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WHEN MY HAIR AND MAKEUP were done, I finished dressing and then stood back to assess myself in the bathroom mirror. I turned from side to side and looked at the sleeveless ponte gown I was wearing. It actually looked good, if only due to the Spanx, which were pretty much holding me together right now.
The dress had a mock halter neckline, a low-cut back, a rouleau button closure at the neck, a fluid silhouette, and a high slit that exposed a good deal of my left leg. Feeling weirdly confident, I adjusted my hair—which cascaded down my back in the sort of thick waves I knew that my husband loved—and then I gave myself a fresh swipe of lipstick before I joined Alex in the bedroom. When I saw him, he was already in his tux and sitting across the room holding a glass of bourbon.
“Jesus,” he said as he looked at me. “You look seriously hot”
“As if you don’t,” I said as I went toward him. “I’ve been waiting to see you in that tux all day. If we had time, I’d let you take me right here while you were wearing it.”
“About that,” he said as he stood. “While you were getting ready, I spoke to Helga.”
“Did she sing you a Russian lullaby?”
“No, but she did say that she’d stay the night, which means that you’re all mine after everyone is gone.”
He came over to me, and when he did, I felt my pulse begin to race. It wasn’t just because of how good Alex looked—it also was because I knew that he’d be mine tonight.
“I’ll say it again,” he said as he twirled me around once in front of him. “You look beautiful, Jennifer. And that’s one hell of a dress.”
“Blackwell knows her some fashion,” I said. “Because I wouldn’t have chosen this without her help. And as for you, you’re smoldering. But, then again, when don’t you smolder?”
When I said that, he took me in his arms, kissed my neck, and then whispered in my ear, “Why don’t you think about the things that I’m going to do to you tonight...?”
His right hand reached down between by legs, deftly moved beyond the slit in my dress, and then his fingertips pressed against me. Startled, I gasped. When he lightly began to stroke me, I nearly folded from his touch. My breath caught in my throat as I felt a surge of heat rise up deliciously between my legs. It felt so good, I didn’t want it to stop. I heard myself sigh, I felt my legs go weak, and then I realized that if he didn’t stop, he was going to make me come right before our company arrived.
“You need to—”
“What if I don’t want to stop?”
“I can’t come with company so close—”
“Who says that you can’t? And by the way, who’s closer—you or them?”
“Probably me.”
“Then come for me...”
With the help of the Gods, I summoned whatever willpower I had within me, took a step back, and felt his hand fall away.
“You’re bad,” I said as I pointed a finger at him.
“Define bad...”
“You’re bad in a naughty kind of way.”
“And you have an issue with that, Mrs. Wenn?”
“Not really, but I can’t go into our party overheated, can I? So let’s just save this for later, Mr. Wenn—after our guests are gone.” I patted my brow with the back of my hand. “Look at me,” I said. “You made me so hot, I’m sweating. I need to check my makeup.”
“No you don’t. Actually, you look radiant.”
I glanced over at the clock on the bedside table and decided to trust my husband. Maybe my perspiration would give me a dewy glow? “We should go downstairs in case anyone arrives early,” I said. “In fact, I need to go into the kitchen to make sure that everything is perfect before people arrive.”
“Not before I give you this,” Alex said as he stepped away from me and walked over to one of the bureaus. “I gave some thought about what I wanted to give you for Christmas this year, and for me, it all came down to the importance of time. Our time spent together when we first started dating, and then the moment when we got married, and now the lifetime that we’re about to spend with our new son. With that in mind, I thought that you might want to wear something new tonight.”
Transfixed, I watched him remove from the bureau’s top drawer a medium-sized black-velvet box.
“What have you done?” I asked.
He narrowed his eyes at me with a sense of mischief.
“Maybe you should open your present,” he said.
“But this isn’t fair,” I said. “I don’t have a gift for you right now—they’re all under the tree.”
“Then I’ll be happy to open them tomorrow morning. And the good news? After Helga leaves, it will be just you, Aiden, and me opening presents in the morning. What could be better than that?”
“Pretty much nothing,” I said.
He handed me the box, which felt heavy in my hands.
“Open it,” he said.
I looked at him for a long moment before I opened the box—and when I did, I gasped. Inside wasn’t just a watch. It was a diamond-encrusted watch by Chanel. From the band to the face, it was covered in diamonds. Too many diamonds to count. The entire watch appeared to be made of diamonds.
“Alex,” I said as I looked up at him.
“It’s the J12 Flying Tourbillon Watch by Chanel,” he said. “A few weeks ago, I went to Chanel with Blackwell and looked at several watches. But when I saw this, I thought it was so beautiful—and so timeless in so many ways—that I knew that you should have it.”
“It’s literally covered with diamonds...”
“As it should be. Because don’t you see—you’re my diamond, Jennifer.”
Speechless, I just looked at the watch while Alex kissed me.
“Come on,” he said. “Try it on.”
“I can’t,” I said. “My hands are shaking.”
“How about if we take off the watch you’re wearing first, and then I’ll put this one on you?”
In a haze, I did as I was told. And when I did, Alex affixed the watch to my wrist, and then I admired it as he did the same.
“It’s amazing,” I said. “Look at how it sparkles in the light...”
“Do you like it?”
“Are you serious? I love it.”
“And I love you,” he said. “So how about if we go and greet our guests?”
I marveled at the watch. “What guests...?”
“Our guests. You remember, the ones who are coming to the party. I believe that they’re about to arrive. Now come on. Plenty of time to look at the watch later. Let’s go and throw our friends the best Christmas eve party ever.”
* * *
AFTER CHECKING IN WITH the kitchen staff and taking a few moments to talk with the waiters who’d be serving the canapés and cocktails, I heard our private elevator ding and knew that our first guests had arrived.
Let the fun begin, I thought.
And then I heard Daniella’s voice—and thought otherwise.
“I told you, I didn’t want to come,” I heard her say in the distance. “It has nothing to do with Uncle Alex or Jennifer. It’s just me. I’d rather be alone in my own apartment, eating a big bag of Doritos and drinking a bottle of cheap vodka. You know? The rot-gut kind, since apparently I don’t have a soul that it could eat through!”
“Daniella,” I heard Blackwell say. “I heard enough of this on the way over here and especially in the elevator on the way up. You either need to get yourself in line now, girl, or I will send you home. And if I do that and Cutter does decide to show up? Well, I guess you will have blown it again.”
Oh, dear...
“Do you even know whether he’s coming?” Daniella asked.
“How many times do I have to answer that?”
“Not enough for my tastes, because I need to know.”
“You already know that I don’t know. All I know is that he didn’t rule it out. And that’s the truth.”
“I should have just confronted him like Jennifer suggested, but I was too much of a coward. I never found the courage to do so.”
“That’s on you.”
“Hi!” I said as I left the kitchen and joined Alex to greet Daniella, Alexa and Blackwell in the foyer. “We’re so glad you’re here!”
“Look at how well she lies,” Blackwell said.
“I’m not lying,” I said. “We are glad you’re here!”
Alexa shot me a look and then coughed once into her fist. “You might feel otherwise in a few moments, Jennifer,” she said. “Because a whole lot of drama just walked into your house.”
“As if you wouldn’t be upset if you were in my shoes, Alexa,” Daniella said.
“That’s the thing, Daniella—I wouldn’t be in your shoes.”
“Please—as if your enormous feet could even fit into my shoes.”
“Daniella,” Blackwell warned. “Stop it. We’re not doing this again this year. I’m not going to allow you to sabotage yet another party.”
“And neither am I,” Alex said firmly. “Jennifer and I have gone through a lot of trouble to pull off this evening for our family and friends, and as much as I love you, Daniella, I’m not going to let you ruin it.”
“Well, gee, Uncle Alex—tell me how you really feel.”
“I’m just being straight with you,” he said. “All of us are sorry about what happened between you and Cutter, but whatever you two are going through ended the moment you stepped out of that elevator. If you want to go home and sulk, I’ll have a car brought around to take you. If you’d like to stay and enjoy Christmas eve with the rest of us, we’d be happy to have you. At this stage in your life, you are old enough to know that the world doesn’t revolve around you. You also need to know that many of us here are tired of your tantrums. So choose. You can either stay with us and be pleasant company or you can go home and be any angry pill there.”
“I can’t leave,” she said to him. “What if Cutter decides to come?”
“And what if he doesn’t?” Alex said.
“Then I’ll be devastated,” she said as tears filled her eyes.
And when Daniella said that, Alex’s face softened, and he held out his arms to her.
“Come here,” he said.
When she did, she fell into his arms and held tight to him.
“Look at me,” she said. “Five minutes and I’ve already ruined the party...”
“That’s the thing,” Alex said. “No one is here but you and your family. So technically, you haven’t ruined anything yet.”
“She’s already ruined it for me,” Alexa said.
“Alexa,” Blackwell said.
“Right,” she said. “I’ll stay out of this—promise.”
“You’d better.”
“I’ve been going through a lot over the past few weeks,” Daniella said. “I’ve never loved anyone the way I love Cutter. I’m hurting more than I think anyone knows.”
Alex kissed the top of her head.
“Actually, I’m pretty sure that everyone has a good idea of how you’re feeling, but what you need to know is that we’re here to support you—if that’s what you want. So which is better? Staying here with people who love you or going home alone and drinking shit vodka?”
A moment passed before she spoke, but when she did, I saw her shoulders relax a little, I saw her take a deep breath, and then I watched her look up at the man she had long considered her uncle. “What kind of vodka do you have?”
“Your favorite. And if you want something other than Belvedere, the bar is well stocked.”
“Then I’m staying,” she said as she gave him her best effort at a smile.
“And not just because of the booze.”
“I love you,” he said as he gave her another hug. “You’ve never been easy, that’s for sure, but you’ve always been worth the effort.”
“I apologize,” she said. “I’ll get it together—I’m just upset, that’s all. Let’s see what the night brings. Maybe he’ll come. Maybe he won’t. Either way, a drink would help.”
“Then let’s get you one,” I said as I glanced at Blackwell and Alexa, who were looking at Daniella with a mix of irritation and concern. They loved her, but whatever sympathy they had for Daniella was nevertheless wearing thin.
“First let me take your coats,” Alex said.
When he did, I put my arm around Daniella and said, “Regardless of how upset you are, you look lovely tonight.”
She was wearing a black sequined dress that came just to her knees and showed off her trim figure. Her dark hair curled around her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of black Louboutin shoes and a diamond necklace.
“I dressed for him,” she said as we walked into the living room where the tree glimmered and twinkled. “I wanted him to see me looking better than he’s ever seen me—assuming that he even shows up.”
“None of us knows if he will,” I said to her. “But listen to me now, because I really want you to hear this. I’m disappointed that you didn’t confront him as I suggested, but that was your choice—and I respect it. But here’s the thing, Daniella. What you need to understand about yourself is that you are a bright, funny, and lovely young woman. You literally have the world at your fingertips. So let’s say that Cutter doesn’t come tonight. Are you really going to let that destroy you? I think you’re stronger than that. I also think you need to have a good, long look at your own self-worth, because I can tell you this—no man is worth the stress that you’re going through right now. Not even Cutter.”
“He hasn’t returned one call,” she said. “Not one text.”
“Then you need to consider whether you’re willing to put up with that kind of dismissal. This isn’t all on you, you know? Yes, you started it by pushing too hard, but you’ve also apologized many times for it. You need to think about that. You need to think of how rude he’s being to you right now.”
“Actually, I hadn’t thought about it that way...”
“Then maybe you should start thinking about it that way.”
“Jesus,” she said. “I’ve been feeling sorry for myself all this time, when I should have started feeling pissed off.”
“Just don’t start that now,” I said. “I don’t think that Alex will have it.”
“I’m not going to start. In fact, I think you just got through to me. Yes, I love Cutter and I’d like to be with him. But at this point? I’ve apologized to him so many times, I can’t even count. I’m beginning to think that he’s the one who owes me an apology. I mean, Christ, he’s treating me as if I cheated on him or something, when all I did was ask him to move in together. Fine, maybe I pushed too hard. I know how I can be, and I get it, but whatever. I’m done beating myself up over this shit.”
“Good. Now, can I get you a drink? Martini, right? Three olives?”
“Please. And thank you, Jennifer. You mean the world to me.”
“As you do to me.” I gave her a look. “You know, sometimes it just takes another perspective...”
“In fact, now I do know!”
I smiled when she said that, and then I turned to one of the waiters and beckoned her over. “This young lady would like a Belvedere martini, straight up, with three olives. And the same for me, but without the olives and just a twist.”
“Of course, Mrs. Wenn.”
“Would you mind taking everyone’s orders?”
“Not at all,” the young woman said.
When I turned to watch her go, I saw Blackwell—replete in a red Chanel suit —standing alone near one of the sofas. I caught her eye, and knew that she’d been watching me speak with her daughter. I smiled at her then, and with gratitude in her eyes, Blackwell simply gave me a hint of a smile before she raised her hand and blew me a kiss.
