“He is?”
“Yeah. Not only are you with each of us, his flesh and blood, but you love, and work in the hotel industry. That combination hasn’t happened before.”
A small smile plays on her red mouth, that concern morphing into confidence. “I’m a catch, what can I say?”
Brecken chuckles, and then we head out, waiting for the lift to arrive.
“How are the plans for the tower coming along?” she asks me.
“Good. Not long to wait until it’s all ready for you.”
She takes a deep breath, her breasts pushing against the low, sweetheart neckline of her dress. “Any way I can get you to hurry up with those drawings?” she leads. I know what she’s implying, and I like that idea a lot but…
“It’s down to the crew now. I’ve done my bit, so no, Winter, there’s nothing to be done.”
Playfully, she pouts.
“But I’ll come up with something,” I tell her in a low voice, my imagination whirring about how I want her tonight. Because there’s no way I’m not fucking her after the long absence, and no way I’m spending New Year’s Eve without being balls-deep inside her slick body.
The lift arrives, the doors opening. We step inside and head downstairs, walking to the ballroom. Glamorous, glittery Christmas decorations adorn the ceiling and corners, everything festive and bright. Already, dozens of people are inside, the women dressed in their fine evening dresses, their bodies draped with diamonds.
As if noting how much wealth is on display, Winter’s manicured hands drift to the necklace adorning her neck. Aside from convincing her to work for us, and be our girlfriend, buying it was one of our best decisions.
“Champagne?” I ask as a waiter approaches.
Absently, Winter nods. She’s busy gawping at the sport and TV celebrities already here. When she’s finished pointing everyone out she drinks in every detail of the ballroom again. And I don’t blame her; when I attended my first ball here the grandeur blew me away. They don’t make places like this anymore.
I snag us two glasses from the silver tray. “Stick close tonight,” I say, passing it to her. “We’ll introduce you to all the right people.”
“Your Mum?” she asks, grinning. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
Mum wants to meet Winter too. All the mothers do.
“Come on,” I say, reaching for her hand and pulling her along. “Might as well get this out of the way.” Looking over my shoulder at Balzer, I nod towards the doors on the far side of the room. His gaze snaps in that direction, murmuring to Brecken before they follow.
“Where are we going?” Winter asks. She’s wearing gold-colored stilettos that bring her eyes level with mine, her footsteps ringing out as we near the group of familiar guests. I love that she’s tall for a woman. It makes things more practical in bed for a start, and it means her legs are long, perfect for wrapping around my waist. And looking at it from a practical angle, we’re tall guys, who share. Playing with a longer body is easier than trying to get in a good position with a small one.
We pass a towering, sparkling Christmas tree in the middle of the dance floor, decked out with all the bells and whistles. Winter admires it briefly before I tug her along some more.
“Mum,” I greet, kissing her cheek. “This is Winter. Winter,” I introduce, “this is Diana Moore and my dad, Jasper Crawford.”
I’ve yet to explain to Winter that, although Balthazar is my bio dad, I never call him Dad. That honor goes to the man who raised me since I was four.
Winter doesn’t miss a beat, kissing them both on the cheek and exclaiming how happy she is to meet them.
“You didn’t tell me your mum could give Halle Berry a run for her money,” Winter chastises. “I can see where you get your lovely cheekbones from,” she adds, making my mother beam.
Luca and Brecken greet my folks before Luca steals Winter’s attention. “This is my mother, Rachel Wolfford-West. Her husband, Ethan, must be somewhere else right now. You’ll have to meet him later.”
“So good to meet you too,” Winter says, kissing Rachel on both cheeks. Turning to Luca she adds, “I thought you got your dark hair from your father, but I think you took after your mom—mum—sorry!”
Rachel, whose raven hair is a mass of gentle curls tells her, “Mom or Mum is fine. I’ve become quite Americanized after thirty years, even picking up the accent.”
“You can call me Mom or Mum too,” my mother adds, making us all chuckle. “I’ll answer to either.”
“They practically all answer when one of us calls out Mom,” Brecken explains, which is true. This family is weird like that. “Anyway, this is Sofia Sainz, my mom,” Brecken explains, “and her partner Connor Denby.”
Sofia grabs hold of Winter’s hands, taking in everything about her: her beautiful dress, her provocative, feminine features, her immaculate hair that looks like liquid gold. When I glance at Rachel and Mum, they’re inching in closer too, Connor, and Jasper stepping back to make room. “Look at how beautiful you are. And what a gorgeous dress.”