His For Christmas (4 page)

“You sure?”

“Hell, yeah, I’m sure.” He’d been excited
when she said yes, but now, knowing the date was moving up with
limited fuss, he was beyond excited. “What’s on your list man? I’ll
help you. I’ve got to finish some projects, but yeah…count me
in.”

“Since there’s no way to apply for a Florida
marriage license without Anabelle’s presence, we’re going to focus
on a great wedding party and dinner. As far as the location, it’s a
toss up between Dylan’s barn or my beach house. What do you
think?”

“The beach would be nice and definitely,
romantic, but it’ll be hard to surprise her by going there. So, the
barn will make things easier, more seamless, in terms of a
surprise.”

“The only problem with that is the state of
the barn. Dani mentioned it was a mess.”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, it’s been used as a
catchall.”

“Charlie said she could get a few guys to
help clean and prep the barn.”

“Perfect.”

“Derek, excuse me, but you have a guest.”
Dani stood at the door with a weird look. It didn’t look
reassuring. “It’s Anabelle’s mom.” She grimaced.

Shit.

“Brace yourself, man.” Joe hadn’t met Claire
Broussard in person yet.

A petite lady with hair almost the same as
Anabelle’s came into the room. “Hello, Derek,” she drawled in a
sweet southern accent but he wasn’t fooled, he knew the sweetness
hid a sharp tongue.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Joe
stand a little taller. He knew exactly how his friend felt. Claire
Broussard was one scary woman. How she produced a creature as sweet
as Anabelle was beyond him. You had to rethink the concept of
nature versus nurture when it came to the relationship between
Anabelle and her mother.

“Hello Mrs. Broussard.”

She turned towards Joe. Derek wanted to warn
his friend not to bother turning on the charm that had softened
many a woman, child and baby, but he couldn’t without being
obvious.

“Hello Mrs. Broussard, my name is Joseph
James and I’ve heard so much about you.”

“I knew your father.”

At once the charming Joe froze and Derek
could only watch while his friend floundered.

“You look just like him, but are you like
him, hmmm?”

Joe’s mouth was pressed in a thin line. Derek
interrupted before Joe could erupt. “Mrs. Broussard, what can I do
for you?”

“Where are your manners? Show me around
first. I’ve never been to your studio. Although I’ve waited for an
invitation, that hasn’t happened, so I decided to invite myself to
see what has my daughter so enthralled.”

Derek closed his mouth. He knew he had gaped
like a dumbass during her speech. “Yes ma’am, of course.”

Over the next hour he showed her his process,
some raw materials he’d salvaged as well as finished items ready to
ship. She flipped through his portfolio of past projects without
saying a word, stretching his nerves. She had a school master look
to her, sort of like his former design professor who’d often ripped
students apart with harsh criticism and made them flee in
tears.

Derek braced himself.

“Very nice.”

He nodded, a little dumbfounded. “Thank you
ma’am.”

“Okay boys. I’ll admit I was curious about
your work. I thought it would be butt ugly since Anabelle seemed to
be protecting you. It’s not as if I were a dragon lady or
something.”

“Of course not.” Joe muttered under his
breath so only Derek could hear him.

“I heard from the Ladies League that y’all
are planning some sort of surprise wedding.”

“Shit.”

“Watch your mouth, young man.”

“Beg your pardon, ma’am. But how did they
find out? It’s supposed to be a surprise?”

“Mildred said she heard it at Charlie’s
Decadent Den.”

“Hell.” Derek could feel a headache coming on
and squeezed the back of his neck.

“You know, this could all work out in our
favor.” She tapped her mouth in thought.

“How do you figure?”

“Planning a wedding normally takes months and
y’all are trying to pull this off in days. You need all the help
you can get. Think about it, boys. Supplies, flowers, food,
décor?”

Derek assumed from her drawn out sigh, He and
Joe wore similar looking clueless expressions. “You’re in luck,
boys. Follow my lead and we’ll give Anabelle a romantic Christmas
wedding courtesy of the folks of Sugar Bay.”

Joe looked at Derek. “Man, all I planned was
to clean up the barn. Dani and the girls may have other ideas.”

“Dani!” Derek yelled.

He didn’t have to wait long since his sister
had probably parked her nosy butt around the corner and listened
the entire time.

“You bellowed.”

“Yes. Anabelle’s mom wants to help with the
planning, so work with her, okay?”

“I can do that.”

He didn’t know how his sister kept a straight
face because Joe was acting like he was being hung behind Claire’s
back, but she did.

He popped Joe in the stomach. “Cut it out.
She’s my future mother-in-law.”

“May God have mercy on your soul.”

“I heard that.”

“Apologies, ma’am.”

Claire gave a regal nod seemingly pleased her
troops were in order and they were ready and willing to follow her
blindly into the battle of wedding planning.

“Shall we, Dani?” The ladies walked away and
Derek heard them discuss the kind of flowers that could be found on
short notice. At the door she turned back. “I expect the barn to be
ready in two days. I trust that’s enough time, boys?”

“Yes, ma’am.” They chorused then slumped in
relief when she left the room.

“Whose bright idea was this?” Joe
grumbled.

Derek shrugged. He focused on the fact in a
few short days, Anabelle would be his for Christmas. All grooms had
to suffer through wedding planning and thankfully his would be
relatively short. He could endure.

Weddings were for women.

Wedding nights were for the groom.

That thought alone put a shit-eating grin on
his face.

How bad could all this wedding planning
get?

Who knew Florida was so stinking hot in
December? Christmas in Seattle had been wet but at least it had
been cold. It seemed Florida hadn’t gotten the white Christmas memo
or it was in rebellion. Derek wiped his brow and flapped his
T-shirt for circulation. Except for the fact Anabelle’s mom darted
in and out like a sugar plum fairy on crack with sharp fangs,
ordering grown men to do her bidding, he’d take of his shirt in a
heartbeat.

Like a smart man, Joe kept himself under her
radar. Joe hated when his father’s name came up in conversation.
Other than the mention of a scandal, Joe had been tight lipped
about the whole thing. Anabelle probably knew, she’d complained
often enough about the small town rumor mill. But as far as Derek
could see, there was a decided bonus in small town living.

People had dropped off food, flowers and
miscellaneous wedding items on Claire’s never ending list. The
effect was a little on the mismatched side, but Claire seemed
pleased, mentioning something about rustic elegance, whatever the
hell that meant. Derek had to admit it was pretty. The lanterns
were hung at various heights and he could imagine the glow in the
evening dusk would lend itself to a magical feeling.

According to Alex,
of-the-constantly-checking-weather-app, Mother Nature may even
provide an assist because a cold front was on its way in. Perfect,
because nothing would be more unattractive than the groom keeling
over in a sweaty mess surrounded by a shitload of candles and
lanterns.

Alex had taken to Claire and her drill
sergeant ways. Derek shuddered, fearing the result of Alex as a
miniature Claire.

Over his dead body.

Janie willingly followed Claire’s lead as
well. With everyone, Claire was brisk and business like but
something about Esme and her cuteness factor had brought a brief
smile to Claire’s face. She’d patted Esme on the head and sent her
off to practice writing names on place cards. Said it would be
charming.

Thankfully, Anabelle was busy with the Ladies
League Winter Formal set for New Year’s Eve. His poor darling had
been kept busy by something or another because it seemed the town
of Sugar Bay was populated by a bunch of romantics and they adored
Anabelle. Her personality was such that she hated the extraneous
attention but what Anabelle saw as pity in the town’s eyes, the
town had seen it as concern for her well being.

A pink jeep pulled up and Charlie got out
with Decadent Den boxes. The men turned into boys and crowded her
arrival. He assumed because she came bearing goodies or it could
have been because they found her presence exciting.

He shook his head, not understanding the
attraction.

Charlie was scary.

Anabelle’s best friend was a younger version
of Claire Broussard except for the auburn colored hair and magical
baking ability. She had a reputation for being a man
eater/heartbreaker about town. Joe knew her through her younger
brothers with whom Joe had gone to school. The only people not
salivating at her arrival besides him were Joe and Heath.

Derek had to admit the guy he once knew as
‘bow tie’ wasn’t all bad. Sure, he had a prissy English accent but
he didn’t mind getting dirty with the rest of the guys and had
helped clear the barn on Claire’s orders. Derek grudgingly admired
him for it. Even now, the guy kept working despite the group
gathering around Charlie.

“Hey Derek, how’s it hanging, man?”

“Not bad, Ethan. Just a few more days of this
chaos and all this wedding nonsense will be over.”

“Excited?”

“Yeah, man. I am. Thanks again for hauling in
the Christmas boughs and garland and also for volunteering to
officiate on short notice.”

“No problem. You know I’d do anything for
Anabelle.”

Derek nodded. He knew but there had been a
time when that thought would have bothered him, especially since
Ethan was a fancy doctor who Claire had handpicked for Anabelle.
But since Anabelle’s relationship with Ethan had evolved into a
familial type of bond, Derek was no longer worried.

“Ms. Claire, when are you going to make an
honest man out of my dad?” He asked to a busy Claire.

Derek couldn’t believe the transformation
that came over Claire at Ethan’s words as she stopped in her
tracks.

His respect for the man doubled.

“Ethan, dear. Don’t talk like that. That’s
not appropriate.”

“You know I’m a poor motherless boy, Ms.
Claire.”

Derek looked askance at Ethan. The “boy” was
in his late thirties and had a thriving orthopedic practice with a
trail of broken hearts behind him.

“You’re a sweet boy, Ethan, but your father
and I are just friends.”

“The kind of friends like Derek and Anabelle
were?” Ethan winked and Claire went from a light pink blush to a
painful sunburnt red. She may be scary but Derek felt the need to
save her.

“The barn is coming along. The boys brought
the chairs on loan from the Ladies League and Heath showed us how
to put the slipcover on them.”

“Good. My friends, Callum and Mikael, will be
around to prep the flowers, candles and Christmas greenery. They’ll
be like little elves on the twenty third so all we’ll need to do is
light the candles and have the ceremony.”

“What about the music?”

“Janie is working on a playlist as we
speak.”

Derek winced, hoping he wouldn’t be stuck
hearing One Direction or Five Seconds of Summer for his big day. He
wondered if he should mention the fact that Joe played the
acoustical guitar but figured Joe was hiding for a reason.

“Don’t worry. She found several wedding
playlists on Spotify that she’s modifying. Besides, your sisters
will do the final approval but right now, they’re prepping the menu
with Charlie’s mother. Charlie is
supposed
to go help if she
can draw herself away from her entourage long enough.” She said
with a sniff.

“Thank you for your help, Mrs. B.” He paused,
waiting for her to protest the name he’d given her, but she didn’t
so he cleared his throat and continued. “The wedding will be more
than I thought possible considering the time frame. I had hoped for
a small family wedding, nothing fancy. The most important aspect
being joining my life with Anabelle’s in front of our family and
friends, but now, it has the look and feel of a real wedding. I
can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”

“I love my daughter, Derek. I may not show it
very well, but I’ve only ever wanted the best for her.”

“Thank you.”

“One more thing…”

“Yes?”

She moved closer. “If you ever hurt her like
that sorry son of a bitch ex of hers did, I will open a can of
whoop ass on you so fast, it’ll make your head spin.”

Derek chuckled at the threat uttered in a
sweet southern accent. His respect for her went up. “Understood,
Mrs. B. Understood.”

***

“Is that a girl thing? The ability to curl
ribbon like that?” Derek watched as Anabelle stripped ribbon with a
pair of scissors and created a perfect bouncing curl.

Anabelle laughed, the sound husky, and
reminded him an hour had passed since he’d given her a kiss. He
took his time and solved that problem.

She held onto his shirt. “Hmmm…that’s nice.
Hold that thought though. We’ve got to finish wrapping presents for
the girls. We’re running out of time since tomorrow is Christmas
Eve. This is the last night we can get it done since we’ve been
invited to spend the night there so we can share Christmas morning
magic with the girls.”

“Thanks for doing this for them.”

“Are you kidding me? I grew up an only child
and you’ve met my mother.” She gave him a pointed look and he
grimaced. He couldn’t imagine Claire being big on Christmas magic
and holiday traditions.