Fourteen
The silence at the dinner table was deafening and would lead to a gift exchange that would likely be less merry and bright than it was awkward and stilted.
But Stefanie refused to shoulder the woe of “ruining Christmas.” She’d meant what she said about being her own person—about making her own decisions.
She was certain she’d won over Penelope and Miriam, and Zach had seemed less concerned when he’d learned his wife was indirectly responsible.
Chase was another matter.
Stef had always been closest with her oldest brother. She’d been gung ho about her plan originally, but sitting across from him had her doubting herself a little.
The place cards had been rearranged to seat Emmett next to Stefanie per her mother’s request—the woman was nothing if not formal. A husband and wife always sit together, she’d declared primly.
“Will you change your name?” Pen asked.
“No need for that,” Elle interjected, aghast.
“No,” Stef answered. She’d rather not agree with her mother, but Elle was right. If Stefanie changed her name legally, she’d only have to change it back.
To her left, Emmett dug into his dinner, uninterested, or unwilling, to participate in this conversation.
“You should.” Pen spooned a bite of food into Olivia’s mouth.
“Hyphenating is popular. It’s what I’m planning on doing,” said Miriam.
“Mimi.” That was Chase, who sounded equal parts shocked and perturbed.
Miriam patted his arm and promised they’d discuss it later.
“When I announce your marriage to family and friends, I’ll simply explain you don’t have the same last name as your husband.” Elle hadn’t touched her dinner, but instead lifted her martini glass. “It’s a modern marriage, after all.”
“She’s not a Keaton,” Emmett said. “She’s nothing like a Keaton.”
“She’s a Keaton now,” Rider boomed, startling the table into silence. “You took my daughter’s hand. You won’t shirk your responsibilities as her husband. No matter what you believed when you said ‘I do,’ you said it. You will honor it.”
Adrenaline prickled her fingers as Stef watched the stare down between her father and her husband. Emmett’s jaw was granite, and her father’s eyes two lumps of black coal. They broke their staring contest when Emmett spoke.
“Yes, sir.”
“Will you move in together?” Pen asked. Stef could practically hear the gears turning about how to spin this announcement to the public. “Your place or his?”
“Mine,” Emmett and Stefanie answered simultaneously.
“I’m not moving into your apartment,” he stated.
“I have everything I need at my apartment,” Stef said. “Your belongings fit into a gym bag. Plus, my home is decorated and my Christmas tree is up and my kitchen is stocked. It makes more sense to live there.”
“Why don’t you try staying with Emmett tonight? You might like it there,” Pen suggested. Stef knew her sister-in-law was only being practical, and possibly trying to end the argument before it started, but Rider and Chase both shifted in their seats, uncomfortable with the idea of Stef going home with Emmett, whether they were married or not.
“I have an idea,” Stefanie announced. “Why don’t we table this discussion for, oh, eternity? And then we can eat Christmas dinner and open gifts in peace.”
“What is it about family that is particularly exhausting over the holidays?” Stefanie asked rhetorically as she sagged in the passenger seat of Emmett’s SUV. Realizing belatedly that he didn’t have a family to deal with over the holidays, she added, “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be.” He drove in silence, the dashboard’s blue lights glowing against his firm mouth. “I understand.”
After a gap of silence, she asked, “Do you feel like I roped you into marrying me?”
“Yes.”