“Cherry! Cherry!” Emilia yells and I hear the snap of the bottle being opened. Okay then.
Hank smiles at me. “I can’t wait to tell Gavin he’s got me to thank for being mayor. Your mom would’ve beat his ass.”
I laugh. “I know.” I don’t really. Gavin has wormed his way into a lot of people’s hearts, not just mine, in his short time here. “How are you feeling?”
“A lot better if people would stop asking me that question.” His surgery is planned for next week and he’ll start radiation right away. He kisses my cheek. “You look happy.”
“Where’s Gia?” Nikki asks Xavier.
“Giulia,” he corrects her.
She shrugs. “Same difference.”
“No, it’s not the same. Is your name Natalie?”
Xavier hasn’t left to go back to San Francisco yet. But so far, I haven’t seen him with Clara, which upsets everyone in the family. He and Clara were best friends, and all I can assume is that something horrible happened to make this chasm between them so deep.
“Whatever. Does the ego need inflating again now that you’ve been back home for a bit?” Leave it to Nikki to put it all out there.
“You know what, Nikki? Who cares if I’m dating a model and I like my life in San Francisco? I can go into any restaurant and get seated, no reservations needed. People know me when I walk around the city and I like the finer things in life. So what?”
Nikki fakes excitement as though she’s really impressed. “Logan can do the same in Las Vegas. Gavin can do it in Los Angeles. Do they do it? No.”
“Noah’s crying and Emilia’s trying to give him a cherry,” Mandi says to Nikki. After Nikki rushes into the other room, Mandi looks at Xavier. “You can thank me later.”
The front door opens and we all quiet.
“Baby, I’m home and I’ve been thinking about my cherries,” Gavin calls.
I run to the foyer and shake my head. “Did you not see all the cars outside?”
He glances toward the front door. “No.”
I go past him and open the door. Sure enough, it’s empty. “Okay, I’m so confused.”
“Surprise!” Emilia screams when she sees Gavin. “It was supposed to be a surprise. You ruined the surprise, Aunt Posey.”
“No one told me it was a surprise. I didn’t even know they were coming,” I tell Gavin.
“Does Emilia have my cherries on her fingers?” Gavin watches Emilia like a vulture, ready to descend and grab them.
Emilia plucks one off her finger and chews it. Trey follows her with more cherries.
Gavin growls.
“Relax, I bought two jars.” I kiss his cheek. “And I’ll stay up all night to make you your sundae.”
His hands fall to my ass, and he squeezes. “You better.”
The door creaks open and Clara pokes her head in. “Oh, I missed the surprise.”
“No, you didn’t. No one told me it was a surprise.” I smile at her.
She laughs. “Classic.” She holds out a dish. “Where do you want it?”
“In the kitchen.” I thumb in that direction.
“Congratulations, Gavin,” Clara says. “For more than just your mayor position.” She winks and disappears around the corner.
“All I want is you right now,” Gavin whines.
I wrap my arms around his shoulders and rise up on my tiptoes. “I know, but these people are part of the package that comes with me.”
“I know. Let’s go.” He smacks me on the ass.
We walk into the main family room, and everyone roars with congratulations as though they didn’t know he was home. As Gavin makes his way around the room, shaking hands and thanking everyone—something he’ll be doing for some time—I keep my eyes on Xavier and Clara. Especially when Xavier takes Clara’s hand, and she lets him lead her into the now empty dining room.
“Oh shit,” Chevelle says behind me, and we both inch toward the room to overhear.
“Just talk to me,” Xavier says.
“Why? You don’t own me.”
“I thought I was doing what was right.”
“Where is Giulia?” she asks.
“She’s in Milan.”
“I think it’s great that you’re here for your dad, X, but as far as me and you? Just keep on walking when you see me. You can have your model girlfriend lick your wounds after a bad game now.”
She turns to leave and Chevelle and I move fast, our backs straight along the wall.
“We’ve been best friends our entire lives,” Xavier says, but I can’t see his face.
“Past tense. We were best friends. You chose to ruin everything.”
“I did not,” he says, sounding pissed.
“Just stay out of my way while you’re in Sunrise Bay.” She walks out of the room and walks right by us, probably knowing we were listening.
Chevelle and I pretend to be in a deep conversation when Xavier comes out. He blows out his breath and walks out the front door to the porch. Chevelle and I share a look.
“Are we ever going to find out what happened?” I ask.
“Let’s go corner Presley. Surely with her being ready to pop, she’s hormonal. She’ll be at a disadvantage.” Chevelle drags me, but we’re stopped by Cam’s big body sliding in front of her.
“Stop being nosy.”
Chevelle tries to go around him. “You might be my boss at work but not here.”
His nostrils flare and I just mosey on away.
Grandma Ethel and Dori are sitting on the couch, being a little too quiet. Never a good sign.
My family stays the entire night until it’s officially announced that Gavin won the election.
After everyone finally leaves, Gavin comes out of the kitchen with two empty cherry bottles.
I give him a pitying look. “I’ll buy more tomorrow.”
“It’s okay. I want you in something else tonight.”
I wait for him to say what, but instead, he sets the empty cherry bottles on the end table, then pulls a large-ish box from behind his back.
“Shouldn’t I be the one getting you a gift?” I ask.
“It kind of is for me.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that.” I open the box to find a nightgown similar to Midge’s, but it’s new with tags on it.
“I know how much you loved it and I’ve been working for weeks to track one down. I found a woman who actually makes nightgowns in this style.”
“So, no fertility nightgown?” I ask to clarify.
He chuckles. “No. But… if you…”
I shake my head, taking his hand and leading him to the couch. I straddle him and place my hand on his gorgeous face. Who would’ve ever thought all those years ago that my celebrity crush would fall in love with me? “Just you and me for a bit.”
His arms tighten around me. “I’m on board with that.”
“Good. Now take me to our bed.”
“Anything you want, baby.”
“I love you, Mayor Price,” I whisper as he climbs the stairs with my legs wrapped around him.
“Music to my fucking ears.”
He kicks the bedroom door shut and locks it. Just in case. You never know with my family.