Page 100 of Vodka and Violets (The Hamiltons)

“It is, who’s this?”

“It’s Xander; Xander Jacobs.”

“Well, hello, Xander! It’s good to hear from you. How are you? Wait, is everything all right? Why are you calling?”

“Everything’s fine, sir. I just…” He wiped his hand on his jeans, surprised that for the first time, he felt a touch of nerves. “You know that Tori and I have been seeing each other?”

Matthew laughed. “Not just seeing each other, from what I hear. Alexandria tells me that the two of you have been on quite the road trip, and now you’re planning to open a bar together.”

“That’s right. Except, it’s about more than just opening a bar.”

“I was hoping so.”

Xander smiled. “The reason I’m calling you tonight, sir, is because I want to marry her. I wanted to ask for your blessing first.”

“You don’t need to ask, Xander – you have it. I don’t mind telling you that I’ve worried about that girl over the years. I wondered where life might take her. Don’t get me wrong, I admire her for who she is, but sometimes the world can be unkind to a soul like her.”

Xander nodded to himself. He knew what Matthew meant, but he didn’t know what to say.

“Thank you. Now, I know I don’t have to worry anymore.”

“I give you my word that I’ll do everything I can to take care of her.”

“I know that. But what’s more important to me is that you’ll take care of her in a way that still gives her the space to be herself. You understand her in a way that most people never will.” He heard Matthew suck in a deep breath and blow it out slowly. “Even when you were all children, it was obvious that the rest of you were well-equipped to face that world that we lived in. You were better equipped than I was. It worried me that Tori was more like me than her mother.” Matthew cleared his throat. “Anyway, thank you. Thank you for calling me, thank you for asking me, but most of all thank you for loving my little girl.”

Xander had to swallow before he could reply. “Thank you, sir. And I promise you…”

“That’s okay, Xander. I know. Please, have her call me, and keep in touch. But for now, I’m going to go before I embarrass us both. Bye.”

Xander smiled when the call ended. Matthew was a good guy.

Chapter Twenty-Five

By the time their grand opening day rolled around, Tori was more than ready for it. She checked herself over in the mirror before heading downstairs. They’d only moved into the house a couple of days ago, but she’d already fallen in love with it.

When she reached the kitchen, Xander greeted her with a smile and a cup of coffee. “Do you want some breakfast?”

She checked her watch.

“We have time,” he reassured her. “It was definitely the right call to skip lunch today and only open at four.”

“I know, but I still feel like we should get over there and make sure that everything’s ready.”

He came to her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And we will, but I think everything will go a lot smoother if we just relax and ease into the day.”

She gave him a rueful smile. “I know, you’re right.” She took a sip of her coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. “I know that I said I didn’t like any of the furniture that came with the house, but I don’t see us getting rid of this table, do you?”

Xander chuckled. “I don’t. I didn’t think that I was a hang-out-in-the-kitchen kind of guy, but having this table…”

She smiled up at him. “It’s awesome, isn’t it?”

“So, what can I get you?”

She waggled her eyebrows. “I want to say that I’ll take you, naked, on the table.”

He laughed. “I want to say the same thing to you, but we should probably introduce a little variety, don’t you think?”

“Hmm. True. Although, my version would be a variation, at least. Last night, I believe that it was you who took me on the table.”

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