Violet
Everyone made it.
Ian's parents, Daniel, Carl, Layla, Isabelle and Kelly.
The house if full of laughter and light. The decorations look amazing at night, especially the lights Nova and Ian hung all over inside and outside.
At the moment, we sit at the table, helping ourselves to dinner. As a child, I always celebrated Christmas the Puerto Rican way. Rice and beans, potato salad, green salad, pork and for dessert tembleque and arroz con dulce.
This year we made everything, but exchanged the pork for a turkey. Ian, Nova and Ava were eager to try things my way and that's what we made for everybody.
"Would somebody like to say grace?" Carl asks as everyone finishes taking what they want. Nova takes the fork from his mouth, chews and swallows before nodding.
"I do." He says. Everyone looks at him expectantly. "Well, bow your heads and close your eyes. We're gonna talk to Jesus." Everyone does as he says, trying hard not to laugh.
"Pray, Nova." I say after he's silent for a while. He takes a deep breath.
"God, we come before you today to thank you. I thank you for our lives, for this wonderful family and for this generous meal. May your Grace provide for others as it has for us. Amen." Everyone else repeats the words.
There are collective hums and moans of pleasure as everyone tastes the food.
"I have eaten this before. Why does it taste so different? This is amazing." Layla praises. She looks very beautiful in her black dress. It's tight, but not too tight. Completely "age appropriate", as she had said when she arrived with Isabelle, who wears a white shirt tucked into a red skirt. They look very beautiful together.
"It's that sazón latino, Layla. Your Amber might look American, but one look at that body and attitude and you just know." Isabelle says, making everybody nod. I look at my plate, face reddening.
Ian chuckles. I look at Isabelle and nod.
"Thank you...and you're right, Isa. I'm half Puerto Rican; this is a traditional Puerto Rican meal." Isabelle nods smugly. Ian winks at her, and they share a laugh.
"I want more of these meals. I demand one at least monthly." Layla says, reaching for her glass of wine.
"I'm the mother. I get to come." Ian's mother, Lucy, says.
"Well, I'm her husband. I have to bring her..." Bryce, his father, follows, making everyone laugh.
"Count me in then." Carl grunts. I smile at them.
"He can't leave his kid behind. I have to come with." Mike says innocently. He earns a few laughs.
"Well, of course I have to be invited." Daniel's voice makes Ava stiffen beside me. "I'm the best friend."
"I'm the annoying nurse. I get to come too." Isabelle says, looking at Daniel. "And what is that? French? It's a little mixed, though, isn't it?" She asks, referring to his accent. He nods, with a side smile.
"Mis le doigt sur la tête, une fois encore, belle Isabelle." He mutters and she melts.
"I don't know what you just said, but that sounds as good as this food." She answers. Layla laughs.
"He said "Hit the nail on the head, yet again, beautiful Isabelle'." Ava translates. We all give her shocked looks. "I take French now." She says coyly. Daniel keeps staring, but nobody else seems to notice.
Nova gives his sister a weird look, but nobody seems to notice either.
Maybe I'm just paranoid.
"Well, maybe we can have dinners like this every two weeks." Ian says, looking at me as if he were consulting me. I nod with a smile.
"Of course, love." I tell him and then look at everybody. "We can have big dinners like this. I adore having everybody over." I say sincerely.
I notice Rebecca and Kelly shift awkwardly. They feel like they're intruding.
"Everyone here is family." I say, raising my glass. "To family."
"To family." They repeat and we drink. Nova, Ava, Kelly and Rebecca have juice while the rest of us have wine.
"Little girl here wants more of this food...I'm in." Kelly says around a mouthful of turkey. Everyone laughs. "What is this stuffing?" She asks.
"Mofongo." Nova says. "It's fried, mashed plantain with garlic and God knows what. It's amazing, isn't it?" He asks her. She nods, looking at me.
"It really is. You outdid yourself." She praises. Everyone raises their glasses and nods.
"I didn't do this alone. Ava, Nova and Becca did a lot of it. Mike and Ian helped too." They all scoff.
"We chopped vegetables and potatoes. Don't be humble." Becca tells me with a smile.
"Seriously. The woman was hopping around with her crutch, making this happen." Ian says. Daniel raises his glass and before he can speak, Isabelle does.
"In French." She suggests. Layla chuckles to herself as he gives Isabelle a charming smile.
"À mon ami, ma sœur, à Violet." He says.
Everyone repeats the words in French, drinking to them.
"What did we just drink to?" Nova asks. Everyone laughs, knowing they felt the same way.
"To my friend, my sister, to Violet." Daniel translates. Nova nods.
Ian kisses my temple and I lean into his embrace, enjoying the food and company.
Eventually everybody broke into small groups for conversation and when we were done, we cleared the table.
We all go to the living room and take seats. Layla and Isabelle prefered to take ottomans and place them next to Daniel, Mike and Rebecca who share a sofa. Ian's parents sit on another sofa, while Nova, Kelly and Ava sit on cushions on the floor next to them. Ian, Carl and I sit on chairs we brought from outside, closing the very deformed circle.
"I'm so full. I'm not sure how she's fitting in there." Kelly says, looking down at her stomach. She's almost six months along and she's beginning to look huge.
She is beautiful with her dirty blonde waves falling over her shoulders and brushing her belly.
Nova smirks at her.
"You've never eaten that much in your life, have you?" Layla asks her, her hand rubbing her flat belly. Kelly nods. "Me neither." We laugh.
"Same here." Rebecca says, patting her even flatter stomach. "God, how will I drive home?" She says, resting her head on her hands. The men look at the three of them like they are crazy and it causes even more laughter.
Ian kisses my head and pulls me closer. I don't know what is it, but he can't stop touching me. I love it, but it's beginning to worry me. It's like he wants to tell me something, do something.
It's driving me nuts.
"Does the little one have a name?" Mike asks, eyeing Kelly and how her head is resting on Nova's shoulder. Everyone is thinking the same thing: what's going on here?
"I can't decide. There are so many names I just love...I don't want a name like mine. I mean, my mother went crazy with my name. Kellymarie. It's like she couldn't decide between the names and when they pushed her to choose, she put them together. She's demented." We all laugh at her obvious exasperation.
"Name her Isabelle." Isabelle says, playing with the back of Layla's hair. "She'll be gorgeous." More laughter.
"Danielle. You cannot go wrong with naming her Danielle or Daniella." Daniel says, smirking at Kelly, who blushes furiously while she laughs. I raise an eyebrow at Daniel. He winks. I can't help but notice Ava's frown.
"You guys are adorable." Kelly says as Isabelle and Daniel high five. Her words cause more laughter.
"Rebecca's an edgy name. It's sexy, strong. She will be a total badass." Rebecca says with a smug look. Kelly shakes her head as she laughs.
"No, no. Picking your kid's name is important because you can begin to scar them since they are born." Carl starts, only causing more laughter. "Look at my son: Mikael Angelo. I mean, isn't that name just perfect." Mikael narrows his eyes at his father, the only person not hysterically laughing. Kelly wipes tears from her eyes, looking up at Carl.
"With all due respect, Mr. Grayson, I have to say that was completely evil of you." He nods, smiling smugly.
"Of course, beautiful Kelly. That was the whole point." He studies her. "Are you sure you don't want to sit on a chair? Are you okay, sweetheart?" Kelly nods.
"I am comfortable. Thank you, Mr. Grayson." She answers.
"Call me Carl." He tells her. She smiles and nods.
"Oh no, dear, name her something you adore. It's such a beautiful thing to have children...put that joy into her name." Lucy says her smile sincere, her eyes flashing to Ian. He shifts and smiles at her, then looks down.
"It's so hard, though. I will come with a list tomorrow and we can all choose a name. Sound good?" She asks the group. We all nod vigorously.
"I know this is a bit intrusive, but have you discussed this with your family? Maybe the baby's father?" Bryce asks her out of sheer curiousity.
"We are her family now and the father does not want to be involved." Nova answers. His words are edgy, filled with anger. Bryce nods, smiling apologetically at Kelly.
"Well, if you'll have me, I'd like this baby to have a loving family. My own family hasn't treated me the way you guys have in a couple of hours, in months..." Kelly says. Ian leans in, his face serious, yet tender.
"Kelly, you are part of us now. And believe me, you and your little girl will want for nothing. We will make sure of that." Her eyes shine with tears as one of his hands touch her face gently as a father would do to a daughter.
"Thank you, Mr. Hay—Ian." She says nodding. He sits back and relaxes against his chair. I give him a smile and place my hand on his thigh.
"Well, ladies. If you don't mind, I would like to divide this party. I'd like it if the men could go have beers outside." Layla narrows her eyes at Ian, whose arm tenses around me. It's obvious something's going on.
"By all means." I say, gesturing to the sliding doors. Daniel looks at his cellphone and stands.
"I will have to cut this short. I have something to attend to." He says, standing and kissing all the women, shaking all the men's hands. "Thank you for having me. It was lovely. Exquis, mon cher." Exquisite, my dear, he says before kissing both my cheeks again. I nod and smile up at him.
"Daniel Lemaire, you have made me question my sexuality." Isabelle tells him as he straightens up. He laughs.
"Hey, now." Layla warns. Isabelle gives her a 'I'm just kidding' look.
"I'll walk you out." Ava says as she stands.
"Merci." He thanks and off they go.
Ian kisses me briefly before standing.
"This way, gentlemen." He says and all the men follow him out to the yard.
"That was so weird." Says Kelly, still looking at the closed sliding door.
"It was. Do you know what's going on?" Layla asks me, her face delirious with whatever Isabelle's doing to the back of her hair. I shrug.
"I have no idea." I answer, my mind on why it's taking Ava so long to get back.
"They're discussing something they don't want us to hear." Kelly says, trying to stand. Isabelle quickly stands to help her up and onto the sofa next to her. "Thanks, Isabelle."
"You can thank me by naming her Isabelle." She answers with a smirk.
"Oh, I love spending time with you girls. It's been so long since I have had this. I'm always with Bryce, or in our house's garden." Lucy says. I smile at her.
"We will have to make this a regular thing. Guys outside, girls inside." I suggest. They all nod in agreement, even drowsy Layla. Isabelle has magic hands.
"Amber, you have to give me the recipe for that arroz con dulce." Layla says. "I can't cook for shit, but I want it." We all laugh and Lucy covers her mouth, blushing at the language. It's kind of adorable. She's such a sweet woman.
"It's really easy to make, Layla. I can write it down for you." Ava says suddenly as she walks into the room. I don't study her. I don't want to know if anything happened.
He promised me it was over. I believe him.
"I would appreciate it, love." The name makes Ava's eyes sadden, but she smiles and nods, taking a seat next to Kelly.
"You are going to have to forgive me, but I have to ask this: is Ian even showing signs of a proposal?" Lucy asks, knocking the air right out of my lungs. Ava and Kelly laugh at my expression, while Isabelle and Layla look at each other.
"Uh...I mean, he's talked about it before. It's not like it's off the table, but no. No proposal or sign of proposal yet." I answer. Lucy's eyes narrow and she shakes her head.
"Grandma, he's been saying he will marry her ever since they met. It's bound to happen. Plus they already act like they are married." Ava says with a shrug. "But it won't take him too long. I know he's itching to seal the deal. He's going to be crazy happy to have a ring on her finger and have every other male know she's his." The women nod.
I blush.
"Oh, you are too shy, Violet. It's the truth. He hasn't stopped touching you all night. They are subtle moves, but the message is clear: She's mine." Isabelle finishes the last bit imitating Ian's deep, rough voice. We laugh.
"It's true. It's so wonderful to watch two people like that..." Kelly whispers. Rebecca, who's been quiet and still, nods.
"I agree. We all want a man," she looks at Layla and Isabelle. "or woman to treat us like that." Collective nods.
"I think Amber's getting flustered over this proposal talk." Says Layla. I look at her, giving her a grateful look. She smirks. "Let's talk about the wedding theme. Wouldn't The Little Mermaid be an amazing theme? I mean, Violet and Ian look just like Ariel and her prince." Everyone begins to gush over the idea.
I put my head in my hands.
"Oh, and beautiful vintage decor. Oh, I can't wait to begin all the planning." Lucy sighs. I look at her and smile politely, then I look at Layla who is smirking.
I smirk back.
I will have my revenge someday.
Ian
We all grabbed a beer, except Nova who has a water, and chose a chair, making a circle.
"What is it, boy?" Carl asks me. I had told him I wanted time with all of them to talk about something I've been wanting to do.
"Well, I—uh, was thinking...I—uh, should—" My father and Carl shake their heads while Nova smiles that big, shit eating smile, knowing exactly what I am about to say. Mike looks at me with amusement and curiosity.
"Say it, Ian." My father prompts.
"How did you know when you wanted to marry mom, Dad?" My father shifts uncomfortably in his chair.
"Son, our marriage was arranged by our fathers. Both families were wealthy and we were forced to marriage." The words make every jaw, but Carl's, drop. My parents didn't love each other when they married. How am I just finding out about this now?
"What?" I ask because it's all I can manage.
"No way." Nova whispers.
"Yes. I fell in love with her about a year after the marriage. She was attracted to me before, I knew she was all for the idea of out marriage...but I wasn't. But then we were living together and I couldn't help but fall in love with her. She was the sweetest, innocent thing. How could I not?" I knew the feeling he was talking about.
"Wow. I didn't expect that at all." I say in all honesty.
"Me neither." Mike adds. Nova stares at his grandfather before taking a sip of his water bottle and nodding.
I drink a bit myself.
"How about you, Carl? How did you know when you wanted to marry Morgan?" Carl's face stills at my words. He takes a drink a deep breath and then speaks.
"I guess I always knew. I met her at a frat party, spilled my beer all over her white dress," he chuckles at the memory. We all lean in, interested. "She was so pissed. So incredibly pissed...I tried her limits and told her her," he pauses, looking at his son. "well, you know...her chest looked good and she slapped me. Hard." We all laugh.
"I knew I wanted that woman in my life, so I went after her. Took me three months to get a date, six for a kiss and a year and a half to get her to be my girlfriend. I always knew she was the woman for me, so as soon as we graduated, I asked her to marry me." He takes a deep, shuddering breath. Mike looks at him with pained eyes. I think we all do.
"That's beautiful." Nova whispers. I nod.
"We had our kid, we made a family...but I fucked it up. I was recruited to be a Wolf and that changed everything." He whispers, taking an angry drink of his beer. We all drink.
"I want to marry Violet, but I don't think I want to be an Alpha. I want to open a few more gyms, maybe begin training some kids, but I don't want to be an Alpha...I don't want to be a Wolf either." The words have them all gaping at me.
I said I would never quit being a Wolf, unless it was for the people I loved most.
"You said you would only quit for the kids...because they were the only people who you'd give everything up for." Mike says, shock written all over his face.
"I would give everything up for her too." I answer. Nova slaps my shoulder, squeezing it affectionately.
"Marry her. Now." He says with that smile.
"Son, I agree with Nova. Marry that wonderful woman." My father says. Carl gives me a smile, something rare, and leans in. His elbows are on his knees and his green eyes are on mine.
"You were born a fighter, you were trained a fighter, you've lived a fighter. You never found a fighter on a ring or an octagon to fight as hard as you did." He pauses as I take a drink and meet his eyes again. "But in life, where you've fought your hardest, you found your match. That person is your beautiful Violet. The woman that was born a fighter, was trained by life a fighter and has survived by being a fighter. She is your match; the fight that you can't win. And you don't want to win, either. The day you win that fight...that day it's over. You fight her every second of every day. Don't stop fighting her, Ian. Ever."
"She's my match...the fight I'll never win." I whisper, amazed that he could put it in such a way. "Holy shit, Carl—" He raises a hand, gesturing that I need to stop before thanking him.
"Wow, Dad. I never knew you could talk like that." Mike says with an appreciative nod.
"Carl was quite the poet back in the day. You've never told you son about the slam poetry back in college?" Father says. Carl gives him a murderous look.
"Let's focus on Ian now, please." Carl says uncomfortably as we all laugh. He straightens in his chair, his green eyes practically glittering. He's got some dirt too. "Bryce, I bet you never told your son about cheerleading." We all lose it as my father's face reddens.
"You were a cheerleader, Grandpa?" Nova asks, resting his elbows on his knees. My father nods with a sly smile. "Bet you got shit for it, huh?"
"You have no idea. Especially from this asshole." He bumps Carl's shoulder. "But I had other interests. Being the one that lifted those pretty girls with those tiny skirts was gratifying." We all laugh, except Mike, who shakes his head, in mock indignation, at my father.
"Remember Johanna Mason?" Father asks Carl, who nods and makes a pained expression.
"Goddamn." Is all Carl says, making Mike turn to him.
"Dad!" He complains. I think we have never laughed this much in a single conversation.
"Oh, I am so sorry to interrupt, but Ian, honey, your father and I have to get going." My mother's voice says, sweetly. "It's getting rather late and even though we are a tad closer now, we should get going." I frown, standing along with all the others. I face her and she smiles.
"I thought you were staying here." I say. Walking over to her and kissing her forehead.
"Oh no. We are bringing dessert tomorrow and I have all the ingredients at home." She explains, rising on the tips of her toes to kiss my cheek. "I love her, Ian. I hope you are planning on marrying her soon." I smile and nod, turning to give Dad a look. He nods, understanding he is not to tell her what we talked about. She will be so happy.
They say they're goodbyes and Nova walks them out. Carl, Mike and I go back inside. Carl and I help Mike get inside as there is a small step at the sliding doors. We find only Violet, Ava, Kelly and Rebecca.
"Where are Isa and Layla?" I ask Violet settling beside her, kissing her head.
"They had to run. They sent you all hugs and kisses." She answers, smiling at the three of us.
"Oh, I should be going too. This little girl has been moving around too much and maybe laying down will calm her...and I get some sleep too." Kelly says, trying hard to stand, but failing. I chuckle, going to help her up, but Carl beats me to it.
"You should stay." Ava says, her eyes on Kelly's stomach.
"You should. A little elf told me Santa will bring you and baby girl presents here." Nova says, walking into the room. "And I have your overnight bag in my room." He smiles his wide, shark-like smile at her.
She nods.
"If it's not a problem..." She says looking at Violet and then at me. I shake my head.
"Not at all, sweetheart. With the family comes the house. It's all yours." Violet snuggles further into me and I put an arm around her.
"Absolutely, Kelly." She agrees.
"Thank you all so much." She says a little choked up.
"Get some sleep. I'll take your lemon to your room later when you're relaxed, okay?" Nova asks her. She smiles and nods.
"Well, it was great to meet you all. Thank you for the advice on baby names, Mr. Grayson." She says looking around. Carl chuckles.
"Call me Carl and it's no problem." He says, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Becca stands to hug her and Mike kisses her knuckles.
"I'll be back." Ava says, getting up to take her to the guest room.
"Sure, Terminator." Nova says, grin in place. Ava rolls her eyes and they walk away.
Mike runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head.
"I can't take it anymore. Is it yours, Nova? Are you with her? I mean, overnight bag? Sleep over? And what the hell does she need a lemon for?" His outburst is amusing, but we're all too shocked to laugh.
"Uncle Mike, it's a baby girl not an it. And no, it's not mine. I'm not with her either and since she is about six months along she is a bit paranoid about going out without a bag with all her necessities, which is why she brought it with her. The lemon? She's had horrible morning sickness and we researched. Apparently lemon helps and for her, it's not just having it in the mornings, but the night before." The silence is awkward, indicating that Mike still had something on his mind.
"I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, but I think you're acting like the baby's father and that might confuse Kelly. You had mentioned her before...and it seems she's even more fond of you now." Violet tenses.
"She did like you, Nova." She says quietly. Carl and Becca seem to be thinking about this in a different way, their faces serious, waiting on Nova's response.
"Yeah and then she fell for an idiot who left her pregnant. I am not giving hope of something that's not going to happen. I am just being there for her because she needs it and...and maybe I do too. And if that little girl needs a father, I'm not afraid to step up, be that figure in her life." He explains, annoyance noticeable in his tone. "We talked about this. She knows who I really want and what's going on between us." Mike nods, raising his hands.
"I don't mean to bother you, Nova. I just wouldn't want this to end badly." He says.
"I think Kelly is just focused on having her little girl and being a good mother, rather than being in a relationship with Nova. Yes, she looks at him a certain way. Of course, but who wouldn't? He's practically been her hero. She told us tonight how much he had defended her and how he takes care of her. All I see is a girl grateful for a wonderful person in her life." Becca says with a shrug and a look that says 'It's that simple'. Carl nods.
"You're completely right, Rebecca." He says, making Becca smile.
"You just had to kill everything I said, didn't you, Blondie?" Mike asks with a smirk.
"Well, Blondie is right. Except for the part where I am her hero. She really was mine. We got close when Violet was taken and I latched on. It kept me sane." He confesses. "I focused on taking care of her because I couldn't take care of you." He says turning to Violet. She sniffs and stands, stumbling into Nova, who already had his arms open for her.
He nods and I understand she must have whispered something.
"Well, you're doing something amazing here, boy. I congratulate you." Carl says as they part. I stand to pull my woman close. Becca stands too.
"Thank you, old man." Nova tells him with a wink.
"It's past my bedtime. I should go." Carl says after winking back at his grandson.
"We should all go." Mike says with a yawn.
"I think it's past Mikael's bedtime too." Becca says with a smile.
We all say our goodbyes in laughter and then they are all gone.
"I'll bring out all the presents and put them under the tree. You two should go rest." Nova says, as we walk and reach the stairs.
"No, I'm fine. I'll help you." Violet says. Nova shakes his head.
"Just rest. I can see how red your toes are and it's not the nail polish. You're tired and you've exhausted your leg today." He kisses her head. "Dad, don't let her get out of bed." He says and I nod.
"Will do." I say. He slaps my arm and moves on to do as he said he would.
I carry Violet, princess style, to our room chuckling at her protests.
I put her on the bed and admire how beautiful she is.
"Have I told you how amazing you look in that dress?" I ask. She rolls her eyes, but smiles.
"Only a thousand times." She answers in a feather soft whisper. "Thank you." She says as she stands. "Now, take it off me." I smile, reaching for the ends of the green fabric and sliding it off her succulent body.
"What do you want me to do next?" She looks up into my eyes, the amber in hers burning with love and lust.
"I want you to make love to me. All night long." She whispers.
I bring my lips down on hers, my hands up to fist in her hair and my soul to rest with hers.
I belong to her. Everything I am and everything I own belongs to her.
I should let her know that.
"I'm yours, Violet." I whisper against her lips. I have her on the bed, beneath me. She smiles, her big amber eyes crinkling at the sides.
"And I yours, Ian." She whispers. My hands frame her face and I take her in. My beautiful Violet.
I smile.
"I''m going to make love to you now." I say before kissing her forehead and her nose, then her lips. She laughs.
And I feel like I could do anything when she does.
"All night long." She whispers, pushing me off her and settling on my lap. "All. Night. Long." She repeats and devours my mouth.
She devours me completely.
And I have never felt more alive.