Page 67 of Nora
It wasn’t, which was also one of the reasons Nora was worried about Six’s reaction to her and Lucian. Not that Six would take a boat hook to them, but she was, well, impetuous. And a bit mercurial.
“So now we give each other small things. Our families always send gifts, too, so it’s almost like Christmas. At least for the four of us. You, Joe, Gavin, and Darius will likely be walking away empty-handed.”
Lucian shrugged. “I’ve already received more than I could have imagined,” he said.
She considered asking him about that statement but decided to let it be. Sometimes wonder was better than knowledge. Besides, she was less than a minute from turning into her drive, and he said, “Tell me about your house.”
Shelovedher home. The house, the barn, the land, everything. It was an easy thing to talk about and as she turned onto the drive, she answered. “I have a little over a hundred and eighty acres. The original house was built in the late 1700s. It’s been added on to and updated over the years, and I did the last major renovation. Mostly to shore up the foundation, modernize the internal systems, and create some usable space in the walk-out basement. Although calling it a basement isn’t really accurate, it’s more like the lower level of the house. It’s big for just me, but…” She paused, hesitant to say what she’d been about to say now that she and Lucian were sharing a bed. Then she reminded herself that she shouldn’t hide or change who she was and what she wanted from life. She didn’t want to, nor would Lucian appreciate it.
“You know I want a family. I hope I will get to raise one here someday,” she said as they pulled up the drive and her home came into view. The barn was to their left, and a hill sloped away to a large pond. When the property had been a working farm, the cows had used the pond as a source of water. Now, though, she and her friends swam in it during the summer. During the winter, she let several of the local kids play ice hockey on it. It wasn’t quite ready to take the weight of kids and skates yet, but come January, she’d see a few out there almost every day.
“It’s beautiful,” Lucian said, leaning forward to peer out the windshield. “What do you use the barn for?”
“Right now, nothing,” she answered, pulling to a stop in front of her garage. They were just going to run in; there was no point in parking inside. “I take in a lot of strays, so it’s not uncommon to find horses or donkeys or even llamas and chickens in there. But it’s been a remarkably quiet winter, and the only strays I have right now are a feral cat and her litter of kittens. We should visit them before we head over to Cyn’s.”
He nodded in agreement, and they both exited the car. A couple of inches of snow covered the ground, but it wasn’t hard to navigate their way to the front door. It was odd opening it to the sounds of silence. Usually, her dogs would be running to greet her.
As if reading her mind, he asked, “You must have dogs.”
She smiled and held the door for him as he entered. “I do. Four of them. I have a woman who takes them when I’m traveling, though.”
As she spoke, she walked into her room, where she’d left the gifts. Lucian followed then hovered at the door. It was kind of sweet that he wasn’t assuming he was invited into her inner sanctum. She let him continue to hover as she gathered the three gift bags.
“What’s the layout?” Lucian asked.
“Three bedrooms, two baths upstairs. Along with the family room, kitchen, dining room, office, sunroom, and screen porch. Downstairs are two more en suite bedrooms, a media room, and my gym. Like I said, definitely bigger than one person needs, but I still love it.”
She passed by him on her way out of her room, and he reached down and took the bags from her. “It’s big, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming,” he said. “It’s cozy. Welcoming,” he added.
She smiled. “I hope so. It’s home. It’s me. I like to think it reflects what I really care about—communal spaces, a large kitchen, and, for the winter, a big fireplace. I’ll decorate it for Christmas when I’m back home. Christmas isn’t really my holiday, but I love the decorations, the lights, and the smell of the tree.”
He offered her a hint of a smile. She hadn’t a clue what he was thinking, and she wasn’t going to try to dissect it. Maybe he hated it, maybe he loved it. Either way, it didn’t matter. He was headed back to Italy in a week’s time.
Forgoing a visit to the kittens, they hustled back out to her car, which had grown icy in just the few minutes they’d been inside. Jumping in, she cranked the heat up. Less than a minute later, her defrosters had her windows clear of snow, and they started off to Cyn’s.
What was normally a ten-minute drive took twenty with the snow coming down in earnest. Nora glanced at the clock and knew they’d be the last to arrive, but there was nothing to be done about it. Sure enough, as she and Lucian walked into Cyn’s foyer twenty-three minutes later, Devil, Darius, Cyn, Joe, Gavin, and Six walked out of the living room to greet them.
“Happy birthday!!” Cyn exclaimed, coming forward for a hug and cheek kiss. Confronted with all her friends at once, she hesitated. Lucian put a hand on her lower back. A move that took Six approximately half a second to notice. Nora was barely mid-hug with Cyn when Six gasped.
Nora pulled back and cast Lucian a look. The one he leveled back told her he’d take care of it. “She’s my cousin,” he said quietly. “Her issue is with me, not you.”
Nora wasn’t so sure about that, but she respected Lucian’s wish to handle the situation, and so she remained silent. Six, however, did not. Heedless of the fact that everyone except Joe would understand her every word, she launched into a tirade in Italian.
“I told you to leave her alone!” Six said, stalking toward her cousin.
“You did no such thing,” he countered. “You told me not to be an asshole, and I’m not being an asshole,” he countered. Nora slid him a look that let him know he wasn’t helping the situation. He winked at her, and she realized he was enjoying the confrontation. Why he was enjoying it, she hadn’t a clue. She hated confrontation. She wouldn’t shy away from it if needed, but she’d never engage in it forfun.
Six’s head just about exploded with his response, and her lecture took on a whole new level. And speed. Even Gavin raised his eyebrows a time or two. Nora glanced at Devil, who was watching her. The expression on Devil’s face let Nora know there was no judgment, only that Devil wanted to make sure she was okay. Nora gave a small nod and Devil relaxed, leaning into Darius, who stood behind her.
As Six and Lucian continued to spar, Nora’s gaze drifted to Cyn. She was frowning. But not at her or Lucian, at Six. Turning her attention back to the ongoing diatribe, she heard Six accuse Lucian of taking advantage of Nora. Lucian very calmly replied that he would never. His quiet confidence settled something inside Nora, but even so, she didn’t like to see her friend so upset. Nor did she like how brutally Six was judging Lucian.
“Stop!” Nora said. She didn’t quite yell, but she did need to raise her voice to get the attention of the cousins. Cyn’s eyebrows went up and Devil’s dropped. She almost never raised her voice. It wasn’t a surprise that it surprised them.
Lucian turned toward her, and his eyes searched hers. Then, with a deep breath, he reached for her hand. She gave it to him without hesitation, and he pulled her to his side.
“Enough, Violetta,” he said to his cousin. “You are making Nora uncomfortable. If you continue, I’m more than happy to take her back to her place for a quiet night.”
Six opened her mouth to say something, but Gavin stepped up and set his hand on her lower back. A silent communication passed between the two, and Six’s expression shifted to one of concern.
