CHAPTER THIRTEEN
WORTHY
“This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway crooned softly through the surround sound speakers throughout the Blackmoor home. Yasmine and some of the groundskeepers had gone beyond with the decor, arranging an arch in the doorway to the dining room and trimming the bannisters in the foyer with garland and ornaments. One of the grandest trees stood at least ten feet tall in the formal living room. Gold, red, and green balls were arranged meticulously with a star resting on top. Coast and Ayla insisted on decorating for Audiemar since it was clear he wasn’t the Christmas type. It all came together a few days ago when Coast got in a mood.
Kyro and Kara ran through the halls chasing each other, filling the space with laughter while the adults moved between the dining room and living room. Warm lights, music, and laughter echoing through the rooms made it all like some holiday movie.
“Wow, it looks and smells amazing in here.” Coast sauntered inside the kitchen where Ayla moved around frantically, barking orders to the wait staff Audiemar had hired to assist her tonight.
The wine-red mesh ruched backless halter maternity dress hugged her frame, accenting her enlarged belly. She’d pinnedher hair up into a curly bun, leaving some out and flipped to the side hanging in tendrils. As relaxed as she was, Ayla seemed to be rigid times ten. Coast set the camera in her hand on the counter and watched her move with a frown. Swiping her brow from sweat, Ayla sighed heavily and dropped a spatula on the surface.
“This isn’t right. None of it is!” Ayla shrieked.
“Girl, you need to relax. Everything looks fine.” Coast examined the many trays of hors d’oeuvres in front of them and picked up her camera to snap a few photos.
She’d planned to make an entire photo book as a gift for Audiemar. He was the kind of man you didn’t know what to buy, so she figured something from the heart would be suitable. All night long she’d been sneaking candid shots of everyone. Ayla still sported a frown, but she snapped a few of her too. She hadn’t had a chance to get dressed or anything, and she felt like she was a hot mess.
“The question is, are you okay?”
Pausing, Ayla glanced across the counter, eyeing Coast’s stomach as her own flipped with nausea. She hadn’t had a chance to visit a doctor yet, but all signs pointed to her being pregnant, and the longer she sat with that reality, the more evidence piled up, only confirming what she hoped wasn’t true.
“I’m fine,” Ayla insisted.
“Yeah, tell me that again with a straight face,” Coast urged her.
“I’m… overwhelmed,” she admitted.
“Which is the reason Audiemar asked you if you needed help,” Coast reminded her. “I swear you are stubborn as hell.” She picked up a pig in a blanket and took a bite. “My entire family is coming tonight. I should be the one tripping out right now.”
“Ayla, lookie, lookie at my ornament.” Kara raced into the kitchen and stopped at Ayla’s side. Of course, Coast clicked away on her device to capture the moment.
The ornament was pink with Kara’s name in glitter as she held it up for her to see. A hint of a smile claimed her lips, and Ayla peered down into her sweet little chocolate face.
“It’s beautiful, Kara,” she acknowledged, watching Moose sail into the room with Kyro mid-argument.
“It’s just not logical, nephew,” Moose said, half smiling. “If Santa is real, he’s definitely committing federal crimes.”
“Oh, my God! Stop ruining his childhood!” Ayla declared.
“I’m expanding it.” Moose grinned with a glass of whiskey in his hand, joining her and Coast at the counter.
Ayla handed a waiter nearby a tray to carry out to the party and turned back to the counter. She’d lost track and gotten distracted by what she was doing as her eyes skimmed the food. Across the room, Mozzi engaged in what looked like and intense conversation with Audiemar and Desiree. His grandmother lectured him, but it was going in one ear and out the other since he couldn’t take his eyes off Coast. She was glowing. The way she laughed and threw her head back was sexy as hell, and he could tell she was comfortable, which he didn’t witness often.
“This isn’t a game, Mozzi. I hope you know that. It’s one thing to be with Coast, but you’re talking about bringing her into this family,” Desiree chastised, sipping her champagne and watching where his gaze traveled.
“A family with its own share of hardships.” Audiemar added.
His sons only saw him weak for one woman, and Jane gave him hell. With all the darkness that she’d experienced, it was a wonder how she hadn’t let it darken her or turn her into a pessimistic person. Knowing her story and how she came to be in Audiemar’s orbit only left those who really knew her in awe. Jane’s own stepfather had abused her for years.
She was thirteen and a full-blown addict trying to cope with the monster who lived in her home. Her mother didn’t protect nor care about her and spent much of her own life drunk or high. Jane got pregnant as a kid, got an abortion in someone’s basement that nearly killed her, and was told by the doctors she’d never be able to bear children when she woke up in the hospital. A part of her never got over that, leaving her guarded and defensive for a long time. By the time she met Audiemar, life had kicked her ass.
Staring at Coast laughing with Moose, Ayla, and his niece and nephew, Mozzi saw a lot of his late mother in her. The doorbell chiming through the halls was his cue to step away. He’d said his piece to his father and grandmother, letting them know he would be making things official with Coast. His hand brushed against the small of her back as he passed her to the foyer. Whenever he was around her he couldn’t not hold or touch her in some way. IShe grabbed his arm, latching herself onto him.
“Where you going?”
“To get the door.” Mozzi kissed the top of her head. “Walk with me?”
Coast fell in stride with him down the hall, where Kong was already letting their guests inside. She raised her lens to her eye to catch their latest arrivals. The minute she spotted her father and brothers, everything shifted. Wade walked in first, weathered, unreadable, and carrying years of absence as if it weighed nothing. Behind him was Llyr, the quiet, calculating brother with Zale and his reckless energy scanning everything.
