Page 22 of When You're Home for the Holidays
“Alright, I think that’s enough,” Rhett declared, pushing back from the table and rising to his feet. “If you’ve all had your fill…”
“We know Tori got her fill,” Maddie interjected. Jake hooted and smacked the table.
“Madison.” Rhett shot her a seething glare that made her squirm in her seat.
“Like I was saying… If you’ve all had your fill,” he paused, challenging anyone to try and mock him again. When they all stayed silent, he continued, “I think I saw some presents under the tree.”
Jake squinted and gave him a questioning look. “I thought we agreed no gifts?”
“We did,” Tori confirmed, standing up and taking Rhett’s hand to lead everyone into the living room. “But that doesn’t mean Santa didn’t come last night.”
Jake’s hands shot to his mouth as his eyes bugged out. He whipped his head from her to Rhett to Maddie, then back to her again. “Can’t… resist…” he dramatically gasped. He made a show of trying to keep his own mouth covered before finally exclaiming, “Santa wasn’t the only one who came last night!!”
Rhett was around the table and had him in a headlock three seconds later. Jake didn’t even put up a fight, accepting the punishment he knew he deserved.
“Enough,” Rhett growled before releasing him with a light shove. Jake righted himself and shrugged off the surprise attack.
“Worth it,” he muttered, shooting a wink at Maddie before striding past them into the living room. “Now let’s see about these presents!”
“Oh my gosh, I love it!” Maddie gushed as she held out the canvas. Tori had used a two-step pour process on the piece, layering Maddie’s school colors of navy blue and California gold, then painting the Cal logo on top in a shimmery rose gold metallic. “This is going to look amazing in my dorm room!”
Rhett wrapped his arm around Tori and pulled her into his side, planting a kiss on her temple. “We’ll take it home with us, then I’ll ship it to your dorm next week,” he offered. Tori squeezed his arm once, thrilled that Maddie liked her gift, but also loving the reminder that he’d be heading back to Hampton with her for an extended stay.
“Fielding’s turn,” she announced as she reached behind her and presented him with a large box. She shifted onto her knees to hand him his gift. He accepted it eagerly, settling back cross-legged under the tree where they were all gathered before tearing into the red and green plaid paper.
“No freakin way! From Santa, huh?” he asked with a grin, propping up the box on his lap.
“Yep. Santa.” Tori returned his smile. The gift was for him as much as it was for her. She’d be grateful not to have to drag her mom’s old waffle iron over to the Valet House every other week.
“Wait, I think something’s missing…” He made a show of inspecting the ripped wrapping paper and turning the box over to inspect it. “Where’s the certificate promising you’ll come over and keep this baby in prime condition by making me waffles at least once a week?”
Rhett chortled at the other man’s words, but she knew Fielding was just teasing her.
“I’m prepared to offer you every other week,” she countered.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, Victoria Thompson.”
Rhett sat up a bit straighter next to her on the floor. He hated when Fielding flirted with her outright. But it was Christmas, and they had already physically duked it out once in the last twenty-four hours, so she wasn’t too concerned about things escalating.
“Let’s give Jake his gift,” she suggested. Rhett nodded and rose to his feet, reaching for a red envelope that had been tucked into the tree.
He stayed standing as he turned to address his best friend. “It’s been a hell of a year,” he started, both sincerity and sadness lacing his tone.
Jake scoffed and smiled up at Rhett from his spot on the floor. “It’s been a hell of a fucking year.”
Tori felt a surge of guilt mixed with gratefulness course through her. They had all been through it over the last several months—there had been so much stress, so much back and forth, so much pain—and yet when she thought about the hardest parts of the last year, it was Jake who had been by her side time and time again. Even when Rhett couldn’t be there or when she pushed him away… Jake had been her constant. She didn’t think there was anything they could do or say to express their gratitude for his friendship. But this gift was a good start.
“We love you,” Rhett continued, nodding to Tori before glancing back at his best friend. “We want you to know how much you mean to us and how grateful we are to have you in our lives. Merry Christmas, bro.” He handed over the envelope, then sat down beside Tori and reached for her hand.
Jake looked around their little group, surprised and, for once, a little uncomfortable to have all the attention on him. “Alright,” he huffed out, his words an octave lower than usual. “What am I looking at here?” He squinted at the three pieces of paper in his hands.
“Don’t freak out,” Tori said. She didn’t want him to object to his own gift before they could even explain. “Just know that we’ve already arranged everything with Mike, and Rhett and I have you covered.”
“Those are first class plane tickets for you, Fielding, and Dempsey. You’re going to Vegas,” Rhett announced. “Tomorrow.”
Jake’s head shot up so fast she worried he pulled a muscle. “The fuck?” he questioned, looking from Rhett to her, then eventually to Fielding.
“Vegas, baby!” Fielding shouted, unable to contain his excitement. “Tori and Rhett got you the plane tickets, and the time off. I got us a week in the penthouse suite with all-inclusive room service and bottle service.”
