“Hunter—” she began, only Brody cut her off.
“I wouldn’t worry about the hype, since you might not live to see tomorrow,” Brody said, leaning against the wall, a prissy little dog tucked under his arm like a football. “First you crash a three-year-old’s tea party. Then you bring her a dog?”
“I believe the dog has a name. It’s Duchess,” Hunter said, forcing a light smile to his face. “And if you’re going to crash a party, you’d better bring a six-pack or a dog.”
“You chose wrong,” Brody said.
“The look on my niece’s face said the opposite.” Hunter rocked back on his heels. “By the way, Duchess is a pomapoo, a breed that is said to be the perfect bed buddy for idiot agents everywhere. I hear they like to sleep on your pillow, but they are known to be excited tinklers. So I’d stock up on some of those tinkle pads A-sap.”
“I’ll take the tinkle pads and a pair of handcuffs out of your commission. Because I will not have you two ruin Caroline’s birthday dinner. So if it takes cuffing you together and shoving you in a room until you work this out, then that’s what needs to happen.”
The thought of handcuffs and a locked room with Mackenzie had all sorts of new and interesting ideas spinning through his head. Mackenzie’s head must have taken the same track, because her face went an adorable shade of pink and she kept licking her lips.
Interesting.
“And you call me a diva?” he asked Brody. “I just came here to drop off Duchess and then head home. Your tea party is going to be just fine.”
“You can’t leave,” a tiny voice said from behind Brody. “You promised we’d twirl.”
Hunter crouched down to look at his niece, who was dressed as if she were going to high tea with the queen herself. “I’m coming back for your big party this weekend.”
“But I wants you to stay tonight with me and Duchess. You’re the only one she knows, and she might gets lonely if you leave.”
“Caroline’s got a point,” Brody said with a smile. “You might want to stick around, make sure Duchess doesn’t get lonely. Maybe even sleep with her on the couch. I’m short on wee-wee pads, but you can always use your jacket.”
Hunter ignored his cousin to focus on Mackenzie. The nervous way she clung to the dog’s harness, her body angled for the front door. He’d come here for answers, and yeah, he’d been pissed. He still was. But his goal was never to make Mackenzie feel unwelcome. Not when he was pretty sure she was about to spend her night alone. “I think you already have a full tea party.”
“We can make room,” Savannah said from the kitchen doorway. Her tone was honeyed, but her glare was glacial. “Can’t we?”
Hunter hadn’t a clue as to whom the question was addressed, but Mackenzie was the one to answer.
“You bet,” she said with enough false bravado to have him squirming.
“Are you sure?” he asked, because the last thing they needed was one more thing between them. “I can always come back.”
“No one should have to miss out on one of Caroline’s famous tea parties,” Mackenzie said, her smile strained.
“Not even overbearing, dumb fuc—” Brody looked down at Caroline, who was staring up at him with wide eyes, waiting for the bad word. “Funkles who show up uninvited.”
“Even them,” Mackenzie said and placed her hand on Hunter’s arm.
Mackenzie was in desperate need of some girl talk.
So when Duchess, excited by the new people, started tinkling all over the floor, Mackenzie made a beeline for the kitchen.
“Fucking puppies” followed her down the hallway. “Jesus, Hunter, get some paper towels.”
Mackenzie smothered a laugh. Muttley snorted, as if sayingpuppies. The two cousins were arguing when Mackenzie walked into the kitchen. She was greeted with the homey aroma of lime zest and warm cupcakes.
“Oh good, I was just about to bring you a mint julep,” Savannah said as the cabinet doors rattled open and closed. “It’s my great-grandma’s special recipe, and I took a few liberties with the bourbon. Now I’m glad I did.”
“Last time I had your great-grandma’s mint julep, I woke up on your couch with Caroline braiding my hair and Muttley licking my face,” Mackenzie said. “Plus, I’m not talking to you.”
“You were a minute ago.”
“That’s because I didn’t want to upset Caroline on her special night.” Mackenzie narrowed a gaze in on Savannah’s general direction. “A little warning would have been nice.”
“For you and me both.” Savannah popped the top off the cocktail shaker and poured two glasses, setting one in front of Mackenzie.
