Page 34 of The Holidays with Mr. Mitchell
“The kid’s mistake was worse than Dad’s goofy mess-ups, though,” Avery confirmed. “I’m sorry he hurt you, baby, but it’s his loss, not yours.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Addy said.
“Hold up! I’m done taking crap for this,” I defended myself after Addy found solace in me being a dick-boss for Christmas. “How are we comparing a hormonal teenage boy who did a heartless thing to hurt our daughter to me orderingvery expensivecharcuterie boards and champagne for the company Christmas? How am I even in the middle of this as an example of foolish nonsense?”
Avery shot me a look, then glanced at Addy. “Actually, what your dad tried to get away with would’ve hurt more people than this boy did,” she said, eyes on me. “So, maybe it’s even.”
“If it helps my case,” I started, “I fixed my screw-up, and now we’re looking at millions of dollars going out for not just one, but two amazing Christmas celebrations.”
“And that’s how you know whether or not to keep them,” Avery smiled at me. “What they doafterthey make mistakes says everything about the man in question.”
Avery leaned to kiss me while the girls moaned in unison about how disgusting we were, and when she pulled away, all I could do was smile.
“I’m sorry we had to make an example out of you,” she said, “but the girls need to understand that not even their dad, even considering how much he loves and adores their mom, is perfect.”
“Yeah, but do we seriously need to keep bringing this up?” I answered.
“So you don’t do it again next year? Yes.”
Oh well, hell. This was just another average pep talk with my girls on a family night. I was outnumbered, but honestly, I loved it. I loved everything about this family that’d stolen me away from my empire that consumed me half the time. I wouldn’t trade them or these discussions for anything in the world.
I’d been well on my way to a lonely, workaholic existence before Avery and Addy came into my life. Soon after we married, we were blessed with Izzy, and there hadn’t been a dull moment since. I was blessed with a life I didn’t dream of asking for, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.
FOURTEEN
Jim
So far,the week had smoothed itself out, and the only thing that’d been brought up about holiday party planning was the personal items needed to decorate our home and the beach house.
This was all typical, normal planning for the Christmas season. The girls and Avery fully indulged themselves in it, and everyone’s moods were always elevated with joy and cheer for the holidays. What wasn’t normal was this party planning family war we’d gotten ourselves into.
“Easy,” I said to Addy as she nearly ran the Aston Martin into the curb while taking it too tightly. “I actually like the rims on this Rapide model.”
“Oh, please,” she said with a typical teenage eyeroll to prove her point. “You’ve hated this car since we got it because it had to have four doors.”
“It’s most certainly notmyAston, but I’ve never hated it. If I did, I wouldn’t allow it in my garage,” I said, scrolling throughmorning texts. “By the way,you’re welcomefor not making Alastair drive us both to school and work today.”
“I love Alastair, but thanks for letting me drive,” she smiled.
“Anytime, kid,” I said, my eyes roaming over an urgent email from my acquisitions teams overseas. “Shit,” I grumbled as Addy pulled into her school.
“Uh oh. Did Mom slide anotherphasesheet under your nose?” she laughed, checking her rearview as she gently slid next to the curb at the entrance of her school.
“No,” I said, frowning, “but she’s likely to win the whole holiday war planning if I’m forced to travel to Madrid for a goddamn merger that can’t seem to be nailed down without my physical presence.”
Addy put the car in park, unbuckled, and reached into the backseat for her bag. “Good thing Mom took Izzy to school today, because thelanguagethat’s coming out of your mouth today, sir. Tsk, tsk,” she teased in her most prudish voice.
We both stepped out of the car, and I smiled down at her, already knowing the hug goodbyes were off-limits and mortifying for the average teenage student in front of her peers.
“Well, you’re not a phone call away from leaving your family for the next week, so I get a pass,” I winked. “Have a fantastic day at school.”
“Thanks, Dad, and thanks for letting me drive today,” she said, and with minimal parent embarrassment, Addy was swallowed up by a crowd of friends and ushered up the stairs and into the school.
I dialed out to Spence. “What is going on with the Madrid deal?”
“I spoke to Alejandro just this morning,” he said, seemingly as annoyed as I was at the moment. “The de la Vega family is struggling to cling to their tradition and is second-guessing selling to foreigners.”
I rolled my eyes, pulling out of the school. “You’ve got to be fucking with me right now,” I answered.
