The Love He Craves (The Love She Craves: Selling Her Soul to Declan Book 2) (29 page)

Chapter 27

Nyxie breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Declan’s garage door open. She expected him home before the guests arrived, but there had been a steady stream of people coming since 7:30. Luckily, Lotus and Reina had been the first to arrive with two of their aunts and an uncle. The man had carried in a 12-pack of Bud and all three had taken one out before asking her if she had room in her refrigerator for the rest.

Nyxie wanted to protest that it was a child’s birthday party and alcohol shouldn’t be a part of it. Since she had never been to a birthday party, other than the family parties she threw for the kids, she didn’t know if it was common practice. More people came—most of them bringing beer or a box of wine. Not knowing what she was supposed to do, Nyxie painted on a smile and acted as if she was at work. She asked people if she could get them anything and reminded them that there was pizza on the breakfast bar. There were seven children besides Lotus and Reina, and Nyxie found them a bit easier to talk to than the adults.

After Lotus and Reina had left the hospital with their extended family, Nyxie had called Sonia and apologetically explained to her that she had invited twenty people at the last minute. Like the trooper she was, the housekeeper had taken the change of plans in stride and had made sure there were decorative plates and napkins for the larger crowd. She had purchased a large cooler and filled it with ice, cokes of all sorts, and bottles of water. Sonia had decorated the rectangular chocolate cake with a basket-weave around the edges, and a scene of their happy little family, celebrating Lotus’s birthday. Nyxie had nearly laughed aloud when she easily recognized each member of her family. Declan wore green scrubs blowing a party horn and she was a little smaller and had black hair and brown eyes wearing a purple and pink party hat. Lotus stood in the middle behind a large present, wearing a tiara. Reina came next and appeared to throw confetti on her sister, and lastly Cody stood with a crutch with balloons tied to it. Nyxie snapped several pictures with her phone.

Nyxie had just grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler, took a drink to make her mouth feel less dry, when she heard the garage door lifting, announcing Declan’s arrival. A sense of relief washed over her as she rushed to the mudroom to open the door to the garage. He carried with him two dozen helium filled balloons, and a large gift bag with a stuffed giraffe’s head, wearing an old-fashioned nurse’s hat, poking out the top.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I decided to see what the hospital gift shop had to offer. It took forever on the balloons.” He handed Lotus’s gift to Nyxie and gave her a long deep kiss. “Is your day any better?”

“My day got better, when you fired Ms. Kiki.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’ve been worried about you after last night.”

Nyxie couldn’t help but sigh and roll her eyes, but she tried to cover it up by turning away and moving out of the mudroom. He took hold of her elbow, ceasing her progress. “Stop overreacting. For the most part, I’ve moved past all the crap that happened when I was a kid. It died with Daddy.”

His mouth flattened into a tight line. “I see you’re back to full-blown denial mode.”

“I see you’re back to, let’s-feel-sorry-for-Nyxie mode.”

His eyes shot heavenward as he shook his head. Acutely aware of the strangers in the next room, he pulled her closer and leaned down and spoke in hushed but tightly controlled tones into her ear “You were a fucking mess last night, Nyxie.”

Her lips tightened. “Jesus, just drop it.” She pulled free of his large hand and headed back into the house.

“Did you get someone else hired?”

“Yeah, the one I should have hired to begin with.”

“Papa!” Lotus squealed as she spotted him coming in with the balloons.

He bent down and gave her a hug. “Hey, Princess Lotus Blossom. Happy birthday. Want to do me a favor?” Half the balloons were tied to a weight and half were loosely tied together. He handed the unanchored balloons to Lotus. Pulling one free and keeping it. “Decorate the rooms with these balloons,” he said.

Lotus took the colorful bouquet, but before she could follow out his instructions, Reina saw him.

“Papa!” the younger girl cried from across the room where she stood with her grandmother.

“Hey, Princess Squirt, I’ve got something for you,” he said, holding out the pink balloon he had detached from the rest.

“That’s not fair,” Lotus pouted. “It’s my birthday, not hers.”

“And on her birthday, I’ll buy you a balloon and a small gift, so you don’t feel left out.”

Lotus took a moment to think about that before nodding and walking around tying balloons in various locations.

“And people wonder why kids have a sense of entitlement these days,” Nyxie muttered to herself. Luckily Declan didn’t hear her.

He put the weighted balloons on the breakfast bar next to the cake and handed Reina the single pink balloon. Imitating a whining puppy, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown and white, bean-stuffed puppy.

“Thank you, Papa,” she said, hugging Declan around his middle.

“Papa?” the grandmother said. “This man is not your father. Your father’s name was Isaac.”

Declan could hear the emotion in the older woman’s voice and so did many of the two dozen other people in the room.

“I’m sorry about your son,” Declan said. “I don’t want Reina or Lotus to forget him. Nyxie is trying to adopt these girls, and as her husband, I will be their father figure. It was Lotus and Reina who chose to call me Papa, and it is an honor that I will have to live up to.”

“Mom, are you all right?” a young woman asked, moving close and taking hold of Esmerelda’s hand.

“Yes,
mija
, I–”

“
Are
you all right? Maybe you’d like to sit down.” Declan led the woman to the large sectional where a few people were sitting. “May I?” he asked, pulling his stethoscope from around his neck.

“I’m fine,” Esmerelda said. Her eyes moved from Declan to the rest of the room as a hush fell over the clan, and they gathered around their matriarch. “I’m fine.”

“Mom, let him.”

The woman seemed to accept the will of the crowd and nodded. “Are you a doctor?” she asked turning back to Declan who had not taken time to change his work clothing.

Declan peeled back his white coat to reveal his scrubs with his name embroidered on the chest. “Yes.”

“‘De-clan Stryker, M.D. Family Medicine,’” she read aloud.

“Dec-lan,” he corrected. “I always wish my parents had spelled it with a CK.”

He put the earpieces in his ears and listened to her heart. He smiled up at her a few moments later. “We should all have such a strong heart,” he said reassuringly. He took her pulse and felt the glands in her neck. Lifting her hand, he gently plucked at the skin on the back of her hand. “I guess it’s been a pretty exciting day today. Have you been getting enough water to drink? I think you may be a little dehydrated. Nyx, would you get Reina’s
abuela
a bottle of water?”

“I’d rather have a beer.”

“Beer is dehydrating. A bottle of water first, a beer later and if you have more than one, half a bottle of water between. Doctor’s orders.” He smiled gently at her and Nyxie could see his compassion for the older woman. She could tell Declan really had an affinity for older patients, and suspected he had just won her over with that solicitous smile.

“
Lotus
and Reina’s
abuela
,” Esmerelda said. At Declan’s confused look, she elaborated. “I know my son is not Lotus’s real father, but he was the only father she’s ever known. We accept her as ours too.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m sure I speak for Nyxie when I say, we want your family in the girls’ lives. She didn’t know about y’all until my lawyer located you.”

Nyxie stepped up with the bottle of water and handed it to Declan. “Melinda never tried to keep in touch with us. If I had known, I would’ve called you a year ago when she brought the girls to me.”

Declan loosened the lid and handed it to the woman. “Introduce your family to me.”

Declan helped her stand and patiently listened while Esmerelda began the introductions. She started with her husband, Felix, and Rita, his very pregnant daughter from his first marriage. He met Rita’s husband and their two kids, a boy about Reina’s age and a little girl still in diapers. Then she introduced a young woman about Nyxie’s age. She had a year-old baby who was sleeping in a car seat placed in an out-of-the-way corner. She was married to Felix’s son who would be there soon.

Esmerelda pointed out her four children, their spouses, and her grandchildren, everyone except her youngest son from her first marriage, who, like Felix’s son, had not arrived yet. Isaac, Reina’s father, had been the only child from her union with Felix, and the baby of the family.

“Next time, I’ll have to bring some nametags to help me remember everyone’s name.”

After several minutes of speaking with the woman, Declan excused himself and sought out Nyxie. She was in the kitchen wiping the already clean counter. He took the disposable wipe from her and tossed it in the trashcan. “You’re going to make people feel uncomfortable if you’re walking behind them cleaning. If you adopt Lotus and Reina, these people are going to be part of our lives. Go meet them.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Start off by saying, ‘Hello, my name is Nyxie.’ If they don’t tell you their name, ask them.”

“Come with me.”

“I’m going to go change. Start with the woman with the baby. New mothers love to talk about their babies. You’re going to be fine.”

Declan opened a box of pizza and took the last slice. He opened the next box and found it nearly empty too. After moving the two slices into the next box, he took the empty boxes to the dumpster on his way to change, closing the doors of both garages behind him. After changing into a comfortable pair of Levis and a Tech Henley, Declan returned to the party by the front doors and found Nyxie talking to two of the children. He sighed. Baby steps.

Nyxie walked the children into the kitchen and helped them find soft drinks of their choice from the cooler, and he realized, even with the kids, she was acting like a waitress. He really was going to have to take her by the hand.

~*~

The woman named Rita approached Nyxie as she stood in the kitchen talking to Declan. She held the phone against her ear and it took a moment for Nyxie to realize the woman was speaking to her.

“I hate to ask you this, but would it be possible for Lotus to go ahead and unwrap her presents? We have a gift on the way and it's too large to wrap, so we thought it might be fun to surprise her at the end.”

“S-sure,” Nyxie said, hoping it meant everyone would be leaving soon.

“You don’t want to wait until after the cake and ice cream?” Declan asked.

“It’s not really something that can sit out in the car until later.”

Declan acquiesced with a reluctant nod.

“Okay, it’s all set,” the woman said into the phone. “Call me when you get here and I’ll put my hands over her eyes.… Right, Reina’s too.”

The children were all rounded up and took their places around the coffee table to watch Lotus open her gifts. Declan pulled out his phone and snapped pictures of her as she revealed each new toy, game, or stuffed animal. He could remember a few rather bratty pictures of himself, unhappy because he had found a toy lacking. But Lotus was genuinely delighted by everything. He had expected Reina to pout over not getting gifts, but she was every bit as excited as Lotus, perhaps because she knew Nyxie would make sure Lotus shared them with her.

Afterwards, as all the kids played with the toys, the phone call Rita had been waiting for, came. She quickly hung up after speaking just a few words.

“One more,” she announced. “Come over here girls. This one is for both of you.” Reina jumped up first, but Lotus was only a step behind.

“Close your eyes and don’t open them until I tell you.”

When the girls were in place, the woman opened the glass storm door and motioned the people walking up the sidewalk to come in. A heavily tattooed woman walked in with two men.

Nyxie’s gasp was Declan’s first indication that something was wrong. “They bailed her out,” she whispered to Declan.

“Okay, open them!”

“Mom!” Lotus squealed, launched herself at Melinda, and wrapped her arms around her.

“Lolo, I missed you so much. Come here, Reina.”

Reina moved stiltedly into the embrace.

“Take pictures,” Nyxie said to Declan. “They’ll want to remember this.”

Reina was the first one to break off, and she quickly moved back over to the coffee table to examine Lotus’s haul. Lotus stayed with Melinda as the other members of the Hinojosa family stepped forward to greet her.

“Are you all right?” Declan asked, opening his arms to Nyxie.

She crossed her arms over her chest and let him enclose her in his embrace. Her eyes closed as she tried to imagine they were alone somewhere, anywhere but twenty feet from Melinda.