Page 11 of The Wedding Toast (The Hamiltons #10)

On Wednesday morning, Becca rested her hand on Jacob’s shoulder as she leaned in to pour him a fresh coffee.

He reached up and covered her hand with his. “Thanks. Are you going to sit down and join me now?”

“I am. I’m just going to grab my plate.”

Once she was seated across from him, she reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I have to tell you, I love getting a moment alone together like this. I mean, it’s awesome having everyone around, having my folks staying with us.

Everything’s only so busy because of the wedding, but…

” She squeezed his hand again. “I didn’t know if we’d get any time alone together at all this week. ”

She loved the way his gray eyes seemed to shine as he squeezed her hand back.

“I’m with you – getting breakfast together with no one else around is a welcome surprise.

Elena won’t be here until a little later today, she’s running some errands before she comes in.

I don’t know what time your mom and dad will be back from town. ”

Becca laughed. “It could be half an hour or all morning – I don’t even want to guess. Mom will want to take her time looking around, and Dad will be in a hurry to get back. So, we’ll just have to make the most of whatever time we get.”

She frowned. “Or is there something I’m missing? There’s no one else coming by first thing this morning, is there?”

Jacob gave her a wry smile. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know what time Alara and her daughter will be here.”

Becca took a drink of her orange juice. “Oh, my goodness, Zia – that little girl’s adorable, isn’t she?”

“She’s something, all right,” said Jacob.

Becca’s heart sank. “Don’t tell me that you didn’t like her.”

“Far from it. She’s amazing. It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s just that I find her a little… scary.”

Becca laughed out loud. “I can see that, but I think she’s wonderful. And don’t worry, I won’t leave you on your own with her.”

Jacob laughed with her. “It’s okay for you. You’re a teacher – you know how to handle six-year-olds. That girl is so smart she’ll leave us all in the dust if we’re not careful.”

“Yes, but she’s sweet, too. I love the way she went around naming everyone. I quite like being Queen Cornflower.”

Jacob gave her a rueful smile. “I understand why I’m King Cornflower, but it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as what she named Slade.”

“Why, what did she call him?”

Jacob chuckled. “The Growly Dragon.”

Becca’s smile faded. “Why did she think he was growling?” The name surprised her. Sure, Slade was a tough guy, but she always thought of him as warm and welcoming – especially toward children.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t growl at her or her mom. But Zia decided that he is the guardian of the empire, and the gatehouse is his lair where he lies in wait.”

“But why did she think he was growling?” Becca insisted.

“I wondered the same thing,” said Jacob, “but she cleared that up for me. Apparently, he’s a friendly dragon – but a very powerful one. He didn’t growl at her, but she knows that he could and would ferociously defend us from enemies of the empire.”

“Aww,” said Becca. “So, she’s not only imaginative but also insightful.”

“Absolutely,” said Jacob. “I’m actually looking forward to introducing her to everyone – just to see what names she’ll come up with for them all. And in doing so, what insights she’ll reveal about them.”

“Oh, that’ll be interesting,” said Becca. She closed her eyes as she ran over the day’s details in her mind.

“What are you thinking?” Jacob asked.

“Just wondering who she might meet today. Alara said that she’ll be here for most of the day, building the arch.”

She got up from her seat and went to sit on Jacob’s lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed a kiss to his lips. “And before we get all caught up in the details again, can I just say thank you so much for thinking of this arch? It’s going to be perfect, I know it is.”

He tightened his arms around her waist, and she rested her cheek against his. “I’m glad you love the idea. I was torn at first, but I had to try.”

“And I’m so glad you succeeded. It’s going to be beautiful – and even if it’s not, just the added entertainment value of having Zia around this week is going to be so much fun.”

“I think your mom and Elena might be more excited about the kid than they are about the wedding at this point.”

Becca laughed and waved a hand at him. “Don’t you believe it! They’re both desperate for grandchildren, and Zia is adorable. But they’re so excited about the wedding.”

She ran her hand over his chest. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about the afternoon – you know, during the ceremony.” Talking about Elena wanting grandchildren reminded her that she needed to talk to him.

“What about it?”

“Elena,” she said after a few moments. “I was wondering if you’d mind if I ask her to sit with my folks.

I know it’s not the normal way things work around here, but…

I know she’s worked for your family forever.

To me, she feels like family. She’s so much a part of this whole wedding – she’s so much a part of our lives – that I want her sitting right up front. ”

She felt awful when she saw the look on his face. “Oh, Jacob, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“No, it’s not you,” he assured her. “It’s me.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday.

Elena’s been like family to all of us ever since we were kids.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but she’s been more of a mom to me than my mom ever was.

Damn, that sounds horrible – and I don’t mean anything against my mom.

She loved us, but she wasn’t… the motherly kind. ”

He shook his head. “Anyway, that’s not the point. I feel like I shouldn’t have asked Alexandria to step into that role – I should have asked Elena.”

Becca patted his shoulder. “There are no shoulds. And Alexandria has definitely been a big part of your life, a big part of helping you with the business. I totally understand why you asked her. It’s just, I hate to think of Elena sitting somewhere in the middle of the crowd when she should be right there up front with us – with the rest of the family. ”

“I love you for asking,” Jacob said eventually, “but she needs to be on my side, with the Jacobs family.” He nodded to himself. “In fact, it makes sense – you’ll have all your family on your side, and I’ll have Hannah and Grady, Xander and Tori, Alexandria and Russ, and Elena on my side.”

Becca let out a short laugh. “Do you really think it matters how many people are on which side?”

Jacob made a face. “I don’t know. But people seem to care about that kind of thing. So, I’ll try to do it right.”

She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Aww, I love that about you, Jacob; you do right by people.”

He chuckled and curled his fingers around the nape of her neck. “I’ll do right by you… tonight… when we finally get to be alone again.”

Becca shivered as electric currents ran down her spine. “I’ll hold you to that, Mr. Jacobs.”

He chuckled and rocked his hips underneath her. “And I’ll hold you to this – my soon-to-be Mrs. Jacobs.”

~ ~ ~

Reaves glanced over at the case of wine sitting on the passenger seat of his SUV and shook his head.

His dad had asked him to bring it over to Jacob and Becca today because he didn’t want it to be overlooked among all the other wedding gifts.

Reaves just hoped that Jacob would understand.

He was fairly sure that he would – everyone knew what his dad was like.

Charles St. James was pretty much a Napa institution in his own right. The family winery – the House of St. James – had been one of the earliest brands in the valley and had helped put Napa on the map back in the day.

Even though Reaves sometimes got frustrated with his dad – that he wasn’t great at keeping up with the times – he had to remember that people around here loved and respected him for who he was.

As he approached the gate at the Jacobs estate, Reaves decided that he was going to make a conscious effort over the course of the wedding weekend to be more supportive of his dad.

Reaves had never been interested in going into the business – he’d fallen in love with flying when he was still in high school.

He loved his career as a pilot. But seeing the way his dad was starting to struggle lately made Reaves want to get at least a little more involved.

It wasn’t fair of him to judge his dad for getting behind the times when he wasn’t prepared to put in any effort to help him keep up with them.

He came to a stop when he reached the gate, and Slade came out to greet him.

“Hey, Reaves, I didn’t think we’d see you here today. I thought you were flying.” Slade frowned. “Wait, aren’t you supposed to be picking up Becca’s friend, Callie, this afternoon?”

Reaves shook his head. “No. Ollie’s gone by himself. Since it’s a smaller airport, we didn’t need to take the jet.”

“Oh, that’s right,” said Slade. “I remember now. Sorry, I just had a moment of panic there.”

Reaves chuckled. “I would imagine you’ll have a few of those over the next couple of days, making sure that everyone’s where they’re supposed to be, and all the logistics are taken care of.”

“It’s not as though I’m in charge of anything,” said Slade. “I’m just trying to keep tabs on things to make sure it all goes smoothly for these guys.” He pressed the button and the gate slid open. “So, who are you here to see? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I’m just dropping off a gift from my dad,” said Reaves with a rueful smile. “He was concerned that his wine might get lost in the mix if he brought it over on the day.”

Slade grinned. “Now that’s a wise move. If he were to gift me a bottle, I’d make sure it was well taken care of.”

Reaves pursed his lips.