"I know! This time last year, we settled for phone calls and not much else. Now we're Mr. and Mrs. Worth Vincent. I never get tired of saying it," Worth replied. He held up a gift card to Baby Gap. "Now whoever could this be for?"
Jessica chuckled as she wrapped the delicate wool scarf for her mother she'd bought while shopping for her wedding dress in Paris. Molly had set the whole trip up—a wedding gift from her and her current love interest Fred. "Layla's feeling very well, and the doctor says she and baby are both doing well, but she's getting antsy. Cabin fever. Almost a month of bed rest, poor thing, and another to go."
Worth got up to refill their glasses. "Her sister's coming soon, isn't she?"
"Already here, which is good news for Mom and Chet." She gave Worth a knowing look. "Great news for Mom and Chet."
Worth grinned as he handed her more eggnog and sat again. "Those two." He reached for one of her hands to squeeze. "I hope that when we're their age, we still enjoy each other as much as they seem to. Do you think that's possible?"
Jessica returned the squeeze. "We found each other under almost impossible circumstances, solved multiple murders, cleared your name and got married, all within one year's time. I think anything's possible." She thought again of Layla and breathed a quick prayer for her safety and that of her baby. I hope a baby for Worth is possible. He never thought he'd find love, much less have a family.
Her phone rang on the table. "Hey, Mom. We were just talking about you," Jessica answered brightly.
"Layla's gone into labor. We're on our way to the hospital now."
11
Christmas in Florida
"You've got to be kidding me, Roy," Eric said as he met the driver in front of the Steins' mansion. Instead of the Lincoln Town Car that had picked him up at the airport in November, apparently they were taking a stretch limo to fetch Donna.
Although the Asian man's name was actually Hiroya, he'd instructed Eric to use his nickname. A slender man, with short black hair, he wore his chauffeur's "uniform"—a neat black suit with white shirt and black tie and a black cap. "Mr. Stein insisted. Said you have been gone from your new wife too long for the Town Car."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Eric was confused. "I'll ride up front on the way there."
"You'll see."
The two chatted easily as they made the drive to Orlando International Airport. Roy told him that depending on the trip, the Steins sometimes took charter flights from the closer and smaller Vero airport and sometimes used the medium-sized airport in Melbourne, just to the north. The drive was fairly boring as far as view, but interesting as far as conversation.
Roy was born in the U.S. to a Japanese mother and Caucasian father, 'inheriting his good looks from his mother,' he said with a chuckle. His name meant "great esteem."
"I like that," said Eric, watching cows feed along the highway. He hadn't realized that Florida was cattle country. "And Asahi means 'morning sunshine'." Instinctively, he glanced at Roy to gauge his reaction.
At the sound of his co-worker's name, Roy closed his eyes for a split-second and smiled. "Ah, yes. Asahi. The beautiful Asahi."
Eric was intrigued. Asahi was not what he would call beautiful, but there was no accounting for taste. Jessica was womanly and curvy, but it was the small-breasted, almost boyish Donna who had stolen his heart, who could make that heart race. Perhaps he had made too quick a judgment on the sweet cook's appearance. He certainly didn't agree with her own assessment of being too pochapocha for the naturist party. I'm glad she wasn't there, though. It's hard enough looking the Steins in the eye now that I've seen them naked.
During the trip from the airport a few weeks before, Eric had also ridden in the front seat, but he and Roy had talked mostly about Florida, the weather, and various sports teams. Eric was learning to appreciate the fine art of small talk to a greater degree since meeting Donna, but Roy had been the one to keep things going then. Now Eric dug deeper.
"So. Asahi. Have you two ever dated? I mean you practically live together; at least you're at the same house."
Roy shook his head. "I was dating someone else when I began working for the Steins last summer and had little interaction with her. I tend to be busy outside, and she stays inside. Not much communication. When we do talk, she's a bit standoffish. Very cool."
When Eric told him about the naturist party, the pochapocha, and the cougars, Roy laughed heartily. "I had the night off by design, too. No way do I want to run into the Steins au naturale, although I've been called to their suite plenty of times when they were. They explained it all up front; it just doesn't happen that often. Not that it would have been a deal breaker." He took one hand off the steering wheel to rub his thumb against his other fingers. "They pay very well, as you know."
The men were silent for several miles before Roy spoke again. "She thinks she's too big? Really? I think Asahi is the perfect shape and size." Roy cleared his throat. "Now that I'm single again, perhaps I should test the water."
Meeting Donna had changed Eric's life—and learning of her particular inclinations and abilities had turned his world upside down. "You should. You'll never know how deep the water is until you dive in."
For the rest of the two-hour drive, the men were quieter. Soon the airport's Arrivals sign was overhead. A text had alerted Eric—Donna was through baggage
