I Want You Back (Want You #1)(113)
“I guess.”
Margene reached over and hugged me. “Go finish the million other things that need to be done in the next day and a half. I’m sure when Jax gets home later tonight, and you ask him, he’ll assure you he did what he’d promised.”
I hugged her back. “Thanks, Margene.”
“Do you want me to tell him you stopped by?”
“Nope.” I put my gloves back on and rewrapped my scarf around my neck.
By the time I’d reached my car in the parking lot, I’d already gone to the next item on my long list.
JAX
Three raps sounded on my door. “You can come out now. She’s gone.”
As soon as I opened the door, Margene laid into me. “Please tell me Lucy has it all wrong and you’ve got Mimi’s Santa gifts squirreled away in here.”
“Dammit.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I knew I was forgetting something.”
“Jaxson Lund! You are in such deep doo-doo.”
“I know, I know. But I’ve had a million things on my mind . . .”
“Not a valid excuse, especially not this time of year when we women have to do every damn thing ourselves.”
Do not defend yourself. In this moment it doesn’t matter that you have Lucy’s gifts in your car.
“You do know what Mimi wants from Santa, right?” Margene demanded.
I had a vague idea. “Of course.”
“Is it something you can trot your butt out to the store and buy right now so I’m not ordering funeral flowers for you next week before I start searching for a new job?”
“Hilarious, Margene. I can buy what Mimi wants, but it’ll take me a few hours to get it.”
She pointed at my cell phone. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get. It. Done.” She slammed the door behind her.
It wasn’t very often I exercised my right to use the Lund Industries corporate jet, but this qualified as an emergency. The first call was to my dad to make sure the plane was on standby and ready to go.
The second phone call was to my mother.
“You forgot to get Mimi’s Santa gift, didn’t you?” was how she answered the phone.
Awesome.
“Yeah. I need your help. Like right now. And I’m hoping that you don’t have one of your ten million social engagements tonight, but I’m so screwed, Mom. Please, please, please save my ass and help me save Christmas.”
She laughed. “Oh, this is so good. If I do this, you will owe me big-time, understand?”
“Anything.”
“Anything?” she repeated with curiosity, which meant the return favor would likely haunt me, but beggars and all that.
“Yes, anything.”
“All right, boy, hit me with the five W’s.”
“I’ll fill you in on the flight to Chicago.”
Twenty-four
LUCY
I yawned and clutched my coffee mug. My third cup and it was only six thirty in the morning.
But it was Christmas morning and Mimi had no problem getting up at the ass-crack of dawn.
“Want me to make another pot?” Jax murmured sleepily beside me.
“No. I’m good.”
“Mmm. Me too. This robe is so comfy I just wanna nap.”
After the Santa-extravaganza, Mimi had forced us to open our gifts from her first, which were super fluffy bright red matching robes, personalized with MOM and DAD and MIMI and 2017. It was such a sweet gift and Jax had been surprised by it too, so I’d have to thank Edie for taking Mimi Christmas shopping.
“Mommy! Look at this one!” Mimi held up a tiny pair of bright purple ski pants.
“Those are awesomely cute.”
“And the jacket doesn’t even match, just like a real snowboarder’s outfit.”
Jax chuckled.
I leaned closer and whispered, “Did you buy the entire American Girl store?”
“Damn near. You should see the camping gear. It is way cool.”
Jax had scored high points with “Santa’s” gift: an American Girl doll who looked like Mimi. There were boxes of clothes and accessories, everything from the hockey uniform the doll came outfitted in, complete with helmet, stick and tiny Chicago Blackhawks sweater with LUND and her dad’s number across the back, to a lion tamer’s outfit and a chef’s uniform.
“She’s gonna want to play dolls with you, Daddy-o.”
He kissed my cheek. “I can’t wait.”
For the next hour we watched an animated Mimi inspecting every item in detail, so it was a perfect, lazy Christmas morning where we could just . . . be.
Upon reaching the last box, a strange look crossed her face.
“Something wrong, sweetie?”
“I don’t see the outfit I really, really wanted.”
That surprised me, given the fact she sat among the rubble of a dozen outfits and accessories, and it wasn’t enough? When had she become so greedy?
“Which outfit was that, squirt?” Jax asked carefully.
“The big sister outfit with the baby carrier. So when you and Mommy have a baby, me ’n my doll match.”
And I just melted. Mimi hadn’t said anything about us having a baby since we’d met Brady and Lennox’s boy, JW. In typical Mimi fashion, she’d needed time to process it before she’d accepted the idea.