time than Christmas to work this whole mess out and start over again?"