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“Of course we do.” I bump his shoulder gently. “You’re stuck with us now.”
He laughs. “Good.”
Life has a funny way of putting broken things back together. Lennie’s business has exploded; there’s really no other word for it. The survival school has expanded beyond anything either of us dared imagine. Family weekends, corporate events and specialist courses for disadvantaged children through Jax’s charity. Bookings now come in months in advance, and he’s employed some of his old army friends to help run things. I’ve never seen my husband happier. He’s forever disappearing into the forest with groups of enthusiastic children determined to identify animal tracks or build shelters. Jax’s investment changed everything. Not just financially. It gave Lennie permission to dream bigger. To believe bigger.
Elijah handled every legal document without charging us a penny, insisting that was what family did. He even took my case against James pro bono, alongside the others who’d been conned. He was found three months ago hiding in Spain under another name. Elijah somehow managed to untangle years of lies, working with the authorities until he was extradited back to the UK. He’s in prison now, awaiting trial. Justice doesn’t erase what happened, it just helps you to move past it and that’s perhaps the greatest victory of all.
“Earth to Luna.” Saint waves a tea towel in front of my face. “You’ve disappeared again.”
“I was just thinking.”
“Dangerous.” He grins. “We’re waiting for you.”
“I’m coming.” Laughing, I lift the last tray of roast potatoes from the counter, following him to the dining room.
Everyone has already found their places around the long wooden table. Enzo sits proudly at one end, refusing to let anyone else take the head despite insisting all afternoon that ‘it’s just dinner.’ Jax and Bri are on one side of him, their shoulders brushing every now and then without either of them noticing. Whilst directly opposite, Ember and Chloe are quietly sharing a joke that has Chloe trying—and failing—not to laugh. They make an unlikely-looking pair at first glance. Chloe is a good head taller, her pale skin dusted with freckles and a cascade of ginger hair spilling over one shoulder. Next to Ember’s compact frame and her vibrant purple hair, everything about them reads as opposites. But watching them lean into each other over the same joke, the contrast stops looking like one at all. Ginger and purple shouldn’t work side by side. Yet, it’s the loveliest colour pairing I’ve seen all year.
Lennie has claimed the chair beside Jax, already pouring wine for anyone with an empty glass, while Saint slides dramatically into the seat beside Ember with a flourish worthy of a West End entrance. That leaves the chair opposite Enzo for me. My favourite seat. From here, I can see everyone. I set the potatoes in the middle of the table as a chorus of appreciative noises immediately follows.
Enzo folds his arms across his chest with obvious satisfaction. “Now,” he announces. “Nobody leaves this table hungry.”
Saint raises a hand. “Do you ever not force-feed your guests?"
“No. And you are not guest, you are family, so eat.”
Laughter ripples around the room. The table is overflowing. Roast turkey with crisp golden skin, rosemary potatoes, honey-glazed carrots, buttery sprouts with pancetta, roasted parsnips, homemade stuffing, pigs in blankets, bowls of rich gravy and baskets of warm bread that Enzo insists must be eaten while they’re still hot.
“I’d just like to point out,” Saint says, eyeing the mountain of food on his plate, “that if I explode, I died doing what I loved.”
“Eating?” Bri asks.
“Being dramatic,” Ember counters.
Laughter floats around the room again as more wine is poured, glasses clink and stories begin overlapping. Chloe describes the look on Ember’s face when she took her to a haunted castle for their first official date as a couple.
“I’ve never seen anyone so excited by medieval torture devices,” Chloe says fondly.
“I was appreciating the craftsmanship,” Ember protests.
“You literally squealed.”
Saint wipes an imaginary tear from his eye. “Young love.”
“Oh, hush,” Ember mutters, unable to hide her smile.
I look around the table. At Bri, who laughs freely now that she’s allowed love in. At Jax, who looks happier than he did when we first met, like he’s finally found where he belongs. At Saint, who has somehow transformed grief into colour and laughter without ever forgetting Aaron. At Chloe, who fits amongst us as though she always belonged and at Ember who literally glows in her presence. At Enzo, watching us all with quiet pride shining in his eyes. And finally at Lennie. He catches me looking and smiles, reaching beneath the table until his fingers find mine.
Enzo lifts his wine glass. “To family.”
“To family,” we all echo.
Our glasses meet with a soft chorus of chimes, and laughter. I smile to myself. This is what Christmas has always been about. The people around you.
Some people think growing older means life gets smaller. That the great adventures belong to the young. Yet sitting here surrounded by people who found one another entirely by accident, I know that’s not true. Love doesn’t stop looking for you just because your hair turns grey. Sometimes… The best chapters begin long after you think your story has already been written.
Chapter 54
Jax
