Xavier leaned back in the leather chair and propped his legs up on his desk while glancing out the window at New York City's skyline. The Empire State Building was in his direct line of vision and looked massive against the dark blue sky overhead.

He had arrived in New York a few days ago to wrap up a business deal between the Northeast Division of Cody Enterprises and Oxley Financial Services. Cameron Cody's takeover of the investment firm was a done deal, and as the executive attorney for all Cameron's affairs, Xavier needed to be in place to make sure everything was handled as it should be. Not only was he considered Cameron's right-hand man, they were very close friends. That friendship had begun back at Harvard when the two had been struggling students, determined to become successful in life.

And now, just like then, they looked out for each other, so he wasn't surprised by Cameron's question. Cameron knew that Xavier's parents had left for their annual six-month missionary crusade—this year to Haiti—and wouldn't be returning back to the States until sometime in the spring. "I'm not sure yet, Cam. I have a number of invitations out there."

Cameron's deep chuckle sounded over the speaker-phone. "Hey, don't brag about it. Not everyone is blessed to have five sets of godparents."

A frown settled on Xavier's face that was best not seen by anyone. "That could be a blessing or a curse," he said, shaking his head pensively. "Currently it might be the latter. Now that Uriel has married, some of the godparents are eyeing the remaining five of us. I'm not sure I want to be included in any of their get-togethers for the holida