“And you probably would not have put two and two together had you not met her today. Seriously, I wonder why I even talk to you. You never listen to a word I say.”
“Of course, I do.” He paused a moment and then asked, “So, she spearheaded this event? The kids’ Christmas Eve party?”
“Yes. Some of the little ones thought Santa might not find them, since they wouldn’t be home tonight. So Santa decided to come a bit early, to make sure he saw them. And he promised that he would still make it to their house tonight and leave additional presents. It worked out well. Did you see all those little smiling faces?”
“I noticed. But do you honestly think Eden Steele is cluelessabout the anniversary party?”
“Everybody seems to think that she and Drew don’t suspect a thing.”
“Well, you don’t have to wonder which of those grandkids are hers. The green eyes give them away.”
Tiffany chuckled. “Yes, they do. And I noticed you didn’t seem to get annoyed when you got cross-examined by my Phoenix cousins at breakfast.”
“I’m getting used to it. Besides, I have nothing to hide.”
“They just want to get to know you better, Gary.”
“By asking a lot of questions?”
She shrugged. “As you can see, there are more boys than girls in the Steele family. I thought I had it bad as a teen being a Steele, until I talked to Vanessa, Taylor, and Cheyenne. They were the first girls born in their Steele generation. In fact, they are the only girls, and their overprotective cousins made life miserable for them. Since my father was the oldest, I heard he was the worst.”
He nodded. “Speaking of your dad, I didn’t see him at breakfast.”
“Neither did I. I asked Mom where he was. He and my uncle Morgan had Zoom conference calls with members of their staff this morning.”
“Oh? Why only those two when all his brothers work for the company?”
“I understand the company was recently awarded a government contract. Since Dad is CEO and Uncle Morgan heads the company’s research and development department, I guess they felt they should check in before everyone left for the holidays. The Steele Corporation is closed until after New Year’s.
“A contract with the government sounds important,” Gary said.
“I’m sure it is. Dad’s worked with the government before, but I understand this particular contract is major.”
“Did you ever think about going to work for your father’s company?”
“For a while, Marcus and I both did. However, when I got to college, I was pulled in another direction. And it worked out. I love working in pediatric medicine.”
When they had collected all the trash, she smiled at him. “I’m excited about the Christmas tree lighting in a few hours. I’m going to try to get Dad to come. Otherwise, he will be on his laptop until dinner.”
Gary smiled. “Let’s hope you can do that. Too much work isn’t good for anyone. Although I brought my laptop, I haven’t opened it since I arrived. What time is the tree lighting?”
“Around six, right before dinner. I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
And he was looking forward to the opportunity to hack into Chance Steele’s computer.
**
“So how did you and Gary meet?” Sloan Steele asked. Sloan was married to one of those former Bad News Steeles–Mercury. They had adorable two-year-old twins -a boy named Eric and a girl named Eris. Not only were they adorable, but they were also full of energy. Sloan had bundled up the pair in warm clothing, and taken them outside to play in the snow.
Tiffany liked Sloan and recalled the day Mercury had brought her to North Carolina to meet the Charlotte Steeles. It happened to be a weekend when she had been home from medical school. She thought Sloan was simply gorgeous and could see how Mercury had fallen in love with her. But then, she thought all her Phoenix Steele cousins had married beautiful women who were just as beautiful on the inside. What she liked about themwas that they were all friendly. Usually at family gatherings, she, Sloan, and Gannon’s wife, Delphine, hung out together since they were close in age. Both Sloan and Delphine were twenty-eight, and Tiffany would be turning twenty-seven in a couple of months.
She smiled. “Gary and I met at a party and hit it off immediately. He’s a lot of fun to be around and knows how to have a great time. And he’s very attentive.”
“Was it love at first sight?”
Tiffany shrugged. “I don’t think so, but he grew on me. Over the last three months, we’ve spent a lot of time together. We’ve gone to movies, dinners, skating, and taken cooking classes…”
“Sounds like he swept you off your feet,” Sloan said, smiling.
