“Did they rebook you for the morning?”
“Yeah, if this snow ever stops.” She glanced at the flakes coming down in a curtain of white outside the window, then took a sip of the scotch and choked. “Whoa, that will put hair on your chest.”
“Sign of a good scotch.” Hudson smirked. “Too much?
Harper took another sip. “Nope, all good. Although this one better be careful,” she said, nodding to Allie. “One glass and I’m liable to spill all her secrets.”
Hudson watched as Harper took another slug of scotch. Well, well, well. Perhaps the evening would be more interesting than he first thought.
Allie pushed to her feet. “Okay, loose lips—”
“Sink ships?” Harper smiled and Nick chuckled.
“Put the drink down and come help me get dinner on the table.”
Harper uncurled herself from the couch. “How about I bring my drink with me and help get dinner on the table? I’m starved!”
Good God, that made two of them, Hudson thought as he took another swig of his scotch. “Need help in there, baby?” He crossed his legs ankle to knee and hoped like hell she didn’t drag his ass into the kitchen and find another apron for him to sport. Though Nick looked to be game-on.
“We got this.” She bent to press a quick kiss to his lips and he was a goner.
Hudson cupped the back of her head, holding her to him. “Make it quick, I’m eager for dessert,” he murmured against her lips. Allie turned and walked into the kitchen with Harper’s arm slung through hers. He watched her leave, then glanced at his watch, counting the minutes until dinner would be over and he could have her under him shouting his name.
‘Tis-the-season-of-giving.
From the kitchen he heard Harper’s voice pitch to a new octave. “Shit, this kitchen is the size of a studio apartment.”
He chuckled into his glass.
“Looks like the white stuff is really piling up,” Nick said from behind him.
Hudson craned his neck. In the distance the frozen lake was barely visible. He joined his brother at the window for a better view. The cars below them moved at a snail’s pace down Lake Shore Drive and were nearly covered with the snow.
“Dinner is served,” Allie said. She and Harper came into the room carrying two dishes a piece.
Already in motion, Hudson moved aside the table settings that seemed to be multiplying by the hour and found space for the platters weighing down their arms. “Smells amazing,” he said. When she smiled it knocked him upside the head: this was her Elysium. This disjointed family coming together at the last minute, weather be damned, was exactly what she needed.
Cutting through the sentimental meditation was Nick’s baritone laugh and Harper’s cheerful voice. “It sure does,” she said. Her gaze dropped to the empty place settings and a string bean that had jumped ship. “But seriously, guys, you didn’t have to wait for me. I’m sure the last thing you wanted was to put dinner back in the oven.”
Allie’s mouth popped open in surprise.
Harper rolled her eyes. “Please, like I couldn’t hear all those plates clanking together. And for the record, I totally pictured you snapping your fingers at these two,” she swung her pointed finger between Nick and Hudson, “to help you race it all back to the kitchen.”
Nick laughed. “Sounds like she’s got your number, Allie.”
“Like I said, I know all the secrets.” Harper smiled at Nick as she lifted her glass to her lips and took another sip of the throat-burning scotch. “You know,” she said glancing down at the crystal tumbler. “This stuff gets a lot smoother the more you drink.”
“Definitely no more for you, then,” Allie teased as Hudson filled the wineglasses.
“So where are you supposed to be tonight?” Nick asked.
“St. Louis,” Harper said, digging into the sweet potatoes and scooping up extra marshmallows.
“Is that where you grew up?” Nick asked. He’d loaded his plate with protein and the sum of a teaspoon of veggies.
“Yeah. Allie told me you guys grew up in Michigan. What part?”
Nick halted the spoon midscoop in the stuffing and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Um, yeah, we moved around a lot.”
“Northern peninsula, mostly,” Hudson interjected. Nick’s discomfort mirrored his own. Their past was a closed subject as far as he was concerned. Needing a change, he switched gears to a safer topic. “So tell me, Harper, what sort of celebration is going on in St. Louis tonight?”
“Oh jeez, let’s see.” Harper heaped another spoonful of potatoes on her plate and it dipped from the added weight. “Well, my mom for sure made a big bowl of her famous eggnog, the one Aunt Sue swears doesn’t affect her even though she’ll start singing show tunes on the way to midnight mass. My nieces and nephews are probably so amped up on cookies and candy canes by now that if we open the window we can probably hear my sister yelling about Santa’s hotline all the way from here.” Harper set her plate down and glanced at her watch. “And in about an hour Uncle Eddie will be passed out on the couch watching It’s a Wonderful Life with his hand tucked into the waistband of his pants.”
“Not sure we can compete with all that.” Hudson chuckled. “But I might have a copy of It’s Wonderful Life upstairs in the theater.” He lifted his fork and met Allie’s gaze with a warm smile. “And I’m quite certain Alessandra stocked the fridge with enough eggnog to inspire a song or two.”
Harper’s eyes grew wide. “You have a theater in this place?”
“Yeah,” Nick answered. “And a sick game room. If you want I can give you a tour after dinner. Maybe play a bit of pool?”
Hudson shot his brother a look, but he just shrugged. When did his place become Nick’s personal fun house?
A sly grin curved Hudson’s mouth as he contemplated putting a spark into the conversation at Allie’s expense. “Do you play darts, Harper?”
“I’ve played a bit at pubs, but I can’t say it’s a big hobby of mine, no.”
“Alessandra is quite good. Especially when blindfolded.”
Allie sputtered into her wineglass.
“Are you alright?” he asked, placing his hand on her back. She nodded and wiped her mouth with her napkin, then pegged him with a hard stare that warmed as he cocked a grin.
“So tell me more about yourself, Nick,” Harper said before lifting a fork loaded with a combination of potatoes, cranberry, and turkey to create the perfect bite.
Nick looked suddenly shy and maybe. . . holy shit, was his brother nervous? People would be ice-skating in hell tonight. He took a big gulp of sparkling water and managed to choke out two syllables. “Like what?”
Harper stabbed a green bean with her fork. “I don’t know . . . boxers or briefs?”
Now it was Nick’s turn to choke on his beverage. Jesus Christ, this shit kept getting better. His brother was actually blushing. But knowing anything was liable to come out of Nick’s mouth, Hudson held a breath and hoped like hell he wasn’t going to answer her question with a solid “commando.”
“I, um . . .” Nick stalled.
“I’m kidding.” Harper laughed. “How about something easy, like what do you do for a living?”
Nick would have been better off if she’d stuck to underwear, Hudson thought as he cut into his turkey.
“I just started a new job, actually.”
Hudson stilled with his fork in midair. “You did?”
“Yup. You’re looking at Starbucks’ newest barista.”
“That’s great, Nick,” Allie said.”Which location?”
“Dearborn and Division.”
“If you needed a job you should have come to me,” Hudson said before popping the forkload into his mouth.
“Nah, bro, it’s all good. You’ve done enough for me. Besides, I know what kind of ship you run.”