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"Yes. It needs three hours in the oven. Besides, I got a lot of help. John, Beatrice, and Paisley spent the day here, as well as Lexi.” Lexi, Tate’s wife, was taking it easy since she'd had her little one and was spending a lot of time at Lena’s home.
She raised a brow at me. "When Kimberly said we should get together, I got the impression that it was more for your sake."
"Yep, it is," I replied.
It was a good idea to meet here. Even though it wasn’t the house where my cousins grew up, it was still Lena’s house. I always felt safe and happy around her.
"Okay, you tell us when you're ready," she said.
Another thing I loved about her was that she didn't push. She waited for people to open up.
I went into the living room and sat next to Lexi, taking the baby in my arms.
"You and Kimberly are absolutely adorable when you're around kids," she gushed.
"They're too cute for me to resist."
"Should we get started with the drinks?" Uncle Emmett asked, stepping into the living room.
"Yes, please," I said. "I'll have white wine."
“I’m good for now,” Lexi replied.
"I'll be right back," he replied before heading out of the room.
The rest of the clan arrived minutes apart from each other.
"Well, this is great," Gran exclaimed once we were all in the living room.
Declan and Liz were sharing one of the armchairs, her sitting in his lap. I was worried about his reaction when I told everyone. I knew he would want to take the lead on this, and it simply wasn't fair because he had enough work. On the other hand, I trusted him implicitly.
Travis and Bonnie were standing by the window with their little one, who seemed fascinated with the windowsill.
Tate was in a deep discussion with Paisley over by the bar. By the frown on my cousin's face, I was pretty sure Paisley had brought up one of the topics that gave him the most headache recently: boys. Tyler and Kendra were next to Luke and Megan, chatting in low voices.
Kimberly was staring at me from where she sat next to Gran and John. Drake stood behind my sister. It was a good thing he was here too; since he worked with us, it would affect him as well. Drake surreptitiously massaged Kimberly's shoulders. That’s where she held her stress.
I was so happy that she had found someone. Some days, I still couldn't believe it.
Sam and his fiancée, Avery, were sitting on another armchair. Sam looked exhausted. He’d had a night shift yesterday, which was why we were meeting today.
"So," Declan said, startling everyone, "I'm assuming that this isn't just a normal get-together, since you seemed to want it to happen urgently, Mom. What's wrong?"
Damn, he could read the room.
"It's not Lena who needs this to happen. It’s me," I said.
The energy in the room shifted instantly. It was completely silent. Even Paisley and Tate had stopped bickering. I felt like I was under a microscope.
Declan trained his eyes on me. "Is Malcolm up to something again?"
I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "Yes," I admitted, a bit relieved that his mind went directly there. At least it wouldn't come as a shock. "First, I'd like to say that this doesn't directly concern everyone, but I don't like secrets. It concerns Travis, Kimberly, and me."
"I thought Malcolm moved out of Chicago," Tyler said. His voice was steely. Considering he'd once been benched because of Malcolm, he had every reason to hold resentment. That had been my fault too.
Damn it, I feared this was never going to end.
"He wants to prove that I acted out of ill will when I got out of the spa business because I already wanted to do the hotel." I explained.
