𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝟐 | ✓

- Chapter THIRTY -

He fiddled with his tie trying to adjust it. He wanted this night to be perfect. "It'll be fine, right?" He asked, turning to Tessa.

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "It'll be fine. Carly and you do this every year. The only difference is me." She sighed, reaching for his hand. "Trust me. She isn't an immature child."

"She's still my baby. How will she react to this?" He asked, referring to the ring on her finger.

She just chuckled and shook her head. "She accepts Joseph, right? She was okay with accepting Yasmin and her other brothers and sisters? And CJ? Why won't she accept me?"

"Because Tess. She had a reason to accept Joseph. Because I wasn't there. But her mom is still there. I don't know, I just want her to be happy for me." He concluded.

Tessa looked up and saw Carlota approaching with Landon and their four kids. "Well, there's no going back because they're here." She said, patting his shoulder. She stood and embraced Carlota for a hug and gave Landon a kind smile. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course. We always come. Every Christmas Eve. Why wouldn't we come this year?" She chuckled, moving to hug her father. "Sorry, we were a bit late. Xavier refused to wear his bow tie." She sighed, taking a seat.

Landon put Xavier in the baby seat set for him. It was a big table. Xavier and Carlota at the end, Landon next to Xavier. With Xavier, their baby, having his parents at both his sides, Gabriella and Marianna sat at the right of Landon and Jade sat to the left of Carlota, and Marcus and Terra sat at Jade's left.

Despite it being a big table and probably a lot of money, Marcus insisted this year he'd pay for the meal instead of having Landon always pay for the meals. He did have a big announcement and wanted Carlota's approval.

As dumb as it sounds, he told himself he wouldn't marry Tessa if Carlota didn't allow it.

"So what's the special occasion that's gotten you to actually pay for the meal?" Carlota teased, starting up the conversation.

"You know, Marcus, I don't mind paying for the meal, if that's the issue." He smiled.

Marcus shook his head. "That's quite fine, London." He said, calling over a waiter.

Marcus got used to calling Landon London. He knew it wasn't actually his name. He said it in a way to taunt him and see how he'd react. After he realized he didn't mind, he stuck to it. Landon didn't mind hearing London instead of his actual name either. He was happy he had a good bond with his father-in-law.

After they ordered their food, Xavier began tugging at Carlota's earring, and calling her 'Mama'.

"Yes?" She asked, pulling away from him. She knew he wanted a phone. He wanted to watch more kids' channels. He didn't want him to start crying so handed him her phone, unlocked. "So what's the special occasion?" She asked, moving her attention back to her dad.

Clearing his throat, he intertwined his hand with Terra's and gave it a slight squeeze. "You know Tessa and I have been together for 3 years now," He began, being as gentle as possible. The last thing he wanted was for her to think she had to call her mom.

"And she makes me so happy. She helped me get over your mother and made me an even better person."

Carlota looked over at Tessa who was smiling at Marcus as if they were falling in love with each other all over again. She scratched her neck due to the awkwardness and went back to looking at her dad. "And I'm guessing you two want to get married," She whispered, trying not to sound irritated.