Hers for the Holidays

Chapter Seventeen

“Celeste dinner was amazing,”  Vincent said as he sat his fork on the plate. The baked chicken with lemon sauce had been very much enjoyable and had him wondering if Emily could cook.  He enjoyed dabbling in the kitchen, but none of the chicken he had ever made had ever tasted that good, nor his asparagus.  Celeste’s steamed asparagus had been perfect and crisp.    

“That’s nothing, just wait til you see tomorrow's spread,”  Brad said as he leaned back from the table his hand patting his full stomach.

“Mom goes all out for Thanksgiving,”  Emily said as she stood getting ready to help clear the dishes.  

“Normally we’d have to fend for ourselves the night before, she must like you, Vincent,”  Hannah said winking over at the werewolf.

Vincent could feel the tips of his ears burning in a blush. He looked over at Emily as she grabbed his plate and stacked it with her own.

“Let me help you take care of the dishes,”  CJ said with a smirk taking them from Emily’s hands.  Emily looked up, startled. She nervously pushed her hair behind her ears as her eye’s met his.

“Thanks, CJ,” she said as she moved about getting the rest of the plates and dirty dishes to take them to the kitchen.

“Point for CJ,”  Brad teased, before sheepishly looking away from Vincent’s glare, Vincent stood up heading into the kitchen to help her clean up, Emily was standing at the sink pushing her sleeves up as the warm water filled the sink.  He watched as she added soap to the water the bubbles creating a small mountain.

“Let me help you.”  Vincent said as he grabbed a dish towel, “You’ll have to tell me where things go.”

“Thank you, Vincent,”  Emily said with a small smile as she picked up the sponge and started scrubbing the dirty dishes.  She felt her cheeks heat up as she thought about his confession earlier.

“What’s got you blushing so prettily?”  He asked in a teasing voice.

“Nothing,”  Emily looked down as she handed him the clean plate, “Top shelf to the left.”  

“You sure it isn’t a handsome werewolf?  I won’t tell him if it is,”  Vincent asked in a teasing voice as he dried the dish and then opened the cabinet to put it away.

“It might be,” she smiled up at him, Vincent moved closer to her placing a hand on either side of her hips trapping her against the sink.

“What would you do if I kissed you right now?”  He asked his voice husky and low.

Emily blushed as she looked up at him through lowered lashes, her heart pounding in her chest as he leaned forward.  She licked her lips as she watched his mouth come closer to her, his warm breath playing across her skin as he slowly moved closer.   She moved to push herself onto her toes to bring her lips to his, she could feel his lips pulling into a smile as he kissed her his mouth moving softly against her own.  

Vincent felt his heart soar as Emily kissed him. It wasn’t a confession of her feelings for him yet.  He would take it though. He brought his hands up to cup her cheeks as he parted his lips, his tongue snaking out to caress the seam of her lips.  

Emily let out a sigh and then jumped, her hip bumping against the cabinet as CJ coughed. He put the dishes into the sink and then gave them both a look with his eyebrow raised.

“Do I get a kiss too?”  He asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.

“No,” Vincent said as he pushed a loose strand of Emily’s hair from her red cheeks.

“I’ve been good,” CJ said as he turned towards Emily with a smirk.

“CJ,” she said with a laugh as she looked down, her cheeks flaming darker red.

“You wound me so Princess.”  He chuckled, “I’m not worried when I finally kiss you, it’ll be because you want me to kiss you.”  

“Who said she didn’t want me to kiss her?”  Vincent said looking over at his fellow gamer.

“I never said that,”  CJ said, Emily casually handed CJ the dish sponge and then backed up slowly as he took her place at the sink and started scrubbing dishes.  She smirked as they argued and cleaned the dishes. She peeked over her shoulder one last time before making her way back into the dining room where Hannah, Trisha, and her mother sat making casual conversation about tomorrow's early Thanksgiving.

“You planning to spill any details sis?”  Hannah said as Emily sat down beside her, she bumped her shoulder against Emily’s and gave her a crooked smile as she pulled out a deck of cards.

“So mom, when are dad and Amber going to get here?”  Emily asked avoiding her sister’s question.

“Hopefully sometime tonight,”  Celeste said as she took the dealt cards. The sounds of the kids watching a holiday movie in the living room could be heard under the faint murmur of the children’s arguing voices as they playfully fought with their uncle. 

“Do they spend all their time arguing?”  Emily asked nodding her head towards the living room.

“All kids do,”  Celeste said as she moved her cards in her hand, “Amber’s three are just worried about her and Nic.  So they’re picking more fights than normal and Hannah’s two are just at that age. It’s good for them, bonds them together.”

“How’s Miguel?”  Emily asked as she looked down at her cards with a frown. She wouldn’t be winning this round.  

“He’s good, just couldn’t get away from security detail.”  She said as she grinned looking at her cards.

“He’s working for CJ’s parent’s right?”  Trisha said as she looked around the table, looking for any tells for who had been dealt a bad hand.

“Yeah, he is.  Though why dragon shifter’s need a panther bodyguard I’ll never know.”  Hannah said shaking her head.

“Wait, CJ’s a dragon?”  Emily asked as she sat her cards down on the table.

“Are you late to the party Em?”  Trisha asked with a small smirk, she knew who had a bad hand now.  

“I guess I am, is everyone around me a shifter?”  Emily frowned as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Yes,”  Hannah said as she grabbed a card from the deck and threw one into the discard pile.

“You’ll shift soon, honey,”  Celeste said as she grabbed a card with a smirk and then sat her book down.

Emily let out a grumble as she leaned back and crossed her arms. How could her mom keep saying that?  She hadn’t shifted yet, and she had a feeling she never would, she wasn’t like her Abuela, she wouldn’t be shifting when she hit her thirties just as she hadn’t shifted when her siblings did during their teen years.  She was the odd one out, the lame-duck or cat.