Page 46 of A Family Affair: The Vow
“Of course. Everything smells delicious.”
“I hope you brought your appetite because we’ve got a lot of food, more than usual.” Before he could inquire as to the reason for the extra food, she volunteered. “Rae made a cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce. And for dessert, she brought pumpkin roll.” Her eyes sparkled, her laugh filled with joy. “I had a tiny sliver and I must admit, it’s as good if not better than mine and Ramona’s.”
Ramona as in Ramona Casherdon Benito, Cash’s aunt. Tough woman, no-nonsense, strong, but with a soft spot for her nephew. The woman hadn’t always been a fan of Tess but she’d become her champion when she realized how much Cash and Tess belonged together and were almost driven apart. Vic hadn’t had more than a conversation or two with the woman and now she traveled between California and Magdalena with her new husband, Pop’s son, Anthony. But anybody who raised her wayward nephew as her own and never gave up on him had to be a decent person. “Are you and Ramona baking at Harry’s this year?”
The eye roll and the tiny huff hinted that while Mrs. D and Ramona had finally become “friends,” there were still moments when pure aggravation entered that relationship. “She hasn’t given me a final response, but knowing Ramona, she’ll make me wonder until I think she’s not coming, andthenshe’ll just appear. She did this last year, too. I think it’s her way of telling me I need her, but what she doesn’t realize is she needs me too if we’re going to carry on the legacy of our Christmas baking. That legacy requires both of us to be present so we can invite other bakers and share our recipes and knowledge with them.” Another sigh, another huff, another eye roll. “I’ll let her go for a while and then I’ll reach out and tell her the deadline is approaching. How much do you want to bet she’ll tell me sheforgotand then she’ll tell me, of course she’ll be there?”
Nate handed Vic a beer, added his thoughts. “I’ll bet one phone call from Harry will guarantee her trip.”
“Or Cash,” Miriam said. “You know she can never say no to him.”
“Did someone mention Cash?” Lily asked. “He is so handsome. Don’t you think so, Rae?”
Vic listened for her answer, anticipated the hesitation and no doubt the blush that followed. “Umm… Yes, he’s very nice-looking.”
“There are a lot of great-looking guys in Magdalena.” Lily began listing them in a singsong voice. “Of course, there’s Nate, and then Cash, Ben, Nick, Law, Beck, Adam, Roman... Who else?” A giggle, followed by “And Vic. Vic’s really handsome, don’t you think so, Rae? Isn’t he just so handsome?”
Vic cleared his throat and turned to Lily, saving Rae from an answer. “Lily, you’re not supposed to ask that kind of question when the other person is in the room. It kind of puts them on the spot, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t already know the answer. If I thought the answer could be no, I wouldn’t want to hurt that person’s feelings.” Her brows pinched together and she rubbed her jaw. “But it is so obvious, and it’s also so obvious that Rae thinks so by the way she watches you. You know, like she’s studying the gold highlights in your hair and the muscles in your arms and how tall you are and your smile with the dimples and—”
“Lily.” This from Miriam, who raised a brow and gave her daughter a no-nonsense look. “Why don’t we talk about the pressed-flower collection you’re working on? Didn’t you say you gathered the flowers from Gina’s garden? Zinnias?”
Leave it to Mrs. D to steer Lily away from one subject and onto another, especially if the new subject were one she was passionate about, like her pressed flowers. “Right. Oh, they are going to be so beautiful and Gina is going to help me. Rae, you know Gina, right? She’s a physical therapist and she’s married to Ben Reed; you met her at my party.”
“Yes, I remember Gina.”
“Gina knows a lot about flowers and she’s teaching me their names.” Lily chatted on about flowers and Christmas and how she couldn’t wait for a ton of snow so she and Uncle Harry could make snow angels.
If a person listened to her long enough, they might start out in a bad mood, but they’d end up almost believing in joy and hope and the possibility of happiness. But it was hard to think about anything but the woman who’d crushed his heart and now stood a few feet away, no doubt pretending he weren’t there. He’d like to do the same.
“Hey, Vic,” Nate’s deep voice filled the room. “Can you help me with something?”
Vic jumped on the question. “Sure.” And with that, he exited the kitchen, breathed in air that held no hints of Rachel Darlington. He didn’t like to think about why or how he’d noticed her citrus scent in the kitchen when there were so many different scents, all of them tantalizing, but none quite like that damn citrus fragrance.
Vic followed Nate to the garage, waited as the other man removed a bottle of top-shelf bourbon from a cabinet, poured two glasses, and handed him one. “I figured you could use this.” He clinked his glass to Vic’s, took a drink.
“I could use half the bottle.” Vic sipped his bourbon, enjoyed the burn. A few more of these and he’d be ready to head back inside.
“I hear you, but I don’t think we could get away with that. How about we finish this one and I’ll pour you another for dinner?” He grinned. “A double?”
* * *
It wasdifficult to be in the same room with the person who could own your oxygen, but sitting beside her, inhaling her citrus scent, anticipating her words? Pretending you didn’t notice her? Torture. The worst kind. Vic was going to have a talk with Lily about how not everybody had a soulmate and that was okay because they had friends and family… Dogs and cats… And then he’d tell her that he and Rae were not meant to be together and could she try to accept that? No one ever wanted to disappoint Lily, and Vic certainly didn’t want to be the first, but until Rachel Darlington left town, he did not want to worry that every time he spoke with Lily or got invited to her house, he’d have to hear about Rae, or worse, see her.
“Daddy, can I have more applesauce?”
Nate’s youngest smiled at her father, blue eyes sparkling. “Sure, baby.”
Who would have ever thought a man with the most ornery disposition, who rarely smiled, would turn into a model husband, an ideal father? Vic stuffed more mashed potatoes in his mouth, thought about how lucky the guy was to have found Christine. They really were perfect together.
“Rae, maybe we can talk about the silent auction after dessert?” Christine’s cultured voice filled with what could only be called gratitude. “Thank you so much for reaching out to your friends. They’ve all been so generous with their donations. We’ll definitely be able to help so many families this year.”
Reaching out to your friends? Generous donations?What was Christine talking about? Rae had mentioned contacting friends and business associates for donations to the silent auction. But she’d also been filled with doubt as to whether anyone would want to help.They might not want to be bothered. Maybe they’ll have already forgotten me.Yeah, not likely. Who could forget her? Vic damn sure couldn’t and the only way he could stay away from her and a second chance was to remind himself she’d burned him twice and whatever they shared would only be temporary. Anyone who called having a childnegotiablewas someone he could not be involved with... Better to be alone than to give his heart—yet again—and maybe a kid or two, only to have them all destroyed when the narrative didn’t work for her any longer.
And then what?
She’d leave him, leave the kids, the house, the life they shared. She’d leave the friggin’ dog and never look back. And that’s why he couldn’t get close to her again.
