A Perfect Bride For Christmas (27 page)

Mom nodded. “She’s bringing samples of the

dishes she’s planned for the reception. You two should be present.”

“I need Alex to run me into town today,” Sydney interjected.

Mom shook her head, her blue eyes taking on

the look that her boys knew meant an ass whipping.

“You’ll have to go on your own, Sydney. This is your wedding. One of you needs to be present. Alex, it’s in your hands.”

He didn’t know if Mom meant handling Sydney

or picking out the food.

Luckily, for everyone’s digestion, Sydney kept

her mouth shut.

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Alex took a bite of the pancake. The sweet syrup and butter exploded on his tongue and reminded him of Zoe.

Clint filled his plate and sat down next to

Heath. “Mom said you went with Nicolette to a

ceremony for Rudy last night? How was it?”

Heath blinked as if Clint had interrupted some

deep thought. He frowned, his fork poised over a piece of egg white. “I didn’t go with Nicolette. I saw her there. It was a nice ceremony. Rudy would have been proud.”

Alex couldn’t take anymore. He was tired of the Sydney Show and Heath’s pain left a lump in his throat. He stood up—he had to get out of here.

“Excuse me, Mom. Breakfast was wonderful.” He

looked down at his gray tee-shirt and red and orange flannel Chief’s lounge pants. “And put some clothes on.” “Okay, honey.” Mom continued cooking as if nothing had happened, but she gave him a soft smile that took off the edge. “I’ve got breakfast for the girls. You can spend time with them while Zoe’s setting up.”

With a nod, Alex left the room. Sydney, damn it, he almost forgot. He went back to the kitchen. “The keys are on the table in the front room, Sydney.”

“All right.”

She waited, but he’d be damned before he gave

her a kiss. Not after her bad behavior.

****

They were excited about seeing their Uncle Clint again. They’d met briefly yesterday while she was busy cooking. Amelia had asked him to drop off the list of items she wanted for the reception on his way to his tux fitting, and Cherri and the girls met him at the door. The instant the girls laid eyes on him, it was love at first sight.

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“Settle down, girls. We’ll be there in a few

minutes.” She turned down the now familiar road to Hollyfield.

Zoe could understand. The few times she’d met

Clint when she worked for Alex, he’d been nothing but kind and never acted like she was a freak

because of her weight. And gorgeous. An aura

surrounded him that demanded a woman take

second look—like the rest of the King brothers.

The girls bounced up and down with impatience

while Mia hit the doorbell until the chimes came out,
Somewhere, Somewhere, Somewhere Over.

“Stop, Mia. Someone will answer the door”

“But we want to see Daddy and Uncle Clint. He

promised to play games with us, and Gramma said we could do crafts.”

“I love crafts,” Macy shouted with glee.

“I want to see Walter. Can we see the kitties—

please?”

“I don’t know, sweetie.” Zoe ruffled the hood of Mia’s jacket. “Daddy and Mommy are going to be

busy, and I don’t know how long Uncle Clint can play.”

The door opened. Heath stood there with a

surprised look on his face. He bit back a curse as the girls rushed through, Macy’s shoulder barely

missing his family jewels.

Zoe smiled at his dumbstruck look. “Heath?”

“Yes. Sorry, Zoe. Come in.” He gave her a little peck on the cheek as she walked into the room.

The girls would’ve charged their grandmother if Zoe hadn’t stood between them and Amelia. “Girls, come meet your Uncle Heath.”

They came to a standstill and turned wide,

questioning eyes up at him.

“Hello.” The look on his face said it was clear he didn’t know what to do with the three little girls.

“This is Macy, this is Michaela, and this is Mia.”

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Zoe touched each of her daughters’ dark heads as she introduced them.

“Well, they’re Kings all right,” he said with a smile. Then his face looked stricken. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean that like it came out.”

She grinned back at him. “Not a problem. I

know what you meant.”

“They’re beautiful.”

“Thank you. They’re a handful.”

Heath’s hair whispered at his shoulders as he

shook his head. “I can’t even imagine taking care of one, let alone three. You deserve some kind of

medal.”

She let out a light laugh. “I’m sure just being their mother is reward enough, although I’ll admit there are times I question that theory.”

Michaela piped up, “You’re our uncle?”

“I am.” Heath dropped to a squat in front of

them.

“He’s my little boy,” Amelia explained.

Macy’s face twisted with a scowl. “He’s not even little.”

“Not anymore,” Amelia said with a wistful tone.

“But he used to be as little as you. Even littler.”

“Was he in your stomach like we was in our

mom’s?” Macy asked.

Amelia laughed heartily. “Yes. I suppose he

was.”

Zoe’s face heated with a blush. “Come on, girls, let’s go into the kitchen.”

“Yes, lets.” Amelia said. “Gramma made

breakfast. You like pancakes?”

“Yes,” they yelled in unison.

“Your Uncle Clint is in the kitchen waiting for you.” Amelia got to her feet. “I need to get some stuff set up, so go on and get some breakfast.”

A perfect storm of giggling erupted the moment

the triplets saw Clint in the kitchen. “Uncle Clint,”

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the girls squealed. They threw themselves at him, nearly toppling him over in their enthusiasm.

“Whoa. Easy there. You three want some

pancakes?” he chuckled.

“Yes!” The three moved with the precision of a

little school of fish, and scrambled up into the chairs at the red and chrome table.

“Morning, Clint.” Zoe wondered if his reaction

would match Heath’s. “It’s good to see you.”

He turned to look at her, his eyes widened with recognition. A smile tugged the corner of her mouth.

Clint tried so hard not to stare while he helped her with the bags of food, but she couldn’t stop blushing at his appreciative look.

“You look good, Zoe.” He gave her a genuine

smile.

She let out a light laugh as she unpacked her

bags. “Thanks. Running after these three has its benefits.”

Clint chuckled as he watched the girls

whispering in a huddle. “How have you been?”

“Good.” She nodded and helped her daughters

off with their coats. She laid them on the back of an empty kitchen chair. “The catering business keeps me busy. How have you been? I hear you’re raising Thoroughbreds?”

“Yeah. Trying to, at least.”

Her dishes neatly aligned on the countertop, she dusted her hands off and smiled. “Let me introduce you to your nieces.”

“Please.”

Zoe moved behind her eldest and snatched a cup

of milk from the edge of the table. She handed Macy the milk. “This is Macy. She’s my klutz. If you have something breakable around, don’t leave it where she can reach it.”

Clint grinned. “All right. Noted.”

Moving down the line, she set her hands on

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Michaela’s shoulders. “This is Michaela. She’s a bit like Jesse, I can’t get her in a dress to save my life.”

Zoe stepped behind her third daughter and

smoothed the girl’s long hair. “This is Mia. She’s my little princess.”

Clint dipped his chin, acknowledging all three at the same time. “Do you like horses?”

“Yes,” they cried in unison.

“Maybe your mom will let me take you over to

the barn to see mine before I go back to Kentucky.”

He looked to Zoe for approval.

The girls squealed in delight, their blue eyes

hopeful.

Zoe decided to choose her battles, and knew she couldn’t win this one. “Of course. But not today.”

Three little faces puckered up, protest impending.

Cutting it off at the pass, she added, “You’re not dressed for it.”

“I have to run over and check on her real quick.

But when I get back, ladies, we’ll go into the front room and play a game so your mom can work.”

“Checkers! I wanna play checkers!” Macy cried.

“We always play checkers,” Michaela protested.

“I want to play Go Fish.”

“How about Chutes and Ladders, Uncle Clint?

Gramma said she bought it for us,” Mia asked.

Clint chuckled. “If you eat a good breakfast,

maybe we can do all three.”

He’d said the magic words. The girls settled

down and tucked their food without argument.

Clint shook his head amusement. “Adorable. My

brother produced that?”

Heat spread up Zoe’s neck and cheeks. She

couldn’t figure out what to say that didn’t sound weird, so she went to work organizing the dishes she’d prepared.

“I heard that.” Alex stood in the doorway. She

wanted to rush over and kiss him silly. Instead, she 219

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kept her focus on the food.

“Daddy!” The girls didn’t hesitate to do what she longed to. They bounded over to him and threw

themselves at his legs. Alex laughed and squatted down, his arms held out wide. They jumped at him with the enthusiasm of a box of puppies.

Zoe would cherish this moment forever. Tears of joy, of the rightness of the scene before her, welled in her eyes. She smiled and placed her hand over her heart, feeling a little ache at losing a part of her girls to Alex.

Alex’s blue gaze locked on hers with so much heat she was sure Clint’s sharp eyes would see it as well. Maybe he had. Clint gave Alex a quizzical look.

He finished his coffee in one scalding gulp and sat it on the counter. “Gotta go check on my mare. Be back in a little bit.” He hotfooted it out of kitchen.

Alex stood, with Macy in his arms, and peered

down at the other two. “Looks like you still have a bit of breakfast to finish.” Mia and Michaela climbed into their chairs without any fuss. Macy hung onto Alex like a monkey.

“What is it, Mac?” Alex asked with concern.

“Will you take us to see Santa?”

Alex questioned Zoe with his eyes. “I can’t, baby.

I’ll be busy with the wedding.” His jaw tensed.

Macy pulled back in his arms until she looked

him in the eye. “That’s what Mommy said. She said we’d try to see Santa. That means no.”

“Maybe you can write Santa a letter.”

Michaela rolled her eyes. Usually Zoe would’ve

scolded her, but she’d let Alex handle this one.

“We’re just learning to write, Daddy. It’s a big letter.

We don’t know all the words.”

“I’ll write it for you.” He smiled, pleased with himself at his obvious solution.

“No,” the girls yelled in one voice.

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Alex blinked at their vehemence.

“Only Baby Jesus and Santa can know what we

want, or it won’t come true. If you help, you’ll know,”

Mia explained to him in a gentle voice that held a bit of censure. She daintily dabbed one of the tiny pancakes into syrup. “We gotta
talk
to Santa.”

“By ourselves,” Macy added and gave Alex a pat

on the cheek.

“O-k-ay.” He looked over at Zoe and put Macy in her chair. “We’ll figure out something before

Christmas Eve.”

“That’s what I told them, but it’s become an

obsession.” Zoe tapped one of the dishes. “We need to get started on this before too long. I don’t want the food to be less than perfect when Sydney and Amelia taste it.”

“Ah, that’s a bit of a problem.”

Zoe didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”

“Well, Mom put her foot down, told Sydney and

me that we need to figure out the menu on our own.

She’s going to be busy with the kids.” Alex rubbed the bump on his nose. “She covered the dining room table with a drop cloth and put out enough paint and glitter to decorate half of Kansas City.”

“So, where’s Sydney?” Zoe tied her chef’s apron over her jeans and bright cherry red sweater.

“Left me high and dry.” He shrugged, his smile

strained. “It’s just you and me. Maybe I’ll order burger and fries. That’ll teach her to bail on me.”

Amelia hobbled through the door without her

crutches.

“M-o-m—”

“Don’t start on me, Alexander.” Amelia waved a

finger at him. “The dining room is only a few steps away.”

The girls’ eyes went wide at the sight of their grandmother scolding their father.

“Children.” Amelia turned a loving gaze on the

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triplets. “Uncle Clint helped me carry in a box of family ornaments that need a bit of ‘spiffing up’. I thought you might like to help.” She turned back to Alex and Zoe with an odd look. “You two have some things to decide about this wedding day of yours, Alex.”

The girls hopped down from their chairs to race after their grandmother.

Zoe’s blood pulsed at the nearness of Alex.

Forbidden. Her skin tingled, waiting for his touch, begging for his hand to reach out to her. A deep ache filled her chest, cascaded downward until she felt empty and wanting.

It would be so easy to go to him, wrap her arms around his waist, to lay her head on his chest. Never again. She couldn’t let it happen, no matter how much she needed him. It wasn’t right, and bone

deep, she hurt.

Alex’s eyes smoldered as his gaze raked over

her. “Zoe.” He stepped closer. His hand stroked her hair with the lightest of touches, traced the lines of her cheek until his thumb came to rest on her lips. A slow, lazy caress set her nerve endings ablaze. She squeezed her thighs together to tame the