Page 118 of Getting Lucky

The table grew quiet, and Jack lifted his glass. Although he’d never met Beau, the man had changed his life. Without his meddling, Jack would never have met Maisie or found a place among his half-siblings. “To Beau.”

Everyone lifted their own glasses, repeating Jack’s toast with a quiet reverence. “To Beau.”

Dottie’s eyes glittered with unshed tears. “I wish he could be here to see how happy you all are.”

“Notallof us,” Lee said bitterly from the kitchen doorway.

“Give it time,” Dottie said.

Disgust filled Lee’s eyes, followed by a rush of something like panic, and he raced up the stairs.

“He doesn’t mean to be rude,” Georgie said.

“Of course he doesn’t,” Dottie assured her. “Our Lee needs love and support. He needs time.”

Georgie reached over and squeezed the elderly woman’s hand. “And we’ll give him plenty of it.”

Adalia lifted her fork. “Speaking from my personal experience with Dottie’s cure and the way he ran up the stairs, his most immediate need is a bathroom.”

* * *

The other couples had all exchanged gifts at home, so Jack slid Maisie’s gift under the sofa on the sly, catching her eye as he did so. She winked and pointed toward the dining room, where he could see her purse hanging from her chair. Later, after all of the other gifts had been opened, Lee wandered off, either to his room or the bathroom, and Addy turned on the TV and foundA Christmas Storymid-film. Jack whispered into Maisie’s ear, “Let’s go open our gifts to each other on the front porch.”

She grinned. “I saw your moves with the sofa. How about we meet outside with our presents?”

“Deal.”

His was easy. He was sitting on the floor next to the sofa, so he grabbed the gift and went outside, suddenly worried it wasn’t enough. He was resting his butt against the porch railing when she walked out, carrying the small, wrapped box he’d seen at her house.

“I want to open mine first,” she said, setting her gift in one of the chairs and snatching his wrapped gift from him.

“Okay…”

She didn’t waste any time before ripping off the paper. When she opened the lid, she carefully lifted out the scarf.

“It was made by impoverished women in Vietnam,” he said in a rush. “So we’re contributing to the livelihoods of women in need.” He pushed away from the railing. “But that’s not the reason I bought it,” he said in a husky tone.

“Oh?” she asked as he took the scarf from her.

He looped it behind her neck and tugged her closer with the ends until she was flush against him. He held one hand up and brushed the soft fabric against her cheek. “I was right.”

“About what?”

“It’s nearly the exact color of your eyes.”

She smiled and wrapped a hand behind his neck, pulling his face down to hers. “Your turn.” She looked nervous. “I’m worried you won’t like it.”

“I’ll love whatever you give me, simply because it’s from you.”

“You have to say that,” she said as she pushed him down into one of the chairs and grabbed the gift up from the other. She hesitated, then handed it to him. “If you don’t like it, I can get you something else.”

“Maisie, I’m going to love it.” He snagged her wrist and tugged her to him, settling her on his lap before he tore into the paper. He was surprised when he discovered an oversized jewelry box, and the gift inside left him nearly speechless. Having worked at a bar with wealthy clientele, he knew an expensive watch when he saw it.

Now he felt like an utter asshole for getting her a scarf.

“Maisie…”

“In the interest of transparency, you need to know I didn’t buy it.”

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