‘Sloanie, its daddy.’
‘Hi daddy! This is a surprise. How are you?’
‘I am well now I am speaking to my favourite girl.’
Sloane giggles, this is her last night in the office until the New Year. It has been a hectic few days, between finalising details for Bella’s wedding, virtual fitting sessions for her wedding dress, and finally getting round to seeing friends and spending time with Fitz’s family. They are still undecided about what to do for the holidays and Christmas is around the corner, quite literally, so all roads are pointing to them spending the time in New York, where they really don’t want to spend it.
‘How are you my darling?’
‘I’m good.’
‘Still a workaholic huh?’
‘Not any more than you.’ Sloane knows what the call is about, isn’t every call about Bella nowadays? ‘Let me guess, you are calling to yell at me about Bella too?’
‘No my darling, and I’m sorry you had to deal with your mother for that… it was not fair.’
‘No it wasn’t. I didn’t put her up to anything.’
‘Your mother regrets saying that my love.’
‘Yeah right.’
Stephen laughs a little at that. ‘I am calling to let you know that we have a wedding to plan. It has to be before Christmas, and it has to be at the house and you and Fitz, who happens to be my favourite son-in-law, have to be there.’
‘WHAT?!’
‘I didn’t stutter child, you heard me.’
‘Daddy it’s the twenty-second.’
‘I know, and I have seen you work your magic with shorter lead times, so I know you can pull this off. I have met Kaiser-’
‘You have?’
‘Uh huh. Came to the house, met your mom.’
‘Dear Lord.’
Stephen laughs. ‘It went exactly as you suspected it would, but he survived. She put the fear of God into him his reflexes were dulled some.’
Sloane laughs hard at that, because she can imagine just how it all unfolded.
‘I am just now getting home from seeing your sister, she’s happy. He’s got a good head and heart. My Bon-Bon is well.’
‘Oh daddy, that’s so sweet of you to do.’
‘She’s my daughter, I was doing my fatherly duty is all. She made me promise to call and beg you to come home, she says you were thinking of it earlier on before she dropped her bomb.’
‘Daddy-’
‘Hear me out sweetness, we, your mother and I, would like you to come home for Christmas and the wedding, without you nothing will happen, Bella will not get married and there will be no Christmas celebration. Serena is coming home, I stopped by her house too when I was in London, Bea, well she practically lives there, but she too will be home. Please my darling come home. If not for anyone, for Bella.’
Her father laid a huge one on her and he knows she cannot turn down a plea like that, especially from him.