Page 35 of Almost Christmas in Paradise

“Nothing would have kept me away if I had known.” The words pain me to say, but the fault lies with me. I should have sought her out and confronted her about those text messages. Mr. Nash puts a hand on my shoulder.

“Listen, I’ll never be on board with what you did, but I’m not going to dwell on it. If Nia can forgive you, I can too.”

I exhale in relief. I’ll take it. “Thank you.”

“And why the hell did you guys keep quiet about your relationship? The ironic thing is, I would have liked you if shehad brought you home. Once I got over my shock about you being the Paradise behind Paradise Construction.”

“Really?” I ask, shocked by his admission. He tolerates me now, but I never imagined a scenario where we would have started off on a positive note.

“Yes, because I would have been able to tell that you cared about her. And if I had met you, that shit your father pulled wouldn’t have worked. I would have found you, and we would have fixed this. What I’m trying to say is, if you ever need anything, I’m here.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Then I smile for the first time since I got here and say, “Do you think you can like me now?”

“I’m working on it. If there’s one thing I can’t stand in this world, it’s an idiot. As far as I can see you’re not one,” he says.

“Thanks.” I stand a little straighter at the backhanded compliment.

“Sometimes you show a flash of personality, and you love my daughter and grandkids. I appreciate that about you. And you have balls, I’ll give you that much.” He chuckles when he says it. “Because only someone with balls of steel would do what you did and then show up the next day so you can take her and Carter home.”

“At that point, I had nowhere to go but up.” Nia hated me. Her entire family was against me. I couldn’t sink any lower. “Loving my wife and kids is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. They’re my everything.”

“I know they are.”

“Do you think you can stop inviting that clown to every holiday?” I ask. That’s bothered me for a long time, but I’ve never said anything. I never even brought it up to Nia because when it comes to talking about exes, she will win every single argument.

“What? I don’t invite him,” he says, waving me off.

“You do,” I push back.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You just asked him if he was joining us. You also invited him to stay last month for Thanksgiving, and you did the same thing last year. You invited him last Memorial and Labor Day.” He accepted the Labor Day invitation, and I remember wishing he’d choke on a hotdog.

“You’re crazy. I don’t—” He stops talking, and I bet he’s thinking back to every holiday that we celebrate here. Jelani is always around, even though he didn’t live next door at the time. “Oh,” he says. “I see what you mean.” He grimaces. “It’s just that I’ve known him since he was a kid, and he’s always been a staple here. He used to follow Ray around and challenge him to basketball games even though he was a little runt at the time.” He even laughs at the memory, but I don’t. I remain stoic. “Okay.” He raises both hands. “I get it. I won’t do it again.”

“Thank you.”

“And to answer your other question. If there was ever any other man who was primed and ready to take my place in this family, they would never find his body.”

Chapter 29

Nia

“Have you seen Drake and Dad,” I ask Ray. He points to the sliding glass door, and I see them standing outside. Alarm bells go off immediately. Yes, Dad has been civil to Drake, but they’re not exactly close. I know he’s only let go of his anger toward my husband for my sake and the sake of my children. “What the hell?” I ask my brother.

He shrugs. “They’re just talking. Relax.”

“Oh, really? Relax. Dad’s not exactly his biggest fan.” I know my dad wouldn’t do anything to ruin Christmas or upset the kids. Mom would kill him. Besides, he’s coming with us to the Bahamas tomorrow, but he’s never made it a point to talk to Drake alone until recently.

I leave Ray in the kitchen and go outside. “Drake? Are you okay? Dad, what are you doing to him?” I walk up to my husband and look into his eyes.

He smiles down at me and quickly takes off his coat to drape it over me.

“We’re doing this thing called talking,” my dad says. “And I want to say something to you, Nia.” Dad sounds curt, which is not a tone he ever uses with me. “This is the same thing I just told your husband. If you had bothered to bring him home instead of sneaking around, we could have avoided this whole breakup. I wouldn’t have believed it, and I would have found him. Stop being so sneaky.”

I look away from my husband and stare at my dad, who is frowning at me. “Me? You’re mad at me?” I ask, unsure of how to handle that. Dad never gets mad at me. Even when I announced I was pregnant, he didn’t get mad. He opened his arms and told me he would support me in whatever I wanted to do.

“Not mad. I just want you two to know that I’m here for you. Both of you.”

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