“I called the mansion you guys got married at and someone canceled yesterday! They have opening, so I took it.”
“Oh wow,” she said, and she was convinced Phillip was having a heart attack.
“Are you sure, Claire? That’s quick. Don’t you want to wait, I don’t know, ten years?” he asked.
Claire and Jude laughed, but Reese knew Phillip wasn’t joking.
“Come on, Phillip, this is awesome! I hope you’ll give me away. It would mean the world to me.”
Yeah, that did him in, and Reese saw the tears in his eyes as he slowly nodded his head. “I would love to, Claire. I don’t want to, but I will.” Reese smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Awesome! We are pretty excited.”
“We are too. It’s going to be amazing,” Reese promised as she silently consoled her freaking out husband.
“Yeah, so merry Christmas to us, right? Finally got a day. It’s the greatest gift, in my opinion, since agreeing about this has been a pain!”
Smiling, Reese laced her fingers with Phillip’s and squeezed. She was pretty sure that he didn’t agree about this being a great gift, but this was a part of life. They knew that Claire wasn’t going to stay little forever, and they knew one day they would have to give her away. Jude was a good guy for that. He loved her and Reese trusted that he always would. While it didn’t seem like it now, it was a great gift for them all. They were going to grow as a family with the possibility of a new child and then the reality of a new son-in-law.
And she was beyond thankful for that.
She had everything she’d never thought she needed.
As she kissed Phillip’s jaw, he met her gaze and she said, “Merry Christmas to us all.”
Leaning against the back wall, Claire Anderson surveyed her work with a wide smirk on her face. While three girls hung from chandeliers in seductive acrobatics, nine girls were on stage dancing provocatively to Sia’s “Chandelier.” It was her favorite dance she had choreographed yet. She was so proud of it, and it was everything she could have ever dreamed it could be. Moving her head to the music, she watched as her girls killed it. The crowd seemed to like it too. The place was packed, money flying as the men hooted and hollered at her girls.
She had done a fantastic job.
Content with everything, she smiled as the song ended and the girls went still, the lights going black. She knew this meant she had to go, but she didn’t want to leave yet. She had seen the show over a billion times it seemed, but she couldn’t get enough of it. This was her dream come true, and she loved watching it come to life. Watching until she knew she couldn’t any longer, she said bye to everyone before rushing out of the club to the car that was waiting on her.
Sitting back in the seat, she let out a long breath before pulling her phone out. Clicking her fiancé’s name, she smiled as she texted him.
Claire: I don’t want to go home, I want to come to New York. I miss you.
She didn’t have to wait long for his response.
Jude: I miss you, babe, but I’m gonna be so busy. Just enjoy your family. I’ll meet you on Thursday. No biggie. I’ll have your present and everything.
Claire: I don’t want any, I want you.
Jude: I want you.
Claire: Then I am coming to New York.
Jude: Don’t be difficult. You won’t even miss me, you’ll be too busy with Sawyer.