Blue Christmas (The Moody Blue Trilogy | Book One) (17 page)

“I’m speechless, Jackson.
You look so . . .
perfect.
I don’t know whether to faint
or ask for a table in the non-smoking section.”

“I know. I feel
like a penguin. But not too bad for a rental, eh?” he said, turning around to
give her the full effect of his black tuxedo, tails and all. The black and navy
paisley bow tie made her laugh.

Typical
Jackson
.
Always the quirky, special touch.

He took hold of her
hands again. “But you—whoa, Alli. Talk about speechless. I mean, one minute
you’re this skinny little teenager and the next thing I know, you’re this gorgeous
woman.”

“I guess we just
grew up, didn’t we?” She smiled, her heart filled with affection as she lost
herself in the eyes she knew so well.

“Always mine?” he
asked, the question their own private ritual.

“Always and
forever, Jackson.”

A gust of cold air
blasted them as the front door flew open. “So is there a party here or what?” JT
shouted, closing the door behind him following Tracey inside.

“JT! You came!” Jackson
exploded, almost knocking JT over. “You actually came. Miracles never cease!”

“Easy, Jax! You
know I never miss a party.”

Alli was pleased to see him relaxed
and obviously recovered from the bitter encounter days before. They welcomed JT
and Tracey into the house as they blended into the mass of friends and family.
Hannah and Alli giggled as JT took off his coat. Who but JT Malone would wear a
purple tank-style t-shirt under his white tux jacket?. In minutes they were all
dancing, the burden they shared momentarily dismissed.

Sometime later, Sergio
and Liza finally made their entrance down the stairs. Hannah smiled, watching Sergio
descend the stairs, his charcoal gray tux accented with an embroidered brocade vest
beneath it. His warm Spanish eyes sparkled, but his smile seemed hesitant at
best.

Then she realized
she might be the
only
person even noticing Sergio Cruz.

On his arm, a
spectacle descended the stairs with him. Dressed in a lipstick red sequined
dress, Liza’s neckline plunged to her waist revealing her quite-noticeable and
no doubt surgically-enhanced cleavage.

Hannah felt sorry
for Sergio the moment her eyes met his. Liza tugged him along like a forgotten stuffed
animal. When they approached Jason and Hannah, Liza elbowed Hannah in the ribs,
pushing her out of the way so she could hug Jason. He stiffened at her touch,
quickly detaching himself from her.

“Oooh Jason, you
look good enough to eat tonight. So handsome, baby!”

Hannah caught a
whiff of something wafting around Liza and it wasn’t perfume.
Whoa
.
The
girl smells like a walking distillery.

By the sickened
look on his face, Jason noticed it as well. Hannah looked closer at Liza’s
face. Tiny pinpoint pupils. The whites of her eyes, streaked red like a road
map.
This can’t be good,
Hannah thought.

She wasn’t the
only one who spotted it. Jason stared intently into Liza’s eyes. “Liza, are you
all right? You look a little—

“All right? Just
all right? Jason, are you blind? Look at me!” she took a twirl to show off her
gown. “I’m fabulous!” Liza giggled at herself, taking Jason into her arms to
dance.

“Whoa, Liza, hold
on there.” He pulled himself out of her clutches again.

“No! Stop being
such a prude and dance with me!” She pressed herself against him launching into
her own version of dirty dancing.

“Liza, no—not
right now, okay?” he begged off. He reached for Hannah’s hand and quickly
distanced them from the dancing Italian queen.

“Oh SCREW YOU,
Jason!” Liza flipped him off. “You’re such a Boy Scout anyway. Why don’t you
and your little girlfriend just go off and . . .
hold hands
or whatever.” She turned around, searching the crowd. “Sergi? Where are you?”

As Hannah and
Jason moved across the room, they ran into Sergio. He was tugging at the collar
of his shirt. Reaching out to hug him, Hannah smiled warmly at him. “Ah, Sergio,
te ves incredible esta noche.”

“No, Hannah—
you’re
the one who looks amazing,” he answered, holding her hand at arm’s length, then
kissing her hand in true European style. “Jason, you better keep an eye on her.
She’s
way
out of your league tonight, mi amigo.”

“And don’t I know
it.” Jason laughed. He leaned into Sergio, draping his arm over his shoulder.
“Listen, man, I’m concerned about Liza. I’m sorry to have to ask but is she on
something? She looks really stoned.”

“Look, JMac, I’m
really sorry about Liza. I don’t know what—”

“Sergi! Come
here!” Liza shouted. In a flash, she was in the middle of them, her eyes boring
a hole through Jason and Hannah. “I want to dance. NOW.” She pulled him toward
the dance area. He looked back at them over his shoulder rolling his eyes.

Jason and Hannah
watched as Liza thrust her arms high in the air, her dance moves so lewd they
were almost comical. As she strutted herself in and out of couples, Sergio stopped
to talk to one of the road managers. Eventually, his date disappeared in the
crowd.

He didn’t seem to
mind.

“Well say there, JT.
Where’ve you been all night?” Liza slid beside JT on the sofa, wrapping her
arms around his elbow, pressing herself against him.

“Liza, do you
mind?” JT moved over a couple of inches away from her.

She lifted the
drink out of his hand and drained it, then spit it back into the glass. “What
is
this?”

“It’s Pellegrino, Liza.
What did you expect?”

“What’s the matter
with you people? This is
New Year’s Eve
! Where’s the booze? I feel like
I’m at a church picnic here.”

He set the glass
on the end table, moving again to distance himself from her on the sofa. “It’s
a matter of respect. The McKenzies prefer not to have alcohol in their home and
we respect their wishes, pure and simple. Everybody here knows that.”

“But it’s New
Year’s! We need to party, JT! C’mon, let’s you and me blow this place and go
find us a real party!” She placed her hand high on his thigh and tossed him a
wink.

He picked up her
hand and removed it from his leg. “Liza, there are plenty of after-parties planned
tonight. Why don’t you go find Serg and leave?”

She pouted,
running her finger along the back of his hand. “I’ve got a better idea. Why
don’t you and I leave instead? I know you like to party as much as I do.” She
leaned in to whisper in his ear. “C’mon, let’s go see what kind of trouble we
can get into.”

JT shook his head
in amusement, Liza’s face still nuzzled against his neck. “Girl, seriously, you
need to chill, y’know what I mean?”

“What’s going on
here? JT?” Tracey stood before them.

Liza tossed her a
glance, then dug in closer to JT. “Tracey, why don’t you go find something else
to do. JT and I are chatting.”

JT suddenly stood
up, reaching out for Tracey’s hand. “No, I think we’re quite through with our
little discussion, Liza. See ya!” He tugged Tracey behind him to the middle of
the dance floor.

She stopped. “JT,
what was that all about?”

“Trace? Forget it.
She’s pathetic and not worth getting upset over. Dance with me, baby, and
forget about her.” He pulled her close into his arms. “Sergio needs to dump
that girl. The sooner, the better. She’s nothing but trouble. Big trouble . . .”

The crowd partied
long into the evening. The endless trays filled with cheese and deli meats,
fruits, chicken wings and marinated meatballs disappeared, along with all the fussy
desserts. Laura and Frank hosted the younger crowd until around 11:30 when they called it a night.

As some of the
guests left, the music gradually turned more mellow. Lights dimmed and shoes were
kicked off as spirited conversations gave way to quiet chats.

Hannah and Jason
shuffled upstairs to the loft, knowing most of the guys would have drifted
there already. As they topped the stairs, they heard the heated voices of Gevin
and JT.

“But you can’t do
this! It isn’t fair!” JT grunted.

“That’s where
you’re wrong,” Gevin answered, his words measured. “Nobody ever said this was a
prison we could never escape. JT, I’m
tired
of it. It’s been ten long
years and I’m tired. I want to marry Marissa and have a normal life.”

“Then you’re a traitor!”

“Stop acting like
a child, JT,” Sergio barked.

“Oh, so you’re
siding with him now, huh Serg?” JT turned on him. “You roll into town at the
last minute and think you know everything that’s happened here?”

“I know enough. I
know that calling Gevin a traitor isn’t gonna solve anything.”

“Knock it off, you
guys,” Jason hissed. “I told you not to get into this tonight. This is not the
time or place—”

“Jason, thank God,”
Marissa cried. “I’ve been trying to make them stop, but—”

“—but I still say
it’s
your
fault to begin with, Rissa!” JT yelled. “I mean, fact of the
matter is, who the hell do you think you are anyway?”

“SHUT UP, JT!” Gevin
got in JT’s face. “I will not allow you to talk to her that way. Do you
understand me?”

“Gevin, I’m gonna
say it one more time,” Marissa spoke with barely controlled anger. “Either work
this out with him once and for all or we leave town. And I mean
now.”
Marissa stormed down the stairs.

Hannah took a seat
on the sofa, cradling her arms around herself. Jason yanked off his tie and
jacket as he approached the fireplace. “Geez, guys, can’t you see what you’re
doing? I know we’ve got to talk this all out. But not tonight and not here! Is
that understood?” He looked back and forth at his friends, the anger still
burning behind their eyes.

He looked around
the room. Alli was curled up in the easy chair, her lower lip trembling. “Alli,
where’s Jackson?”

“He went to his
room little while ago. I’ll go get him.” She wiped her eyes as she left the
room.