CHRISTMAS EVE
TO SAY THE Drivas household was chaos is putting it mildly. There were people everywhere. A Maria in nearly every single room.
Kids running in and out of the house screaming and yelling. It was insane.
But it was a beautiful insanity.
This was my new family. And no matter how much they were in our business, I knew it was because they loved us. And no matter how many times Katerina cracked a shot at my cooking, I knew it was because she knew I could handle it and would dish it right back.
I loved this crazy Greek family and so did my parents. My father and Dimitris were currently in a debate about a Greek god and the Roman Empire.
My parents, Antonio, and his girlfriend Kate, had flown in to spend the holidays with us about a week ago. I had somehow managed to talk both my mother and Katerina out of throwing us a reception. The idea of my mother and Nic’s mom going head to head was not one I wanted to deal with. Especially since I hadn’t been feeling all that great most of November. I’d kept it to myself, but Nic had noticed. When he didn’t say anything, I knew he was trying not to get his hopes up.
“For the love all things good, Yiayia. Stop saying that!”
I glanced over to Charity who was sitting next to Yiayia as they both knitted. Covering my mouth, I held in my laugh. For someone who hated knitting club, Charity had really fallen in love with it.
“I’m just saying, child, you’re having twins.”
Charity sighed. “Yiayia, I know you’re old as dirt, but there is this thing called a sonogram. They actually look at the baby. Hear the heartbeat. Here, look.”
She shoved her phone in Yiayia’s face. “That is a 3-D image of my child. There is only one! If there were two, we’d know.”
Yiayia simply smiled then shrugged. “You’re having twins.”
Charity sighed. “Go back to knitting me a blanket, old lady.”
Cole and Nic were outside playing football with some of the cousins’ kids. Kate sat so close to me I thought she was going to crawl onto my lap.
“Kate, they won’t bite.”
She nodded. “I know, but Yiayia over there.” Kate looked at me as fear laced her face. “She told me I had a good birthing vessel! What does that mean? I thought Antonio was going to fall to the floor with a heart attack.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Ah. Yiayia keeps you on your toes.”
Kate agreed. “How old is she?”
Tilting my head, I realized I had never asked Nic. “You know, I’m not sure.”
“My guess is a hundred. She started to speak to me in Greek earlier. I think I threw her off when I answered.”
My head turned to look at her. “You speak Greek?”
Kate smiled. “Yep. I speak four other languages. Greek, Italian, Spanish, and Russian.”
“Holy crap’ole! Do you work for the FBI too?”
When she didn’t answer, I cleared my throat and looked away. “So, anyway.”
She chuckled and glanced around the room. “How do you keep up with everyone?”
“It’s kind of easy. Most of the women are named Maria. Or somehow they have that in their name somewhere.”
Kilyn walked up and sat down on the other side of Kate.
“How’s it going, ladies? Hiding from the family?”
Kate let out a nervous chuckle.
“Kind of. More like staying out of the way,” I said with a wink. “Where’s the baby?”
Kilyn rolled her eyes. “Katerina has him. I swear the woman has taken my son’s penis out six times to show everyone he’s a boy.”
Kate choked on her drink. “W-what?”
I leaned over. “Don’t ask.”
She nodded then whispered, “I’m starting to see why you didn’t want a reception, Gabi.”
Nic walked in with Antonio and declared to my mother we were leaving. Katerina handed Alec back to Kilyn who promptly took off like a bolt of lightning. I’m sure to hide somewhere.
“What? Why are you leaving?” Katerina asked.
My mother walked up and said, “We need to still do the Feast of Seven Fishes.”
Katerina frowned. “Oh right, the Italian Christmas Eve thing.”
Nic kissed his mother on the cheek. “Bye, Mama.” Turning to his father, he shook his hand and hugged him. “Bye, Dad. Enjoy the rest of Christmas Eve.”
Dimitris smiled. “We will, son.” He then shook my father and Antonio’s hand before giving my mother, me, and Kate all a kiss on the cheek.
Katerina hugged me good-bye and held onto me a little tighter than normal. When she pulled back, she had tears in her eyes.
“Katerina, are you okay?” Her hand came to my face and I couldn’t help but lean into the gentle touch. I smiled and she smiled back. I placed my hand over hers and silently let her know she was right. Covering her mouth, she turned and walked back into the kitchen.
“What was that all about?” Nic asked.
Shrugging, I replied, “Beats me. Maybe her way of silently thanking me for not kicking her ass at desserts tonight?”
Nic laughed as he placed his hand on the small of my back. About ten family members walked us out, each one having to kiss someone goodbye at least three times. By the time we got to my car, my parents were whipping out their antibacterial wipes and passing them around to us.
The rest of Christmas Eve was spent with my small family in our cozy little blue house that I gave up and Nic bought. After spending so many years apart, it felt amazing to be with my family again, especially with Nic by my side.
“How is the wine bar addition going?” Antonio asked with a smile.
Grinning, my father replied, “They’re thinking by this spring it will be ready to open.”
The look of pure happiness on my father’s face was like a dream come true. When I told him about the wine bar, he immediately took over with the plans. I was happy to let him take on the project.
“That’s awesome. I’m glad to see you have something to do you’re enjoying, Papá.”
My mother laughed. “So am I.”
Antonio stood. “I’m exhausted, sis. I think Kate and I are calling it a night.”
Standing, I kissed him on the cheek.
“It’s all set up. You’re lucky it’s warm here right now,” he whispered.
I squeezed his arm and smiled. “I know! Thank you.”
“Mom, Dad? Are you bugging out as well?”
They both stood. “Yes. I think so, darling. It’s been such an amazing Christmas. All those years I wished I could see your beautiful face and now . . . well now . . .”
She started to cry. Wrapping her in my arms, I held her tight. “I know, Mama. I know.”
Once everyone was gone, I turned to Nic. “Are you tired?”
He laughed. “A little, but I’m thinking we should probably not be doing the nasty with your family in the house.”
Hitting him on the chest, I shook my head. “No. I have a gift for you. But we have to go outside.”
Nic pinched his eyebrows together. “Okay.”
As we headed outside, I walked backward to face him. “Do you remember back in September when I got stuck on the roof?”
He laughed. “Yeah.”
“Well, the whole reason I went up there was because Charity said it would be a romantic place to tell you that I no longer had to testify against Dante. But things kind of got ruined, and I ended up telling you that night before we left for Reno.”
“Why tell me on the roof?” Nic asked.
I took his hand in mine and lead him over to the ladder Antonio had put out.
“If I go first, you’ll make sure I don’t fall, right?”
Nic laughed. “Gabi, what in the hell is going on? You want to go on the roof and what? Wait for Santa Clause?”
My teeth sunk down into my lip. “Maybe,” I softly said. The excitement was building more and more as the seconds ticked by.
His eyes intensified. “All right. Let’s go up on the roof.”
Taking in a deep breath, I gradually made my way up. When I got up on the roof, I quickly walked to the middle of the roof. Looking up, I gasped as the endless stars in the sky.
Nic walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. “Why is there a blanket up here, Gabi?”
Glancing down, I grinned when I saw the blanket and small basket sitting to the side of it. There were only two people who knew I was pregnant. Charity and my brother. It was her idea to try the roof thing again and my brother thought it would be a pretty cool way to tell Nic, so I decided to give it another try.
I looked up at the stars again. “Antonio put it there.”
Cupping my face in his hands, he asked, “Why?”
The hope in his eyes had my heart beating so loud I was sure he could hear it.
Slowly starting to sit, Nic followed me. We sat on the blanket and I tried like hell to steady my shaking hands.
“I wanted to give my gift to you up here. Under the stars.”
He smiled that brilliant smile that made my body ache for his.
“Lay back,” I said with authority.
“Yes ma’am. I like it when you’re bossy.”
I opened up the basket and saw the two bottles of grape juice and the small box.
Charity. She thinks of everything.
“What do you see?” I asked as I reached in for the box.
“Stars. Endless stars.”
“They go on for eternity.”
“They’re beautiful,” he said so softly I barely heard him.
“When I was little, I used to lay out in our backyard and look up at the stars,” I said as I laid back and looked up with him. “I would pretend they were wishes.”
He chuckled. “Oh yeah? How did that work out for you?”
Taking his hand in mine, our fingers curled together. “I’d say it worked out pretty damn nicely. I wished for my own bakery.”
“You got that wish,” Nic softly said.
“Yes, I did.”
“What else did you wish for?”
“A man to love me like my daddy loved my mommy.”
Nic’s head turned to face me. I could feel the heat from his stare. “I hope that wish has come true.”
Meeting his stare, I nodded. “It has.”
He smiled and my heart melted.
“Any other wishes?”
Tears formed in my eyes as I looked away and back up at the stars. “I wished I would be a mom someday.”
Nic was still staring at me.
“Look up at the stars, Nic. Do you see it?”
He did as I asked. “Do I see what?”
With my free hand, I reached around and held the pregnancy stick out in front of us. “My wish coming true.”
Nic stared at the test for the longest time before he sat up. My heart started to race. Maybe he wasn’t really wanting a baby as much as he thought.
When I sat up, I was about to ask him when he looked up at the sky and said, “Thank you.”
His head dropped back down and he wiped his tears away. Turning to face me, I could see the starlight reflecting in his hazel eyes. Cupping my face within his hands, he shook his head then pressed his lips to mine. Our kiss was filled with so much love it left me feeling breathless.
“Gabi, I’ve been wishing since that night before our wedding for this.”
Warmth radiated through my body.
“You’re happy?”
He kissed me again. This time he filled it with his answer.
“Don’t you get it, Gabi Drivas? My love for you flows from the bluest of blue sky’s to the deepest of deep oceans. I can’t breathe without you and what you have given me has made me the happiest man in the world.”
A sob slipped from my lips. “It’s always been you, Nic. The moment I met you I knew I could only live this life with you in it.”
He smiled. “Only with me, huh?”
Nodding, I clutched his shirt in my hands and pulled him closer to me as I whispered, “Only with you. My love for you will never stop, no matter what.”
Nic’s eyes searched my face. “The day you married me, I thought it was the most amazing moment of my life.” He chuckled. “Now I see that was just a stepping stone to so many more amazing moments.”
Dropping my head to his chest, Nic wrapped me in his arms.
“We’re having a baby,” he softly spoke.
I looked back up at him and our gaze locked. “Yes we are.”
He furrowed his brows. “I wonder how long we can keep it from my mother?”
With a smile so big and bright, I brushed my lips against his as I replied, “She already knows.”
Nic closed his eyes and said, “God help us.”