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On Thanksgiving, they made the drive to Stamford to Suzanne’s house. His mother had baked several items for dessert, and he was looking forward to them. Suzanne rarely cooked because she was busy and today she had hired a chef to handle all the prep. She and her family lived in a very large house with an in-ground pool. Kaycee loved the décor and grounds. Xander took her outside, and they walked around the property until she got too cold. Then he took her in for some hot chocolate.
His niece, Charlotte, and nephew, Davis, complained they couldn’t play video games because Xander and Steven, their father, were watching football. Peter joined to watch football, and their protests became futile. Davis was sixteen and preferred electronics to sports. Charlotte was fourteen and preferred texting or watching movies to anything else. He told them when he was their age he was outside practicing his lacrosse or football.
The food might not have been home cooked but it was delicious, and Xander ate more than his fill. In California, Kaycee insisted he eat healthily. A far cry from the frozen pizza and Hot Pockets he subsisted on when he lived in Saratoga. He did miss a good burger every once in awhile, and he ate them occasionally during lunch when he was at work. Kaycee couldn’t yell at him for having too much cholesterol or fat if she couldn’t see him. When he was questioned that evening, he would tell her he had a salad. It was a white lie and fine with him.
He drank one glass of wine since he had to drive back to Manhattan. He would have loved to have a scotch, but Suzanne never kept hard liquor in the house. He needed something stronger to calm his nerves. He was anticipating Saturday. Kaycee was excited to meet all the friends of his youth. He was only interested in seeing Ava, one fact he was going to keep to himself.
On Friday, the most insane shopping day of the year, Kaycee begged Xander to take her out to see the Christmas displays in the windows on Fifth Avenue. Xander warned her that it would be a madhouse, but she insisted. So he obliged, and she looked like a wide-eyed kid in a candy store. Even though she was thirty-four, she still could be childlike when it came to some things. She dragged him into Macy’s and several other stores.
Xander hated shopping and would only do it out of necessity. He usually went in a store, bought what he needed and got out. This was one of the worst days to go shopping, and after several hours of pushing through crowds, he told Kaycee he was finished.
They went back to his parents and took a much-needed nap until Gabby woke them and said dinner would be ready in fifteen minutes. Kaycee tried to get Xander to give her a quick fuck, but he used the excuse that they were in his parent’s home. Anyway, with Kaycee there was no such thing as a quick fuck, she enjoyed foreplay too much. Besides the fact that she was very vocal when they had sex. He would be embarrassed if his parents heard.
That night in bed, Kaycee fell asleep long before he did. He lay with his hands under his head thinking about the next day. He was worried about containing his reaction to Ava in front of Kaycee. No matter how much he wanted to forget her, he couldn’t. He was still in love with her.
* * *
Black Friday wasmiserable for Ava for many reasons, all male. David was still not talking to her, and her texts had gone unanswered. Tim, on the other hand, was driving her crazy about escorting her to the party. He texted her almost non-stop until she told him that she was busy studying. He finally left her alone for a few hours.
Her last male problem was Xander. She was dreading seeing him with his girlfriend. She didn’t know how she would be able to take it. She wondered if he was cheating on Kaycee as well. It seemed like that was the theme for Xander, he couldn’t control himself when it came to women. She felt foolish for allowing herself to fall into his web when everyone warned her.
She sat around most of the day until Sam called her and told her she needed to get to the party early. She wanted her to help with checking out some of the details. Sam and Robert would be coming in later after most of the guests arrived after 5:00 PM. She was relying on Ava to make sure that every last bit was done to Sam’s specifications. Since Ava had been involved with the planning, she knew everything intimately. Sam emailed her a list of items she needed to check with the party planner.
Rachel also called her. She might have been six months pregnant, but she was not going to miss her brother’s engagement party for anything. The doctor had cleared her several months ago from bed rest, but Rigo had insisted she remain there. He wanted to make sure his son was going to come into the world as a healthy infant. However, Rachel put her foot down when it came to going to the party. She promised Rigo she would sit most of the night.
Rachel wanted to know what color her dress was. Ava told her she would just have to wait until tomorrow. Now that Rachel was involved in making exclusive wedding dresses for top end clients, she rarely designed clothing for Ava. It was alright with Ava though, because she wanted to pick this special dress for Xander all by herself.
Exhaustion took over, and she went to bed early but was restless throughout the night. In the morning she woke up and vomited. She was a bundle of nerves, which would only get worse as the day continued. She decided to go for a run around the perimeter of Washington Square Park. It was very chilly outside being the last day of November, but she didn’t care. She needed the fresh air to feel better. She pulled on her yoga pants, a long-sleeve shirt, heavy sweatshirt and a wool cap. She would warm up and probably want to remove her sweatshirt mid-run.
She ran around the park that was practically empty. It was still early, and her breath formed white plumes as she ran. She tried to keep her mind focused, but it kept drifting to the what ifs, leaving her calming run giving the opposite of her intended effect. It just made her more nervous, and she gave up and ran home after a half hour.
She stretched when she got upstairs to her apartment. It was nearing nine; her hair and nail appointment started at eleven. Isabella Verona always accommodated her because she was good friends with Rachel, who had designed her wedding dress. She had been going to Verona for over four years, ever since she went to get her hair done for the first Kids Afloat Gala, the night that she and Xander were assaulted by Liam that landed that creep in jail for twelve years.
She took a shower and shaved her legs. The appointment would probably take two hours. She needed to be at The Pierre no later than three, so she was cutting it close. When she got to the salon, Isabella directed her to Jorge, who was one of her favorite stylists. He planned a fabulous updo for her. She wanted her hair lifted high because Xander loved her neck.
After Jorge had finished with her, she went to have her manicure. She loved French manicures and pedicures. When she was finished, she wrapped a kerchief around her hair to keep it straight from the breeze that had kicked up outside. She didn’t want to have to start fixing Jorge’s beautiful work.
She walked through the door and began removing her clothing. It was 1:45 which gave her just over an hour to dress, do her makeup and get to The Pierre. She went to her dresser and selected a black lace lingerie set, then moved to her vanity to apply heavier makeup than usual. Her next mission was to hunt in her jewelry box for the right pieces.
She was searching through for a ring and came upon the one Xander had given her. She slipped it onto her ring finger and then angrily threw it back into the box. Damn him. She laid out the jewelry she would wear. It consisted of a gold necklace with a diamond pendant, a diamond tennis bracelet and her favorite teardrop diamond earrings rounded out the ensemble.
She pulled on black thigh highs and then slipped on her dress. She twirled in the mirror. It hugged her in all the right places and showed quite a bit of cleavage. She was sure that her father wouldn’t approve, but she was twenty-eight, and he couldn’t control her. Next, she put on her jewelry. The necklace hung just low enough to have the pendant sit just above her cleavage, almost as if pointing for all to see. She grabbed her five inch black Manolo Blahnik heels, and her ensemble was complete. Then she snagged the matching clutch from the hall table, after she put on her black wool coat.
As the elevator doors opened and she stepped out, Gage at the front desk whistled at her. He told her she looked like she was dressed to kill. In a way, he was right. She hailed a cab and gave the driver the address for The Pierre.
Texting Sam after she arrived, she let her know that she had things well in hand. She had located the party planner, and they were going over several details that had been missed. By the time 4:45 rolled around everything was in place, and Ava breathed a sigh of relief. Several party attendees had come early, and they were milling around in the lobby waiting for the room to open.
Even though she hadn’t had a drink for several weeks, she needed something to calm her anxiety. She waited until the doors opened and ordered a glass of wine and took it to her seat near the main table. Most of her family was sitting here including David. He was still furious at her, and she was sure that he would sit on the other side of the table. She was wrong.
He came in with her father and stepmother and sat right next to her. He kissed her on the cheek brushing his lips against her ear.
“I want to talk to you later.”
She smiled at him and wished she hadn’t invited Tim, who arrived just after her family did and tried to dominate her attention. Luckily, David returned her attention to him, and they started to talk about things in general, but in the middle of the conversation, he noticed that her demeanor change and her eyes fix on the door. He turned to see a strikingly handsome man enter the room with a smaller attractive dark-haired woman. He leaned into Ava and whispered in her ear.
“Is that him?”
She didn’t answer him because she was transfixed. He reached out and gently turned her chin, so she was looking at him.
