Alexx Andria - A Christmas Promise Read online

  Emma’s eyes watered. “Because you’re not handling it. You’re slowly withering like a flower left too long without water. I want my sister back.”

  Emma’s tears defused Lana’s anger. There as no way she could remain pissed off when she knew her sister had her best interests at heart, even if it was incredibly intrusive and annoying. “I don’t think I’m ready to talk to a therapist,” she said quietly. “But when I am, I will let you know.”

  Emma knew that was the best that she was going to get and nodded. “Okay,” she said, adding, “But I can’t promise that I won’t try to talk you into it. However, I’ll make you a deal… I’ll promise to keep my mouth shut about therapy if you promise to come with us for Christmas.”

  “You been around the Buchanans too long…that’s not a deal — that’s like extortion.”

  Emma smiled. “No, it’s sisterly love. Are you in? Just think about it…skiing, hot chocolate, beautiful snowy mountains, or, foggy misty beaches…your choice!”

  Lana knew that look on her sister’s face. She wouldn’t give up and until she had succeeded in getting what she wanted. But Lana would rather chew off her own foot then spend Christmas with the Buchanans. However, in order to buy time, she reluctantly agreed until she could find a way out of it. “All right, I’ll give you a maybe, but in the meantime you have to zip it about Malvagio and everything that happened there. Okay?”

  Emma nodded. “That’s doable. Now can we talk about things that aren’t so gloomy?”

  Lana breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, let’s by all means change the subject. So aside from this beautiful — incredibly large — wreath what else do I owe this visit?”

  “Well,” Emma’s eyes sparkled, “I wanted you to be the first one to know — I’m pregnant!”

  Lana stared at her sister, struggling to process Emma’s news for a brief moment. “Are you sure?” she asked, once she found her voice again.

  “Well, yeah, I mean I haven’t been to the doctor yet. But I took three of those over-the-counter tests and they all said positive so that’s a pretty good indication that something’s going on in there right?”

  Lana nodded. “I would think so. You haven’t told Vince?”

  She shook her head. “I’m a little nervous. I mean, we’ve been trying for months but I don’t know, it’s kind of scary now that it’s here.”

  Lana could only imagine. “Well, are you happy about it?”

  “Of course I’m happy! I’m just, well, I don’t know, maybe it’s the hormones, but I’m a little nervous about what pregnancy and all that means. I mean what if I get really fat?”

  Lana shrugged. “Then you buy bigger clothes. Are you worried that Vince won’t be attracted to you anymore? Because if that’s the case I can pretty much tell you your fear is unwarranted. That guy is crazy about you. Almost stalker crazy. What is with those Buchanans and their women? Nolan and Dillon seem the same with their wives.”

  The dreamy expression on Emma’s face made Lana want to gag a bit but it was a little sweet, too.

  “He is not a stalker,” Emma snorted. Then laughed. “Okay, maybe a little bit. Did I tell you that he just had security cameras installed all over the house? He got freaked out when there was a burglary two streets over and now he’s talking about installing a panic room.”

  “Whoa, that seems a little extreme.”

  “Yes, I told him that too but he seems very concerned about safety these days. Oh God, I just thought of something…he’s going to go nuts about this whole safety thing once I tell him I’m pregnant. Maybe I should wait until after Christmas to tell him. I don’t want him hovering over me every second.”

  Lana laughed. “Well if you choose to keep it a secret. I won’t tell anyone. But I think you should tell the father of your baby. He is the father right?” She teased.

  Emma glared with mock indignation. “Of course it’s his child! The man doesn’t give me a moments peace. Even if I had half a mind to sneak around, I don’t even know how I would manage it.”

  Yuck. Lana did not like to think about Emma and Vince knocking boots — all the time. But she supposed that’s what newlyweds did so she tried to ignore the ick factor. “Well congratulations. I’m really happy for you.”

  Emma smiled. “Thank you Lana. Are you ready to be the best auntie for your future niece or nephew?”

  A genuine smile found Lana’s lips. “Absolutely. I think I was born to be the best auntie.”

  Emma and Lana hugged and then after hanging up that monstrosity of a wreath, Emma went on her way leaving Lana to think about a whole set of new things to crowd her brain with. Emma was pregnant. She supposed it was inevitable and she was truly happy for her. But there was a teeny, tiny part of her that was jealous. Why had Emma been able to get past what’d happened to her when Lana seemed stuck? It didn’t seem fair but as Lana had learned the very brutal lesson, life wasn’t fair and she should stop expecting it to be.

  -2-

  Laird settled in his chair and propped his feet on the desk, earning a frown from Vince Buchanan, his best friend, and at this moment, the biggest pain in his ass.

  “You are the most whipped son-of-a-bitch I’ve ever known,” Laird drawled, leaning back in the chair with a frustrated sigh. “Does your little wifey keep your balls in her Louis Vuitton handbag?”

  “Watch yourself. I can still kick your ass — even without my balls,” Vince quipped darkly, causing Laird to laugh. The threat coming from the old Vince — pre-marriage — would’ve sobered Laird quickly but this guy? Hell, he was like a neutered dog. It was sad, really. Vince ignored Laird’s petulance and continued, “It’s time to sell Malvagio. I told Emma I would do it months ago and that hasn’t happened yet so it’s time to make good on my promise.”

  Laird untucked his feet to lean forward. “And why exactly must you sell? I’m a little hazy on the reason. Oh, wait, it’s because you’re whipped. Got it. The Vince I remember would’ve laughed his ass off at the very idea of being led around by a woman.”

  Vince smiled. “Yeah, well the old Vince was an asshole with very little understanding of what’s truly important in life. Besides, surely, you can understand why owning Malvagio creates a strain on my marriage. Both my wife and her sister were hurt there. Frankly, I don’t have the same attachment to the place that I used to after that.”

  Laird ignored the pinch at the mention of Lana — for crying out loud, he couldn’t escape the woman — and barreled forward, saying, “Two admittedly bad incidents happened but think of all the great times we’ve had in that place. Remember the twin redheads? Jesus, Vince, it was the first time I’d ever heard you cry uncle. Your stamina was legendary in certain circles.” A slow smile curved the corner of Vince’s mouth, indicating he did, indeed, remember those twin ladies with their voracious sexual appetite, but he said little else and Laird shook his head in feigned sadness. “End of an era, that’s what this is and a damn shame. So, if you’re so hot to sell, are you saying you have a buyer?”

  “No, but you know it’ll sell as soon as we open up the channels. Hell, Parker has been dying to buy Malvagio since the day we opened. He’d mortgage his entire inheritance if it meant he could control the club. Not that I’d ever sell to him.”

  “Of course not. One has to have standards,” Laird agreed. “The man is too eager, like a little puppy who can’t be trusted not to piss in the foyer at the first sign of excitement.”

  “Exactly. I’m looking for a particular buyer, someone with a sense of integrity.”

  Laird laughed outright at that. “Really? Integrity? Are you kidding me? Aiming a bit high and contradictive, don’t you think? You’re selling a sex club. Let’s be real.”

  “All the more reason that the buyer have a sense of what is fair and what is intolerable. I don’t want another repeat of what happened to Lana and Emma.”

  “Of course not,” Laird said quickly. “No one does. It’s bad publicity.”

  “Not only for that reason,” he sa
id with a glower that surprised Laird and made him a shift a little. “You could use a little help in the compassion department.”

  “Says the man who has done far worse in his lifetime and has only just recently found his soul, right?” Laird snorted. “Forgive me if I choke on your bullshit.”

  Vince remained silent for a beat then asked, “Have you considered dropping by to see Lana lately?”

  Yes, a million times. Talk about intolerable. “Why would I do that?” he shot back with a forced nonchalance. “Does she need babysitting again?”

  “You spent far more time with her than necessary. I thought, maybe…”

  “Maybe what? That I was starting to sprout feelings for the broken bird? Not hardly. Unlike you, my soul is way past redemption and I am happy to remain an insufferable womanizer. Besides, Lana is more responsibility than I can stomach on a regular basis.” He paused for a heartbeat, then asked, “Out of curiosity, why do you ask? She okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. As okay as she’s going to get I suppose being broken and all that.”

  “Well, don’t say it like that. It’s not as if she’s defective or something,” Laird contradicted until he caught himself and laughed. “Listen to me, I almost sound as if I care — which I don’t. Never mind, don’t answer. The less I know, the better.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because she complicated my life in a way that was wholly unwelcome. I actually started to think…” he forced a laugh at the idea. “Anyway, just glad I’m off babysitting duty.”

  Vince smiled and tapped his pen against his desk. “Right. Actually, I do have a favor to ask…”

  “The last favor about did me in,” Laird said. “What is this favor?”

  “Emma has found this new little pet project, a non-profit called Gage’s Watch, that she has organized a fundraiser for and she’s adamant that I fill the room with donors with fat pocketbooks. Naturally, I thought of you.”

  “Philanthropy…never been my strong suit,” Laird said, shrugging. “Please give your darling wife my regrets. I’m sure I’ll be balls deep inside a beautiful woman that night.”

  “I haven’t given you the date.”

  “Exactly.”

  Vince laughed, reminding Laird of old times until he said, “You are going and here’s why…Emma is going to bring Lana and Lana needs a date.”

  Laird’s gaze narrowed. “No.” He cleared his throat. “No, let me amend that to, hell no. I’m done playing nursemaid.”

  “You would be doing me a huge favor.”

  “I’ve done enough favors for you.”

  Vince sighed. “I hate to have to do this but you’ve forced my hand, old friend.” He pulled a few photos from his desk drawer and tossed them to the desktop. “Remember this?”

  Intrigued, Laird scooped up a photo and then once he realized what he was looking at, he stared at his old friend. “Are you kidding me? Where did you get these?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Suffice to say, I have them and I’m ready to use them. I’m sure your father would enjoy these. Maybe he’d have them blown up and plastered on his office wall.”

  “Fuck you,” he muttered, glancing away as he tossed the photo back. “You’re a dick. I can’t believe you would do this to me.”

  “I’m a Buchanan…I would do anything to get my way.”

  “You’re going to burn in hell, you know that right?”

  “Quite possibly but in the meantime, may I count you in?”

  Laird was tempted to call Vince’s bluff but those pictures…hell, his old man was always looking for a reason to write him off completely and those pictures would certainly give him a hard shove in that direction. And although he had money of his own, thanks to his grandmother’s money, it wasn’t entirely enough to fund his lifestyle. “What the hell, maybe my father will be impressed that I’m wasting my money on charity rather than whores and casinos. Count me in, you fucking bastard.”

  “Excellent,” Vince said, smiling as he gathered the photos. “And remember to show her a good time. From what Emma has said, she’s been a bit depressed lately. Just don’t sleep with her,” he warned.

  “You know how to suck the fun out of everything,” Laird said sighing. “But you needn’t worry. Lana isn’t my type. Too much desperate need and want in that pretty package, if you know what I mean.”

  Vince handed Laird the gilded invitation and grinned. “See you there.”

  Laird gave his best friend the bird and walked out.

  Holy fuck. Maybe his old man had been right…those Buchanans were a terrible influence.

  ***

  “You did what?” Emma stared at her husband, Vince, dumbfounded and irritated at the same time. “Why would you ask Laird, of all people, to be Lana’s date? He’s a terrible choice. When I asked you to find someone, I was thinking someone along the lines of a successful doctor or dentist, not some lazy, womanizing playboy whom you used to run around with when you were still a man-whore.”

  “Harsh,” Vince said, trying to stay focused but his gaze was riveted by his wife’s tits. Were they bigger? He itched to put his hands on those beautiful globes as a test but the look Emma was sending him warned him off the attempt. “Listen, Laird may be all those things — at times — but he wasn’t that way with Lana when I asked him to look out for her while you were recuperating, right? I think he’s different around her. Honestly, maybe she’s good for him.”

  Emma’s expression screwed into a protective frown. “My sister is not going to be your friend’s version of emotional duct tape. She’s in no shape to go fixing someone else when she’s still working on herself. Damn it, Vince…I was really counting on you to find a real date for her.”

  The distress in Emma’s voice snapped him out of his preoccupation with her breasts and he said, “I promise Laird will be a perfect gentlemen.”

  “Yeah? And how can you promise that?”

  “Easy. I have some photos he doesn’t want his father to see and I told him that if he doesn’t do this for me, I would personally deliver the incriminating pictures straight to his dad.”

  “Vince, that’s blackmail.”

  “Friendly persuasion,” he disagreed, climbing onto the bed, his attention returning to her boobs. “You seem different. Did you do something to your hair?”

  She blinked and then opened her mouth to answer but then thought better of it, saying, “Don’t change the subject. I don’t want my sister hurt by one of your less-than-honorable friends.”

  “I would never let Laird hurt your sister,” he promised, plucking at the tiny shoulder straps on his wife’s nightie, baring her breasts to his gaze. “Ahhh, my favorite view.”

  “Vince,” Emma said, dissolving into reluctant laughter as he nuzzled her neck and his hand found her right breast. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you.”

  “I thought we were done,” he said, moving to suckle her nipple, loving the way her breath caught and tiny mewling noises escaped her parted lips. “Besides, isn’t this far more entertaining than discussing who your sister should or shouldn’t be spending time with? Last I checked…she was a grown woman…much like you, my sweet wife.”

  “Yes,” she agreed breathlessly but even as she clutched him to her breast, she managed to add, “As bad as things were for me, they were ten times worse for Lana and she refuses to get help for what happened to her. V-Vince, ahhh, no, wait, I want your a-assurances — Oh, God, yes, right there — that you’re not going to l-let Laird hurt her.”

  That stopped Vince and he lifted his head to meet his wife’s worried gaze. “I promise you that Laird will not hurt Lana. Now, will you stop worrying for ten minutes so I can make you come?”

  Emma’s gaze darkened as a slow smile curved her lips. “Ten minutes? Someone is feeling confident.”

  “Sweetheart, you know I could have you shaking and crying out in less than five but you know my competitive spirit won’t allow that challenge to go unanswered so prepare yourself, wif
e.”

  Emma giggled but the mischievous glint in her eye made him want to devour her. She was the cutest little wifey on the planet and he was a lucky son-of-a-bitch.

  However, long after he’d made good on his promise and Emma was sacked out, her little mouth open slightly as she dozed, he wondered if perhaps he’d been too cavalier about Laird being around Lana. His best friend had plenty of skeletons dancing in his closet and his appetite for perversion had always matched his own. But people could change, right? He’d certainly changed for Emma, though he never could’ve seen that coming. Maybe all Laird needed was a good woman…but was Lana that woman? And if she wasn’t…were things about to get epically fucked up?

  He stared at the darkened ceiling, listening to his wife’s slow, deep breathing and he realized he needed to stop messing around and find a buyer for Malvagio. It was time to cut those ties. More than time. They didn’t need the income — hell, they’d all gone into that business venture expecting to lose money so when it’d started turning a profit, they’d all been shocked — and the more he thought about it, the more he knew he was selfish to hold onto something that not only been a source of pain for his wife and her sister, but also represented a time in his life when he was a royal asshole who reveled in that status.

  Good God, Laird was right — he was whipped.

  But happily so.

  -3-

  Lana stared at her sister, fighting a wave of panic. “What are you talking about? I don’t want a date. You talked me into this fundraiser without saying anything about needing a date.”

  Emma rushed to smooth things over. “It’s no big deal but I really wanted you to get out of the house and I knew that if I told you about this really great nonprofit that works to help foster kids, you would love being a part of it and I just happened to have two extra tickets. Plus, I have it on good authority that your date has deep enough pockets to make a sizable donation, which I thought you would appreciate. It’s not as if I’m expecting you to actually date this person. He’s just…arm candy with a fat checkbook. Think of it that way.”