Derek grinned as he glanced up at me. And I swear, that smile got me every time. My pulse skittered and my heart revved up a notch. God, I had it bad.
“I’m sending holiday cards, approving photos Mitch wants to use for marketing, and going over details for the party.”
I sat beside him and brushed his hair from his forehead before tackling him. I pinned his arms beside his head and blew raspberries on his neck until he almost tossed me off the sofa. “Whoa. Easy, partner.”
Derek chuckled. “Quit it. You know I hate that.”
“Liar.” I gave him a big, sloppy kiss, then sat up and pulled him with me. “How many days till showtime?”
“Eight days till the party, ten till our grand opening. Did you get someone to cover your games?”
“Yep. I have practice both mornings, but I’ll be free all day and all night,” I assured him, leaning forward to pick up a Christmas card. A large silver envelope was stuck underneath it. “I thought you sent the party invites out two weeks ago. Who’s this one for?”
“My parents.”
Fuck. Family tension sucked, but it was especially rough during the holidays. Derek and his mom had been at odds for almost two months now. I was a little worried they’d go radio silent on each other after the fiasco at the demo party back in October. I’d missed the whole scene, but Derek had been shaking when he relayed it to me later. He was hurt and angry…and I understood. I figured some space would help. And it did at first.
He invited his parents to do another tour after the construction team had cleared out the debris. I talked football stats with his dad in hushed tones while Derek explained the proposed plans for the bistro with his mom. I thought the visit had gone okay, but he wasn’t happy afterward. Apparently, she criticized his tile choice and said the lighting ideas seemed a bit…gauche. I’d laughed it off, but he wasn’t amused, which made Thanksgiving awkward as hell.
The gloves came off this season. Subtly, of course. His mom said the collar on his shirt should have been ironed. He counterattacked with an errant comment about the consistency of her mashed potatoes later at dinner. Thankfully, there were a few aunts, uncles, and cousins around to soften the sniping. And no one seemed to notice the tension.
I noticed. And a week later, it hadn’t gotten any better.
“Babe, you have to invite your parents,” I said gently. “They love you and—”
“They have an odd way of showing it.”
“Sometimes. But we don’t get to order the kind of affection we want from our families. Your mom isn’t warm and cuddly. It’s not who she is. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t care.”
Derek sighed. “I know. It would be nice to have her support too.”
“I know.” I knew too well. My parents split up years ago. I was close to my mom, but my dad remarried and had two other sons. I pushed my fingers through his hair and gave him a weak smile. “Your mom and my dad have a few things in common. He forgets about me till water polo season, but I guarantee he’ll find a way to get to Tokyo for the Olympics. I used to hate that he only showed up for games. But I finally clued in that he wasn’t capable of giving more. In a way, it’s the same for your mom. She shows love by giving money and taking over. She might be having a hard time with the fact that you don’t really need that kind of help anymore.”
His shoulders fell. “I was always going to invite them. I didn’t want to give her too much advance notice. I can’t take the criticism right now. I’m a little…thin-skinned at the moment. Anything can go wrong. The last thing I need is my mother waiting on the sidelines to say, ‘I told you so.’ ”
I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. “That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it.”
“Thanks. I’ll mail it in the morning.”
“I’ll do it on my way to the pool. That way you don’t have to think about it,” I offered.
Derek twisted to face me and smiled. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” I kissed his nose. “I’m so fucking hungry, and something smells good.”
“I made chili. Let’s eat and watch a holiday movie. Your turn to choose.”
“Die Hard.”
He snort-laughed as he headed for the kitchen. “You’re killing that movie. We watched it twice already. Choose something else.”
“Die Hard 2.”
Derek made a buzzing noise. “That’s not a holiday movie. Looks like you forfeit this round, Chadwick. My turn. I choose…A Christmas Story.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, but first time this season. Whoop, whoop!”
“Wow, you’re a dork.” I chuckled affectionately.
I hooked my arm around his neck and gave him a noogie…which accidentally started a wrestling match that led to an epic make-out session, followed by a blowjob. Better than any holiday movie, if you ask me.