Apparently, my vagina is in agreement with Ledger. My entire body ignites, and arousal floods between my legs as I lose my balance, collapsing into his arms. Luckily, everyone has moved into the living room where all the decorations are strewn about, listening to Blanche delegate tasks.
Christmas music plays throughout the house as I put cookies in the oven, and the festivities begin.
It doesn’t take very long to put up a whole store's worth of decor when you have five sets of helping hands and a decoration overlord organizing everything.
We’re finished in no time and have congregated in the kitchen when Blanche hands us all a glass of champagne. “To Sloane and Ledger,” she says as we all clink our glasses together in a cheers. “And to grandbabies,” she says as we cheers a second time, this one laced with laughter. The guys grab a plate of cookies and sit at the table while Blanche, Margot, and I stand around the island.
“So tell me everything,” my mother-in-law requests. “I will forgive you for not inviting me, but you better not leave out a detail.”
Ledger chuckles from the table beside us, and I cover my face with my hand as Margot responds, “Oh, for the love, Ledger.Pleaseleave outthosedetails.”
He just shrugs his shoulders, winks, and goes back to his conversation, leaving Margot and me to discuss the more savory details of the night I got engagedandmarried, including all the pictures from both our phones.
Blanche is in a lover's daze when we finish, but snaps back quickly to direct her attention to Margot. “You better include me inyourwedding plans, missy, or I will absolutely never forgive you.”
Margot rolls her eyes at her mother. “Don’t worry, Mom, you’ve got plenty of time to prepare. I’ve made it through four years of undergrad and am almost through my master’s without any prospects, so I doubt there are any wedding bells in my near future.”
“All the more reason to spend some time abroad!” Blanche exclaims.
“I know, I know. I have two internships lined up between New York and Paris. I just haven't decided yet,” Margot explains, her eyes darting briefly in Jack’s direction.
“If I were a single twenty-three-year-old, I would try to find the sexiest Frenchman I could and climb him like a tree,” Blanche retorts, fanning herself for dramatic effect.
I glance over at the boys. Ledger is in the middle of talking about something, but Jack seems to freeze at Blanche’s words.
“Mother!” Margot whisper-yells.
“Oh, you’re a boring bunch,” Blanche says, rolling her eyes.
At this, Ledger chimes in, getting out of his chair and walking toward me. “Trust me, nothing is boring over here,” he says, cocooning my body in his from behind and wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Ledger!” Margot and I practically scream at the same time.
Blanche elbows her in the side. “Well,yougive me a grandbaby, then!”
Ledger squints his eyes at his sister. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re not allowed to date until you’re thirty, remember? Don’t think I won’t make good on my promise to beat any fucker who lays a hand on you.”
Margot and Blanche both roll their eyes as Jack chokes on his cookie.
“Speaking of grandchildren, let’s show your mom the room you had put in for the nursery.”
The baby-crazed pair follows me up the stairs without question, leaving Margot and Jack behind. What I thought would take five to ten minutes turned into a long ordeal.
I eventually leave my husband and his mother alone, feeling like a bad host for abandoning our company, but as soon as I reach the kitchen, I freeze. Margot and Jack hide their appearance well with their champagne flutes, but their lips are slightly swollen, and Jack’s hair is disheveled.
“Alright,” Blanche says, following Ledger back into the kitchen. “Let’s give these two newlyweds some privacy.”
We walk them outside and exchange our hugs and kisses before they climb into Blanche’s SUV.
Ledger stands behind me with his arms wrapped around me and his chin resting on the top of my head as we wave them off. That is until Blanche hangs her head out the window and yells, “Grandbabies!” to which my husband responds by giving a thumbs-up, throwing me over his shoulder, and running up to our room, making good on his promise until the early hours of the morning.
Chapter thirty-three
The play was a resounding success. Even more successful was my ability to keep my hands to myself. The professional makeup crew my mother hired for this production managed to cover Sloane’s bruises and hickeys, and it was all I could do not to drag her into a broom closet and add more. For Mom’s sake, though, I kept it together, and based on the audience’s reaction, everyone was moved by her modern take on the Christmas story. As thankful as I am for this play and my mom’s scheming for bringing Sloane and me together, I’m ready to have my wife to myself for Christmas. Well…not just to myself. We’ve decided that an after-party at our house tonight is the perfect opportunity for Sloane’s family to meet mine and for us to announce our marriage to her parents. She’s nervous but hopeful that once they see that I’ve made an honest woman out of her, they’ll come around. I’m not convinced that will be the case, but it’s objectively better to go ahead and get everything out in the open so that, regardless of what happens, we can all move forward.
Luckily for me, my mother’s vision of Lucifer favors the same cut and style of custom suit as I do, so I’m already dressed and ready to head home for the party. I’m just waiting for my wife to finish changing.
My wife.Fuck, that has yet to get old. I’m not convinced it ever will. I have our rings in my pocket, waiting to put them back on later this evening once we’ve made our announcement. Just as I’m at the end of my patience, Sloane emerges from the dressing room with my mother in tow.
