Page 109 of Vodka and Violets (The Hamiltons)

It didn’t seem like Xander was ready to let her off the hook, either. He was still tense as he stood silently beside her. Although, he and Slade seemed to be having an unspoken conversation with their eyes.

She was grateful to her sister when Willow broke the awkward silence that had descended. “When’s Clay going to sing?” she asked.

Tori looked around for him; this was probably the time to get him up on stage and introduce him.

“In just a few minutes, as soon we’re done here.”

Hannah smiled at her. “Oh good, I really wanted to hear him, but we’re going to have to leave soon.”

Grady smiled at her. “We don’t need to; Ava’s fine with the sitter.”

“Oh my gosh! Ava’s here?”

Hannah nodded happily. “We knew that we wouldn’t be able to bring her tonight, but we still wanted to make a weekend out of it – and she’s fallen in love with the lake.”

“So have we,” Grady added.

“If you have time tomorrow, can we get together?” Xander asked. “I’d love to see her.”

Tori’s heart melted at that. Of the many things that she loved about him, his relationship with his niece was close to the top of the list. He adored that little girl, and there was no doubt that she adored him right back.

Grady laughed. “She’d love to see you. She misses her Uncle Xander.”

Xander chuckled. “That’s because I’m her favorite.”

Slade scowled at him. “I think you’ll find that Uncle Slade’s her favorite.”

Tori loved the way that the two of them pretended to compete for the little girl’s attention. She’d seen them do it before when Ava was around – then, she’d put it down to it being a game for Ava, making sure that she knew just how much everyone loved her. Now, Tori wasn’t so sure that it was just a game.

Everyone laughed when Jacob got to his feet and put his hands on his hips. “You are aware that you guys are only squabbling over second place, aren’t you? Everyone knows that Uncle Jacob is Ava’s favorite.”

Tori laughed even harder at the disgruntled look that Xander and Slade exchanged.

~ ~ ~

While everyone was still laughing, Xander caught Clay’s eye. It looked like he was ready to get up and do his thing. Xander pressed a kiss to Tori’s temple and murmured, “Do you want me to get up and introduce him, or do you want to do it?”

She took his hand and smiled. “I think we should do it together, don’t you?”

He nodded happily. It made sense; it wasn’t just about introducing Clay. This was their moment to officially mark the opening of their bar. He ran his finger over the box in his pocket. There had been a time when he’d thought that he might propose to her on stage tonight. He’d decided against it, though. Their friends and family might have enjoyed that – in fact, he knew that they would – but it wasn’t about them. Tori wouldn’t enjoy it, and that was all that mattered.

When they reached the small stage, Tori went straight to the microphone. That made him smile. He’d been thinking that he would need to do it, but she was perfectly comfortable on stage. She might have been a backup singer rather than the main star, but she was no stranger to performing.

“Hey, everyone!”

The hum of conversation died down, and the whole bar went quiet as people all turned to look at them.

“In just a moment the amazing Clay MacAdam is going to sing for us all.” She turned and shot a smile at him. “I know you’ll all enjoy that. Before he does, we just wanted to thank him for being here tonight. And we want to thank all of you for coming as well. Xander and I have poured our hearts and souls into this place; we’re determined to make it work, and we hope to see all of you become regulars.”

She held her hand out to him, and Xander went to stand by her side. He slung his arm around her shoulders and smiled out at the crowd when she handed him the microphone.

“I don’t have much to add, except to say thank you to you all.” He smiled at Tori. “This little lady is the powerhouse behind this place. She’s the brains and the inspiration.”

Tori took the microphone back. “Don’t believe a word of it.”

He held his breath, hoping that she wasn’t about to put herself down and give him all the glory. He relaxed as a rush of warmth filled his chest when she continued.

“Violets is a team effort.” She smiled up at him. “We each have our strengths and our weaknesses, we’re just lucky that we complement each other.” She turned back to the crowd.

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