Your Christmas Love (The Bennett Family 10)

Predictably, Mom had dinner laid out. Dad and I exchanged a look, smiling. He patted his belly. “Second dinner for me.”

“For me too. I had something to eat at the office.”

Mom gave me a stern look.

“Why is the Christmas countdown stressing you so much?” Dad asked.

“Your dad and I always made it a point to come home for dinner,” Mom said.

“I know, but it’s my first year as the company’s president. The team in San Franc

isco barely knows me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I talked everyone’s ear off about you right until my last day at the office,” Mom said.

“They know of me. But not me. Establishing a relationship of trust goes a long way.”

“What you need is a general manager you can delegate everything to, like we did with Gerald,” Dad said.

I didn’t reply. Gerald was still a sore point where I was concerned. And I did plan to hire a general manager as soon as I got the store back on its feet.

I immediately thought about Sienna. At twenty-five, she was perhaps a few years too young for that position, but then again, I was too young to be president too. But the company needed a young, energetic management team. I could see Sienna building such a group.

I’d seen her sitting with the others at lunch. She had a knack for people. But she’d made it clear this job was temporary for her. Bennett Enterprises was the endgame, and I respected that.

I smiled to myself. Here I was, thinking about her again. I had no idea what it was about this woman that made it impossible not to think about her, want to be near her.

“When can you drop by for a real dinner?” Mom asked.

I pointed to the potato salad and grilled chicken. “Does it get more real than this?”

“You know what I mean.”

I laughed. Dad shook his head. “You’re not getting out of this, son.”

“The weekend, Mom. I’ll let you know tomorrow if Saturday or Sunday is better.”

She placed both hands on her hips. “Do I have to use my guilting tactics to get you to commit right now?”

I held up my hands. “No, no. Absolutely not.”

“Next time, bring two chocolate boxes,” Dad said under his breath. I grinned in response. I loved that some things never changed.

Chapter Eight

Sienna

On Thursday evening, Christopher and Blake surprised me by dropping by to help me with renovations. I was surprised they’d brought Sebastian too.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him.

“Christopher told me you’re running behind on your renovation plans. I’m at your service,” Sebastian said.

Oh my God, I wanted to hug the living daylights out of him. All three of them, actually. Renovating my house before Christmas had not turned out to be one of the best ideas. Delivery of materials was unreliable, workers were overbooked. I planned to cover the furniture in the living room with plastic, so Winston and I could paint on Saturday.

But honestly, I’d never anticipated that just moving the furniture around could take so long.

“Thank you so much!”