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Chapter One
Reese
"You’re a cutie. Oh yes, you are."
"Hey, I want to hold her too," my sister Kimberly protested. "You've got her the whole weekend."
"Girls," Gran said. "Stop bickering."
I kissed Rose's head before handing her to my sister. She was right—I could get cuddles all weekend long, so I could be generous right now.
Kimberly immediately took Rose in her arms, keeping her close to her chest. Our cousin Travis and his wife were on vacation, and I'd volunteered to babysit. I was good with babies, toddlers, and teenagers. I loved all my cousins' kids.
"Do you want something to drink, Gran?" I offered. "I've got coffee. Or something stronger?"
"Coffee is good," Gran said.
"So, how's married life treating you?" Kimberly asked our grandmother.
Our family was huge. We had six cousins, and everyone was engaged or married. When Gran tied the knot in June, we were all immensely happy for her. She'd been a widow for as long as I could remember, and it was endearing that she'd found a second soulmate.
"It's an adjustment. I've been on my own for decades, and now I'm learning to live with someone else."
"Gran, you sound like me," I said.
"I can't believe we've had so many weddings this summer," Kimberly added.
Our cousins Tyler and Declan surprised us when they announced they wanted a double wedding in July. They had both waited quite some time to get married, but all the pieces fell into place this summer.
I made three coffees—decaf for me—and returned to my dining room table. Rose had fallen asleep with her head on Kim's shoulder. All my instincts craved to ask to hold her again.
Get real, Reese. You'll have her all to yourself soon enough. Don't be too greedy.
As I sat down, we each took our cup of coffee and clinked them together.
"To more weddings in the Maxwell family," Gran exclaimed.
"We don't have that many left. Only Luke and Megan, and Kimberly." I looked at my sister, grinning and batting my eyelashes.
"We haven't set a date yet."
"Please tell me you'll give me more of a heads-up than everyone else is doing lately."
"Definitely," Kimberly said.
"I want us to plan everything in detail."
We both glared at Gran. We'd had three months to organize her wedding. Our cousins had given us even more headaches—we’d only had one month to put everything together for theirs. None of them had specific expectations, though, so they went along with most of the things we suggested.
“What are your plans for the weekend?” Kimberly asked.
"I need to finish up some spreadsheets," I told them. I had nothing going on. Usually I tried to set up a date, but ever since the guy I was seeing back in June turned out to be an ass, I'd decided to press Pause on dating. And here I’d thought he might be the one. Ha!
Gran frowned. "Darling, life's too short to work weekends. Please trust me."
"It relaxes me. And maybe I'll drop by The Happy Place too.” Once upon a time, the Maxwell family was known for owning a chain of bookstores. Our dad, uncle, and aunt sold it successfully. But Gran had insisted on keeping the first-ever store—The Happy Place. I was beyond grateful because, as the name indicated, it was my happy place. I'd spent a large chunk of my childhood there, and now I worked right above it in the hotel I was running with Kimberly and Travis. The Maxwell Hotel was doing spectacularly, and I couldn’t be prouder. We were opening a second one in Aspen and had lots to do. I loved keeping busy.
"By the way, the hotel received an invitation for the annual De Monet charity event. Want to join me?" I asked Kimberly. It was a local event for underprivileged children, and our family had been involved in it for years. Gran used to talk about the events growing up. They were black-tie and involved fancy dinners and sometimes even a weekend of activities.
