Page 84 of Done with You

“Always, Nana,” Jordan said teasingly as he opened the front door and the two of them headed back outside.

Once the front door closed and they were in Jordan’s truck, Aiden turned to his brother. “What’s wrong with Rayma and Oona’s parents? I was there when Rayma got the call from Pasha and she nearly had an anxiety attack.”

Jordan started up the engine of his truck and backed out of the driveway. “Come on, I’ve been tasked with picking up the wine for the tables. I’ll fill you in.”

Chapter Seventeen

After running her errands with Grant and cooling off, Rayma joined Oona and her sisters at Pasha’s house for a much-needed bitch-fest.

“Since it’s the middle of the day and I’m driving, I brought carbs instead of booze,” Rayma said, entering Pasha’s house and announcing herself by holding up a box of donuts from the gourmet donut shop downtown.

They were all sitting around Pasha’s dining room table writing names for the place-settings, and doing other menial wedding day décor tasks while Pasha’s seven-year-old son Raze and five-year-old daughter Eve played Legos on the floor in the living room.

Oona loved her oldest sister’s home. It was impeccably decorated while not coming across as pretentious or trendy. Right now, in all of the magazines and on every social media site people were decorating their homes in whites and beiges. And while beautiful, that could look cookie-cutter and boring. It also didn’t seem practical for a house with children.

Pasha had never been one to conform, though. One wall was a rich café latte color, while the others were a warm white. Her color scheme was beige and brown with pops of deep forest green and the perfect amount of black accent pieces, like a throw pillow or picture frame. It was like walking into a hunting lodge but without the log walls and all the animal heads everywhere.

The brown leather couch was softer than butter, and the area rug was a nifty beige with a pattern of dark green leaves.

And house plants were everywhere. Big and small, short and tall. Heath said he felt like he lived in a jungle, but Pasha just kept saying they had the purest, cleanest air in the city.

Oona loved it. Even though she was just starting on her houseplant collection with Harmonia, now that she’d seen how you could use plants as décor and art—as her sister did—she was eager to build her own clean air jungle in her condo. Harmonia didn’t just need one friend, she needed dozens.

An enormous live Christmas tree sat in the corner opposite the big screen television mounted to the wall, and it glittered with warm white lights, paper chains made by the kids and various ornaments both bought, and handmade at school. Other tastefully placed holiday decorations were scattered throughout the house, and a beautiful handmade (by Pasha) wreath made out of cedar boughs and holly welcomed you into their home at the front door.

Just like Pasha, her home was warm, inviting, and not the least bit pretentious.

Oona got up from her spot at the table and went into the kitchen to grab plates for the donuts and put the kettle on again for more tea. They’d been drinking a lot of tea.

“Donuts!” Raze cheered, having spied what was probably a familiar box, and getting up from the floor, running to Rayma.

“Can we have one, please, Auntie Rayma?” Eve asked, following her brother and gazing up at the box with her big blue eyes.

You’d never know either child came from Pasha at all. They were both spitting images of Heath. Blond hair and big blue eyes. Gorgeous children, but the Young genes were no match for the Hart genes when it came to making babies.

“You’ll have to ask your mom,” Rayma said. Then she brought her voice down. “But cool Auntie Rayma made sure to get your favorites.”

“Yay!” The kids cheered.

“Ask Auntie Rayma to cut them in half and you can each have half of one for now,” Pasha said. “You don’t need that much sugar in your system in one go.”

“Yay!” The kids cheered again, following Rayma into the kitchen where Oona was getting out a knife and cutting board.

“How are you doing, kiddo?” Oona asked her sister, setting down the knife on the cutting board and pulling her little sister in for a hug.

Rayma put the donut box on the counter and embraced her sister. “I’ve been better, obviously. But, it is what it is, and I need to figure it out. I won’t let them ruin my wedding.”

“We won’t let them ruin your wedding,” Oona said, squeezing Rayma tighter, then smiling when Rayma did it back. They kept squeezing each other harder and harder until Oona finally caved and said uncle.

Raze and Eve were watching them curiously.

Oona cleared her throat and released Rayma, then grabbed the donut box and opened it. “Which ones are your favorites?”

“I like the salted caramel one,” Raze said, sidling right up next to Oona and leaning over so he could look into the box. He was taller than your average seven-year-old. Which probably meant he was going to be a mountain like his father one day. His head already brushed Oona’s shoulder. It would be no time before he was taller than her. Before he was taller than all of them.

“I can’t see!” Eve protested.

“Here.” Raze bent down and she climbed onto his back in a piggyback, then maneuvered his body so she could see into the box, too. Oona would have just brought the box down to her level, but she enjoyed watching her niece and nephew interact and the way Raze doted on his little sister.

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