Page 36 of Havoc's Fox
The door opened again and Remi and Brandt came back in both carrying multiple dishes, and followed by Goldy, Sadie, Kaid, Delilah, and Tessa.
The room was suddenly filled with loud voices, laughter, talking, hugging. Just like any large family gathering. They all started finding places to sit, doubling up on chairs and sofas, causing her and Havoc to be pushed even closer together than they had been. And that made Addie even more uncomfortable. It wasn’t that she minded so much, as that she just really felt now that she didn’t belong here. Everyone here had a tie, or familiarity that bound them together. She was the lone stranger.
Havoc leaned over and whispered in her ear. “It’s alright. You belong here more than I do, and they’re actually my damn family. We’ll sit here and pretend it’s all good together, alright?”
Addie laughed and turned toward Havoc with a beautiful smile, thankful for his sense of humor.
Analise walked in at exactly that moment and found Havoc and Addie sitting inches apart, smiling intimately as they looked into each other’s eyes.
“I’d forgotten just how surprising holidays with the family could be,” she announced, staring at Havoc for a split second before she turned her gaze away from him and started dialing a number on her phone.
“Looks like we all had the same idea of what time to get here,” Vince said, adding to the din in the room as he and his family made their way in.
Analise slammed back the rest of her bourbon, ended the call she was trying to make, and handed the glass to Emmalyn to refill for her. “He’s not answering.”
“Who’s not answering?” Emmalyn asked.
“Beau.”
“It’s Christmas. He’s with his family, and you just spoke to him,” Emmalyn said.
Analise glared at her, then the glass. “More,” she said simply.
“Alrighty, then,” Emmalyn said, snatching the phone out of Analise’s hand, taking it along with the glass and making her way through all her relatives to the kitchen.
“Hey!” Analise called out after her sister.
“No phones on Christmas,” Emmalyn called back as she disappeared into the kitchen and added Analise’s phone to the pile of them already there. They decided years ago to discourage phone use on Christmas, that way you interacted with your family, and not the screen on your phone. Everyone had jumped on board with it.
“Hey, Lion! You late!” Maverik called out.
“Why you keep telling everybody that?” Daniel asked.
“Because if you’re not fifteen minutes early, you’re late,” Maverik insisted.
“What time did you get here?” Vince asked, walking over to Maverik and embracing him briefly in the way males do.
“Eleven o’clock,” Maverik said.
“Then you’re imposing, not even early,” Vince said.
“Nope. They love me,” Maverik insisted.
Christian went straight to Analise’s side and hugged her close. “You doing okay?”
Analise smiled coldly. “Fine, just fine.”
“Here you go,” Emmalyn said, walking up and giving Analise another drink.
Christian inhaled to identify what Emmalyn was giving to Analise and realized it was bourbon. “Seriously, is everything okay?”
“It’s lovely,” Analise said, turning her head to flick her eyes in Havoc’s direction quickly.
“Hey, thanks for the bourbon!” Emmalyn said.
“Addie said I couldn’t break in and take your bourbon, but I convinced her that I most certainly could, and then I brought her with me. Hey, I think she likes you.”
“What? Who?” Christian asked, confused by both sisters talking to him at once.