On the day of Thanksgiving, I'm awoken at the ass crack of dawn by Holly.

"Kennedy," she whispers softly, gently shaking me. "Get up. It's time to start cooking."

"Five more minutes," I groan and roll over, pulling the blankets over my head. Holly gives me three before she yanks open the curtains. It's not exactly sunny outside, but it's bright enough that I sit up and squint against the harsh intrusion of light.

"Up and at em!" She chirps. Her eternal cheeriness is both endearing yet frustrating, especially at six am.

I rub the sleep from my eyes and yawn. "Please tell so me it's not just the women being woken up to cook."

"Of course not," Holly grins. "We're putting the men to work as well. Your mother should be waking them up right about...now."

Suddenly I hear a cowbell clanging up and down the hall. "Get up, get up, get up!" My mother shouts. "We have a big day ahead of us!"

Holly and I giggle.

Bagel is not happy about this early morning disturbance. He starts barking and growling. Holly picks him up and strokes his coat, humming a melody to calm him down. She may possibly be an animal whisperer or something, because Bagel has been attached to Holly's side since she arrived. It's like I don't even exist anymore. I'm pretty sure he loves her more than me.

It takes about forty-five minutes before everybody is awake and downstairs, teeth brushed and ready to go. My mother starts barking out orders like she's a drill sergeant and we are her dutiful soldiers.

"Holly, Serenity, Ocean, Katie, Kennedy, Dad, and Austin will be in the kitchen with me. Everyone else is cleaning the house top to bottom."

"Even our rooms?" Tristan whines.

"Yes, even your rooms."

"But we're not even eating in there."

"I don't care. Clean it."

"Suddenly I'm glad to be in the kitchen," Austin smirks. "Have fun Cinderella."

Tristan sends Austin a glare.

Afterwards we all split up and get to work. The house becomes lively with music and chatter as we work on our various tasks. As always, I'm in charge of making the pumpkin pie.

"Do we have any whiskey?" I ask while stirring the filling. The crust is already finished and chilling in the refrigerator.

"Ah yes, I could go for a glass right now," Grandma Katie replies.

"No one is drinking whiskey at eight in the morning," my mother says appalled.

I laugh. "It's not to drink, it's for the pie."

"You're putting alcohol in the pie?" Austin raises a brow.

"Just a few drops."

Grandpa Morgen disappears from the kitchen and comes back with a bottle of bourbon. "Will this do?"

"Yes, thank you grandpa."

"Of course dear. I for one think it's an excellent idea," he winks.

I finish up with the pie before starting on the macaroni. We all chat about dinner tonight and it isn't long before Winston is brought up in the conversation.

"Does he have any other relatives on his dads side?" Serenity asks.

I furrow my brows and think back to everything Winston has told me about his family. "Yes, he has an uncle I think, but he and Norman are estranged. And his grandparents passed away a long time ago."

"That's so sad," Holly looks genuinely upset. She's a pretty empathetic person, more so than others.

"I still think he's too old for you," Austin comments and my mother responds by hitting him in the back of the head with a rolling pin.

"Ow! That actually hurt you know!"

"Good. Why can't you just be happy for your sister?"

"Because he's too busy being bitter," I quip. "Maybe if he had his own relationship to focus on he wouldn't be so invested in mine."

Grandma Katie snickers. "That's true," she muses. "I'm not getting any younger you know. I'd like to see you settle down sometime in my lifetime."

Austin groans. "Not this again. Why is everyone always on my back about getting in a relationship? Maybe I want to be a bachelor for the rest of my life."

Ocean shakes her head. "No you don't. You just haven't met the right person who makes you want to settle down. It's something you feel in here," she taps her chest. "Like the universe has suddenly shifted."

"Well if that ever happens, you'll be the first to know.  Until then," he spreads his arms wide. "It's free real estate baby."

We all groan.

...

As dinner draws closer and the time for Winston and his family to arrive nears, I become more and more anxious. I want everything to be perfect. I've warned Austin multiple times throughout the day not to be a dick, and although he's agreed to be on his best behavior I can't help but side eye him.

The house is spotless, the food is cooked and ready to eat with the vegan options being labeled for the benefit of everyone, and the table is set. Now we're all just getting ready.

I'm wearing a maxi length burgundy velvet dress with a v-neckline, criss cross back, and thigh high slit. It's classy yet sexy without being slutty. I've paired it with strappy black stilettos, a diamond choker, and matching diamond drop earrings. My hair is up in a complicated updo that Serenity helped me with. She's surprisingly good with hair. I went a bit dark with the makeup, my eyelids dusted in gold and cranberry hues while my lips are a deep wine.

"You look stunning dear," my grandmother compliments me.

"Are you sure I look alright?" I nervously smooth down my dress.

"Yes," my mother reassures me. "You're absolutely gorgeous."

"I second that," Holly pipes in.

"You look amazing too," I smile. Holly is wearing a floor length colorful bohemian style dress with billowy sleeves. She has on at least twenty bangles and bracelets on each wrist that jingle with every movement and a layer of multiple necklaces. Completing the look are brown sandals and a silver anklet with an ocean charm Tristan gifted her. I know this because I helped him pick it out. Her hair is styled in two loose braids framing the side of her face and two more pinned back while the rest of her hair falls in waves down her back.

Serenity and Ocean are dressed in similar but varying degrees, while my mother and grandmother look like they're going to the Academy Awards. Overall I think we all look great.

The doorbell rings downstairs and I start having a mild panic attack. "Ohmygosh they're here."

"Relax," Holly places both her hands on my shoulders. "Breathe with me. In," she inhales. "Out," she exhales. I take a deep breath then let it out. We repeat this two more times.

"Perhaps we should have all meditated before dinner," Ocean frowns regretfully. My mother has already rushed out of the room to greet our guests.

"Best not to keep everyone waiting," my grandmother starts walking out of the room. Holly takes my hand and we follow her mother and grandmother out of the room.

Downstairs my parents are introducing everyone. "And this is Rowan and Marley, Holly's father and grandfather," my mother explains. They shake hands with Norman but pull Winston and Cecilia in for a hug. I can tell they're surprised but they hug them back. One thing about Holly's family is that they're very affectionate. I'm sure they would have hugged Norman too, except Norman isn't the kind of man you just hug. My father looks up as we're coming down the stairs. "There's the rest of the family."

It feels like everyone else fades away when I lock eyes with Winston. The way he looks at me makes me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world, even though I know I'm not. But he makes me feel that way. My stomach swirls with butterflies and my heart starts beating extra fast when he smiles at me.  I smile back and Holly squeals in my ear.

"Is that him?" I nod with a dopey lovestruck look on my face.

"He's cute!"

I grin. "He is isn't he?"

"I know that look," she whispers knowingly.

I glance at her. "What look?"

"The look Winston is giving you. It's the same look Tristan gives me. That's the look of a man in love."

Her words make me exited in a way I didn't think was possible, but the logical part of my brain kicks in and I shake my head. "Maybe you're just imagining it."

She squeezes my hand. "Trust me, I'm not."

We reach the bottom of the steps and Cecilia engulfs me in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you! Thanks for inviting us. You look drop dead gorgeous."

"Look who's talking." Seriously, how Cecilia always manages to look like she just stepped off the set of a fashion shoot is beyond me. She reminds me of the modern day version of Marilyn Monroe.

"Your brother is a total hottie by the way," she whispers to me.

"Which one?"

"The one with dark hair and green eyes."

Ah. Austin. "A word of advice? Stay away from that one. He'll chew you up and spit you right back out."

"It's always the good looking ones," she sighs. Oh well. It's probably for the best anyway. I've already got enough boy issues to last me a lifetime."

I raise a brow. "You didn't tell me you were seeing someone."

"I'm not...well not really," she shakes her head. "It's complicated. Just don't mention it to Winston."

"Why?"

Cecilia looks around like she's about to reveal a government secret. In a low voice she whispers, "You can't tell anyone okay?"

Now I'm intrigued. "I promise I won't say anything."

"Okay," she takes a deep breath. "You know who Kieran Foster is right?"

My brows furrow in confusion, and it takes me a moment to figure out who she's talking about. "Wait, you mean Knox?"

Cecilia rolls her eyes and mutters, "I hate that stupid name. But yes, him."

"Of course I know who he is." You'd have be living under a rock to not know who Knox was. He was apart of Black Phoenix, a British rock band. They started out in the UK and from there just took off. Now they were known worldwide and mega famous. All the members were good looking, but everyone was obsessed with their bassist, Knox.

"Wait what about him?" I say, snapping out of my thoughts. My eyes widen. "Don't tell me-"

Cecilia bites her lip. "Guilty."

I stare at her, my mouth hanging open. I couldn't have been more shocked if she'd told me she was messing around with Barney. Cecilia and Knox...it was inconceivable. They were as different as night and day. Cecilia was a park avenue princess and Knox was a gritty punk prince. It didn't make any sense to me. How the hell had they even met?

Cecilia laughs at my bamboozled expression. "I can just see the wheels in your head turning."

I open my mouth, close it, then open it again. "You owe me a story," I finally say.

"Fair enough."

Just as we're finishing up our conversation Winston comes up to us. Cecilia excuses herself.

"Hi," I grin.

"Hey," he grins back. "You look...wow."

I laugh. "Is that a good wow or a bad wow?"

"A good wow. Definitely good," he kisses my cheek. Out of habit I adjust his tie and he smiles down at me.

"I can feel your brother staring us down," he remarks causally. We both look up at the same time to see Austin scowling at us. I shoot him a quick warning look. I swear if he fucks this up...

"Well I figured it wouldn't be right if I came empty handed, so I brought a bottle of nineteen ninety-five Cabernet Sauvignon," Norman declares. "One of the better years in my opinion."

Grandpa Dean, a man of few words, grins. "I like this man."

My mother claps. "Well I see no reason to wait any longer. Let's eat!"

I sit next to Winston and Cecilia sits on the other side of me. To my dismay Austin sits right across from us, next to Tristan and Holly. Well, at least I can kick him underneath the table this way. I am not against impaling his foot with my stiletto heel if he says or does the wrong thing.

Ocean clears her throat. "Let us say a quick blessing before we eat. Serenity?"

Serenity holds out her hands for her husband and Holly to take. The rest of us copy her and link hands around the table.

"Just follow along," I mutter under my breath to Winston and Cecilia.

"Blessed be the earth for providing us this food," Serenity begins. "Blessed be the sun for helping it to grow. Blessed be the wind and birds for carrying its seed. Blessed be the rain for the water's loving flow. Blessed be the hands that helped prepare this meal, may those hands and our hands, bodies too, be well and quick to heal. Blessed be our friends, our families, and all of our loved ones. Blessed be our mother earth, our father sky and sun. Amen."

"Amen," we all repeat, even Norman who I'm ninety-nine percent sure believes in the power of money and not a higher being. Then we all start passing around the plates and digging in.

"So you're vegan?" Cecilia asks Holly.

"Yes. Since I was born."

"Wow. How do you do it? Are you ever tempted to eat meat or dairy?"

Holly shrugs. "No, not really. Since I've been vegan my whole life, I've never had meat, dairy, or other animal products. It doesn't make sense to miss what I never had, so for me, it's not a problem. Plus I'm a big supporter of animal welfare and rights. There's also lots of health benefits associated with being vegan, like weight loss—in moderation of course—and reduced risk of heart disease."

"Huh. That actually doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I'll go vegan."

Winston scoffs. "Please. There's no way you're giving up chicken."

Everyone laughs and Cecilia crosses her arms, pouting. "Well I could. Maybe."

"Yeah. Good luck with that."

"So Winston," Austin begins and I internally groan. "Tell us a little about yourself. Besides the fact that you're set to inherit King Hotels. How old are you again?"

I narrow my eyes at Austin. He knows exactly how old Winston is.

I part my mouth to say something but Winston beats me to the punch. "I'm twenty-two."

"Don't you think you're a little too old to be dating Kennedy?"

I'm going to kill him. I'm seriously going to kill him.

"Austin!" My mother scolds him.

Marley furrows his brows. "I thought we already had the age conversation?"

"Yes, we did," I say through gritted teeth. "And you know what Austin, you're almost thirty, so if anyone here is old, it's you. Isn't that like halfway to death?"

Now it's my mothers turn to yell at me. "Kennedy!"

"If thirty is halfway to death I must be nearing my grave," my father mutters.

"I should be dead as well," Grandpa Morgen adds. Tristan tries to cover his laugh with a cough but fails. I peek to see Norman's reaction. He cuts a piece of turkey and places it in his mouth. His face almost looks expressionless, but I catch the barest hint of a smile on his face. 

"It's only a four year difference," Winston replies. "So no, I don't think I'm too old."

"Fair enough," Austin says. "Any hobbies outside of work?"

"Actually yes. I play the piano."

I do a double take. Hold up, I had no idea he played an instrument.

My father looks impressed. "I didn't know that. How long have you been playing for?"

"Since I was twelve."

My eyes widen to the size of saucers. Tristan whistles. "Who taught you how to play?"

Cecilia bites her lip. "Our mom."

The entire table grows somber.

"When she was little she used to dream of becoming a professional pianist," Cecilia explains quietly. "Of course, life doesn't always work out the way you want. So she tried to teach us. I couldn't pick it up to save my life, but Winston was a natural."

Norman's mouth is pressed into a thin line. Even though his wife passed away six years ago, just from reading his expression I can tell it's still a painful topic for him, like ripping open a scabbed wound.

"We'd love to hear you play something after dinner," Grandma Katie says kindly. I almost forgot we had a grand piano in the living room. It's more for decoration than anything, since none of us actually know how to play.

"Sure," Winston agrees. I squeeze his hand under the table.

After that Austin stops being a dick and is actually civil. I can't tell if he's warming up to Winston or not, but at least it's progress. The rest of dinner passes by smoothly with all of us talking, laughing, and just generally having a good time. Even Norman starts to loosen up, especially after getting a few drinks in his system.

"And now for dessert!" My mother wheels out the dessert tray. "We've got lots of options, so don't be afraid to try a little bit of everything!"

I cut three slices of pumpkin pie and place each one on a separate plate, bringing the first slice over to Norman.

"Here you go Mr. King. I think you'll really enjoy it."

"Thank you," he accepts the plate gratefully. "And please, just Norman is fine."

I take the other two plates over to Winston and Cecilia. Cecilia is practically salivating over the desert. She sprays a glob of whip cream on top before taking a forkful, morning appreciatively.

"Mhmmmm. This is so good."

"Too much whip cream if you ask me," Winston takes a bite of his. I carefully study his reaction. He chews for a minute before his face morphs into confusion.

"Call me crazy, but I swear there's whiskey in here."

Cecilia take another bite, this time without whip cream and chews. "No, you're definitely right. It's bourbon."

"So you guys like it?" I twist my fingers nervously.

"Um yes!" Cecilia exclaims. "Ohmygod, who made this pie? I could kiss them!"

Before I can react Winston pulls me into a searing kiss. I don't even care that everyone is probably watching. When he pulls away his eyes search mine.

"Thank you." Tonight, words that seem so simple hold a much deeper meaning.

I cut myself a slice before everyone eats it all, then try some of  Ocean's vegan carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. It's so good I end up going for seconds.

"Alright, I'm done," Tristan pushes his plate away. "No more or I'll explode."

"Well no one told you to eat two slices of apple pie and three slices of chocolate cake," Austin points out.

He groans. "But they looked so good and tasted even better."

"That's on you buddy."

Mother insists we all leave our plates and head to the living room. There, Grandpa Morgen starts pulling out the baby albums. He does this every Thanksgiving, and this year is no exception.

"And this is Kennedy when she lost her first tooth," he points to another photo of me. I'm holding up a baggie with my tooth in it, grinning at the camera.

"Aw!" Cecilia says. "You were so cute!"

"I don't know, I'm kind of having fun looking pictures of you and your Edna Mode haircut," Winston smirks.

I purse my lips. "Just wait until I get my hands on your photo album."

Soon, we somehow merge into telling embarrassing childhood stories. Serenity recounts Holly's first spiritual cleansing when she was five. Poor Holly had thought she was being sacrificed when they forced her into the bathtub. Dad regales the time Austin broke his arm. He and Tristan used to climb trees when they were younger, and one day Tristan dared Austin to jump off one. Never one to back down from a challenge, Austin did so and broke his arm in three different places. He cried the whole way to the hospital.

"One time Cecilia wanted to dye her hair pink, but our mom said no. So she took a couple bottles of pink nail polish and 'dyed' it herself," Winston snickers. "The nail polish dried in her hair, and they had to cut most of it off."

I'm actually laughing so hard I start wheezing. "Are you serious?"

"It's not funny," Cecilia glares at Winston and everyone else who's laughing. "It was horrible."

Mother goes next. "In seventh grade my mom got me brand new white pants. The next day I wore them to school, and out of all the days of the year, that was the day my body decided it was time for me to start my period. I hadn't realized I'd been walking around with a stain until someone pointed it out in the cafeteria. Everyone called me Bloody Mary for a month."

"That's awful," Holly covers her mouth. The rest of us laugh.

"My turn," Marley says. "When I was sixteen I tried LSD for the first time. In those days pretty much everyone was doing drugs, so it was no big deal. All my friends had done it before and said they had great trips. Unfortunately I was one of the unlucky ones. When I came down from the high, I was in the ER because I'd almost cut off my entire hand with a hacksaw."

Austin and Tristan spit out their drinks, falling over themselves in hysterics while Winston is bent over, clutching his stomach. The rest of us just stare at Marley in shock.

"You almost cut off your hand?" Grandma Katie splutters.

He nods. "Yep. You can either have a good trip or a bad trip depending on the circumstances, how potent the drug is, or if it's laced with something. Mine was definitely bad."

"Note to self: never try LSD," Cecilia mutters.

Holly interrupts our story time. "Wait! I want to hear Winston play the piano now."

Ocean claps excitedly. "Yes! Plays something for us."

Everyone re-directs their focus to Winston. He looks a little fidgety to be honest, almost like he's nervous to play in front of us.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," I tell him, even though I too want to hear him play. But I would never force him into an uncomfortable situation.

"No, it's alright," he stands and makes his way over to the piano, sliding onto the bench. A hush falls over the room as his fingers glide over the keys, feeling them out. He tests out a few simple notes, pauses, takes a deep breath, then starts playing.

I become entranced watching Winston play, his face rooted in concentration. His tongue slightly pokes out from the corner of his mouth as his hands move effortlessly across the keys. He plays a haunting melody that feels so sad and forlorn, picking up in certain pieces then falling back down like a tidal wave. Quiet then loud, soft then hard. About halfway through the tone changes into light, playful notes, then from there he picks up speed until his fingers are moving impossibly fast, almost at a blur. He finishes with a loud flourish.

Everyone, and I mean everyone's jaw is on the floor. Except Norman. The corner of his mouth is tilted up, and there's a hint of what I detect to be affection in his eyes.

"Well I'll be damned," Grandpa Dean murmurs under his breath. He starts clapping, and soon we're all doing the same.

"That was beautiful," Serenity dabs at the corners of her eyes with tissue.

"Dude. What the hell was that?" Austin asks, and finally, finally, I see a glimmer of respect in his expression.

Winston releases a breath. "That was Beethoven's full Moonlight Sonata."

Even Cecilia is in shock. "I mean I've heard him play before, but that was a long time ago. He never plays publicly. I forgot how good he was."

Suddenly everyone is chatting excitedly about his performance and Winston makes his way back over to sit next to me. I press a kiss to his lips. "That was amazing. How come you never told me you play the piano?"

He shrugs. "I don't know, I guess it's just something I usually keep to myself."

I stare at him, seeing him a totally new light. "What?" He asks.

"Nothing," I shake my head. Winston is clearly talented, yet he's so humble about it, almost to the point where it seems like he's embarrassed. I kiss him again before resting my head on his shoulder.

I seriously think I have the best boyfriend in the world, and no one can tell me otherwise.

...