The Holiday Inheritance (Naughty and Spice)

Epilogue

Florence

New Year’s Eve

“You look so nervous,” Briggs teases as he squeezes my hand. We’re sitting in the driveway of his sister’s home, and it’s freaking gorgeous. It’s a two-story cottage with swags and red bows on every window. There’s an orange glow coming from the downstairs windows, and I can see shadows moving behind the curtains.

And, yes, Briggs is right. I am nervous.

I nod and lick my lips, then fret I’ve fucked up my lipstick and pull down the small mirror to check a little too roughly. It clunks against the windshield, and Briggs leans over, grasping my face in his hands. I’m forced to turn away from my reflected face and look at him.

“They’re going to love you, little duck.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “It will be okay, I promise.”

“I just really want them to like me,” I admit, my voice cracking into a whisper. I know this is probably crazy. I shouldn’t be this worried about meeting my boyfriend’s family. But my anxiety always plays up in social situations, and I really wish Amie’s flight hadn’t been postponed until after the new year. The same storm that brought me Briggs delayed her flight. I could really use her right now, just to help take the pressure off.

“They will, sweet girl.” His smile is reassuring, and I try to pull myself together. They’ll definitely not like me if I’m an anxious, bumbling mess.

“Okay,” I say, taking a steeling breath. “Let’s do this.”

Briggs grins, kisses me once on the cheek, and then hops out of the Rover, running at a decent clip around the hood to open my door. “Surprised you didn’t eat it just then,” I tell him, laughing as he lifts me down out of the car. “It’s still icy.”

While this is a New Year’s Eve party, it’s just the six of us. They told Briggs they wanted me all to themselves so they wouldn’t be inviting anyone else over. It’s a relief because I did not feel like dressing up to the nines in this frigid weather. So instead, I’ve paired my favorite jeans with a thick green sweater and a pair of snow boots. I curled my hair and put on a little makeup just to make a good first impression.

He holds on to me tightly as we walk over the salted driveway and up to the doorstep. It’s made of the prettiest old stone, and Tess has decorated it beautifully. There’s a skinny tree with fake presents all around it and a large Christmas wreath on the heavy front door. Briggs knocks a couple of times, then opens the door, letting the warmth from inside defrost my nose.

“Just us!” he calls out as we step inside. I can hear the kids laughing and music playing. And the unmistakable smell of pizza wafts into my nose.

“Pizza,” I groan as he takes off my coat. It’s the first time we’ve really been able to leave the estate since I got here, and pizza reminds me so much of home that I could cry.

“They said the kids wanted to treat this like Christmas Eve since I couldn’t make it on the real day,” Briggs answers with a warm smile. I can tell he loves those kids with all his heart. “Thought it would make a nice surprise for you.”

“Coming!” booms a voice from down the hall.

“Sorry!” says a woman, who I assume is Tess, as she comes out of the back room. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun, and she’s wearing a stained sweatshirt and leggings with fluffy socks on her feet. “Florence!” she squeals, her face breaking out in the most genuine smile.

“Told you not to dress up,” Briggs whispers just before I’m engulfed in Tess’ arms.

“What did you whisper to her?” she asks as she holds me close. “Talking out your arse about me?”

I laugh, immediately feeling at ease. She pulls back, giving Briggs a look before turning back into the happy woman who hugged me. “It’s so nice to meet you, Florence. Please, don’t listen to a word Briggs has to say about us. I promise you it’s all bollocks.”

“I’ve not said a single nasty thing, I’ll have you know,” he says haughtily.

“He really hasn’t,” I say with a shrug. “I’ve actually been very nervous to meet you.”

“As if, love. Never be nervous. And look at you!” She holds my hands out to our sides as she gives me a once-over. “Beautiful. Come, let me introduce you to Dom and the twins.”

“We’re the twins!” they both announce as they step into our line of sight.

“There’s the little shites!” Briggs shouts as they both start to run toward him, laughing and screaming. He squats down, and they both tackle him to the ground.

Tess rolls her eyes and ignores them, tugging me down the hall until we’re in the kitchen. “This is Florence,” she announces. “Florence, this is my husband, Dom.”

He has an apron on while he stands at the counter, cutting up some fruit. “So nice to meet you, Florence,” he says, pausing quickly to wipe his hand before offering it to me.

“You guys can call me Ren,” I tell them as I shake his hand. “Thanks for having us both over tonight.”

“Of course!” Tess grabs some plates from the cabinet, and I immediately take them from her. “Thank you,” she says with a sigh, using her now free hands to grab a roll of paper towels and a couple of boxes of pizza. “The table is just through here.”

I follow her through the archway and lay the plates out around the table. Briggs and the twins come into the dining room as we’re finishing, and all three come straight over to me.

“Twin One and Twin Two,” Briggs says, a hand on each of their shoulders. “Introduce yourselves.”

“Hi, I’m Maya,” a little girl with dark, wispy bangs says as she steps forward, her small hand outstretched toward me.

“Hello, Maya.” I squat down to their level. “You can call me Ren. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“And I am Oliver, but I actually prefer to be called Oli because it’s less to say.” He holds out his hand as well, gently pushing away his sister’s hand. Maya just rolls her eyes and walks over to Tess, tugging on her sweatshirt.

“Lovely to meet you, Oli,” I say with a smile, trying not to grimace at how warm and damp his hand is. Like I said, not a kid person.

After the formalities are finished, Oli and Maya both climb up into their chairs and watch their mother cut up their pieces of pizza. Briggs wraps me up in his arms, and I take the opportunity to discreetly wipe my hand on the back of his shirt.

“Sticky hands,” I whisper, making him chuckle.

“Gross, right?” he asks, scrunching up his nose.

“Sit, sit!” Dom encourages as he walks in with bowls of cut-up strawberries and apples. “One for Oli and one for Maya,” he says, sitting them down next to their plates of pizza.

“None of the adults have fruit,” Oli points out as Briggs pulls a chair out for me.

“Very good observation,” Dom tells him.

This must be enough for Oli because he just shrugs before shoving a whole apple slice in his mouth. Maya does the same, except with a strawberry.

“Maya is always trying to be different these days,” Briggs whispers when he takes his seat next to me. “They used to do everything the same, even at the same time. But I think she’s going through a boys are annoying phase and doesn’t want to be lumped into that.”

“Boys are annoying,” Maya grumbles, having heard what her uncle said.

“Yeah, well, girls have germs, so…”

“Girls have no more germs than boys do, Oliver,” Tess says, the annoyance in her voice clear. “We’ve talked about this.”

“Do you like Uncle Briggs?” Oli asks, ignoring his mother and looking straight at me. A lesser person would wither under that stare he’s giving me.

“I do,” I tell him, pausing to thank Briggs as he throws two slices of pepperoni pizza on my plate. I’m going to have to figure out how to get ranch over here. How in the world do these people eat pizza without ranch? “He’s pretty great, right?”

Oli nods and then goes right back to ignoring everyone as he digs into his pizza, covering his face and fingers in red sauce.

When I look back to the table, I notice everyone passing a jar of mayonnaise around. Briggs scoops a spoonful out and plops it onto his plate. I look at him in complete horror.

“You all are not going to do what I think you’re going to do,” I say, looking around at everyone’s plates. Of course, they all look at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Are you about to dip your pizza in mayo?”

Briggs snorts to my left. “Americans.”

I whip my head in his direction and narrow my eyes. “Rude.”

But because I’m not a party pooper, I let him scoop some mayonnaise out onto my plate as well. One tentative bite later, and I have to admit, it’s actually pretty good. Everyone laughs and goes back to chatting while Briggs leans in close, kissing my temple before whispering, “See? Just needed to have a taste. Just like with me.”

He winks, and if we were alone, he would be paying for that comment.

“Tell us about yourself, Ren,” Dom says, interrupting our little moment. “Besides being stuck alone with this man for the past week, how’re you enjoying your new home so far?”

“Not to inflate his already large ego,” I say with a smile, rolling my eyes when Briggs winks yet again, “but he’s kind of been great. And it’s probably because of him that I’m not catching the first flight home.”

They all laugh, but I’m kind of serious. If I had been stuck in that house all by myself for the week of Christmas, I don’t think I would’ve made it out the other side. Talk about a depressing way to spend your Christmas.

They continue to ask me questions, genuinely seeming interested in learning about my life, and when it gets late, they excuse themselves to put the kids to bed. The twins both complain, but they’re yawning as they’re carried upstairs.

The night is filled with laughs, games, and stories told about Briggs growing up. We have the TV on in the background, the hosts of the show in London counting down the hours and then minutes until the ball drops. All four of us ring in the new year together, each of us with just a single glass of champagne so that Briggs is safe to drive us home.

And after sharing a kiss with Briggs as the ball drops, we help Dom and Tess clean up and then gather our things. I excuse myself to the bathroom, and before I come out, I hear Tess talking to Briggs in the hallway.

“She’s lovely,” Tess whispers. “Absolutely perfect for you.”

“Isn’t she?” I can hear the smile in his voice. “It’s been fast, but it’s been…” He pauses, and I can hear shuffling.

“They’d be so thrilled for you, Briggsy,” Tess tells him, and I have to fight back the urge to crumple into tears. Hearing that from her was the confirmation I needed and more. To know that she likes me and that their parents would have, too, is too much for my hopeless-romantic self.

“Don’t be a stranger,” Dom tells me as I finally open the door, joining them all in the foyer.

“Please don’t. It’s been lovely having you,” Tess agrees, pulling me in for another tight hug.

We say our goodbyes and trek back out into the cold, Briggs’ arm around my shoulders, his head tilted back as he smiles toward the night sky.

“I knew they’d love you,” he says, grinning from ear to ear. The moon shines down, illuminating our path and the soft lines on his handsome face.

“Oh, yeah?” I ask, a hint of sarcasm to my tone. “And how’d you know that?”

He pauses, opens the passenger door for me, and then smiles and shrugs, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Because I love you, Florence.”