Page 5 of Flown in for Christmas

I lift Tucker off my shoulders and set him down.

“Lunch will be ready shortly,” my mother proclaims, coming into the kitchen. “I’m sure you’re starving, sweetie. Such a long flight. Leah looks exhausted.”

My sister perks up. “They’re here? Well, I’d rather see her and that bun in the oven than my brother who never answers my calls.” She glares at me as she sashays away, a smile playing on her lips.

Shit.

My mother spins to face me. “You haven’t been answering your sister’s calls?” She scolds me the only way a mother can. “Nicholas.”

I clench my jaw. “Been a busy year, Mom. I’ll, uh, be back. I’m going to say hi to Dad.”

She waves me off, dismissing me with a clear promise to discuss my ‘family priorities’ later. I walk through the grand dining room toward the home office. The door is closed and I fight the urge to go in there guns blazing. Schooling my features instead, I push inside.

I’m met with the sight of my father sitting behind his large mahogany desk, andEricsitting in a relaxed pose across from him. It almost looks like they’re having a meeting. Almost.

“Nick, my boy,” my father bellows, pushing to stand. He looks good, all things considered. He’s lost his hair, beard, and eyebrows. He’s lost some weight, too, since the last time I saw him, but his color is good, and that little bit I’ll hold onto.

“Hey, Dad. How are you?” I ask as I give him a sturdy hug.

“Not too bad, if you’d believe it,” he says, sitting back down. “Doctors gave me a break for the holidays. Didn’t want me looking like hell for everyone.”

My brow furrows. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“You got him the best of the best, didn’t you, Nick?” Eric chimes in unwelcomely.

My lip twitches. Prick.

“His insurance did,” I sneer, forcing my closed fists into my pockets before my father sees.

“I’m doing well. I’ve earned the time to take a break and enjoy my family,” Dad states, gesturing loosely to the snake in the room. “Eric was just telling me about Darcy. He’s looking for some advice about deciding to settle down.”

“I’m leaning toward it,” Eric says with a chuckle that sounds as forced as him being here. “She’s a great girl. Deserves the world, wouldn’t you agree,Nick?”

Not even close to how I’d describe her. “You’d know.”

Eric purses his lips together, turning to face my father. “Well, Darcy’s always been big on family, as you know,UncleBruce.”

I narrow my gaze. Wherever he’s going with this, I don’t like it.

“I was hoping to get Great Grandma Davis’ wedding ring for when I inevitably propose.” The smirking side eye Eric sends me sets the rage in my chest to a boil.

That good for nothing son of a—

My father appears rather surprised by Eric’s request as he turns to me. “Well, that’d be up to Nick here. The ring is passed down to the men in the family.” He pauses—too long for my liking. “I…suppose you’d have a right to Grandmother’s ring just as much as any other Davis-born son.”

Over my dead body.

Before Eric can open his quicksand mouth, I say, “I’ve met someone.”

Dad leans back, raising a brow. “You have? Who?”

Think. Think fast, Nick. “I met her, uh, at the airport.”

Eric snorts. “So, what, an hour ago?”

I scowl his way. “No. I met her at the airport last time I came home for a visit. We’ve been seeing each other formonths. We’re in love and I plan to propose the next time I see her. She’s the one, Dad.Ineed Grandma’s ring.”

Eric crosses his arms, clearly not believing me. Hell, I wouldn’t. I’ve been single for nearly two years, and haven’t been on a date in over six months. This is out of left field, even for me.

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