After Leah unbuckled Emma from the car seat, we made our way to the front door and rang the bell. Seconds later, the beautiful bride herself opened the door.
“Leah! I’m so glad you could make it. Oh, and you brought Jacey, too. Wonderful! Come on in.” She stood aside, and we stepped across the threshold into the foyer. From there, I could see into her living room, where people—mostly women—were seated on sofas, chairs and the floor, balancing on their laps paper plates of food and plastic cups of wine or bottles of beer.
“Max and I were just about to start opening gifts. Why don’t you grab some food and then find a seat in here with us? Everything’s set up in the kitchen. It’s totally casual, so help yourself to whatever’s there.”
Leah shifted Emma to her other hip. “Thanks. You’re sure you don’t need help with anything?”
Samantha waved her hand. “Not at all. This is all for fun, so we don’t want anyone stressed by set-up or clean-up. We’re going to send home whatever we don’t eat now with anyone who’ll take it, and the rest gets tossed. We leave tomorrow morning for Maui.” She grinned. “Honeymoon time. I can’t wait.”
My sister-in-law smiled. “Lucky you. I know you’re going to have a blast.”
As Sam turned to go back into the living room, I felt a twinge of sympathy for Leah. She and my brother had never had the luxury of a honeymoon; she’d been so pregnant when they got married that travel had been out of the question. And since Emma’s birth, both of them had been too busy learning to be parents and struggling through life on limited sleep to consider a trip. I suspected that at this point, for Kade and Leah the ideal honeymoon would be days to sleep as long as they wanted, whenever they wanted.
“Leah, why don’t you go find a place to sit down and get the princess settled? I’ll get food for both of us.”
“Thanks, Jacey.” As though she felt my empathetic vibes, Leah gave me a quick sideways hug. “That would be very helpful.”
In the kitchen, plastic catering containers covered just about every surface. A small bar was set up on the counter near the fridge, with a variety of wine bottles, liquor, soda and beer making up a motley crew of adult beverage options. Two guys were in there, too, both piling their paper plates high with food. I recognized both of them. Before I could decide the best way to play this situation, one of the soldiers spotted me.
“Hey, Jacey!” Jake Robinson greeted me, licking some kind of sauce off his thumb after it had dripped from his plate. “I thought I saw you last night. Kade says you’re in town for good now?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Owen, who’d been dishing up twice-baked potatoes, glanced over his shoulder and then did a double-take. His eyes flashed with pleased surprise at first, and then, as he took in Jake’s words, the pleasure faded into confusion.
“Uh, not sure. Maybe. Right now, I’m just taking everything day by day.” I pointed to Jake’s food. “That plate doesn’t look like it’s going to hold any more. You might want to take it in the other room to share with Harper before it ends up all over Samantha’s kitchen floor.”
Alarm flitted across the man’s face. “Yeah, you’re probably right. And I need to stay on Samantha’s good side, if I want to stay on my girl’s good side, too.” He snatched up a handful of napkins and moved toward the doorway that led into the living room. “I’ll catch up with you later on.”
“Sure.” I waited until he was out of sight before I pivoted to face Owen. “Hi. I know you’re probably a little confused right now. I want to apologize upfront about that, but if you’ll give me just a minute to explain—”
Owen rested his ass against the edge of the counter and crossed his arms over his broad chest. I couldn’t help noticing the way his thin white T-shirt stretched across those muscles. The wordmouthwateringtotally applied here.
“I’m listening.” His voice was neutral, but his face was stiff and expressionless. “I’d love to hear why you didn’t tell me your real name and why you lied about who you are.”
“And like I said, I want to explain. I was hoping to see you here today to do just that. But can you give me just a minute? I promised my sister-in-law that I’d bring her some food. She’s got her hands full with the baby.”
Owen’s eyes softened a little, and he nodded. “Yeah, sure. Here, let me give you a hand with it.” He pushed away from the counter and slid a plate from the stack next to him. “You get the cold salads, and I’ll heat up some chicken for her. It’s only lukewarm now.”
“Thanks.” We worked alongside each other in silence for a few moments, until Owen had carefully added the chicken croquette to the plate that held the rest of Leah’s food. He handed me a napkin along with a plastic fork and knife.
“I’ll be right back. Wait here, okay?” I hoped he wouldn’t run off, insulted by what he assumed were my lies or hurt that I hadn’t been straight with him.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He resumed his position, and with a forced smile, I hurried to find Leah sitting on a wide wing chair with a matching ottoman. On the floor by her feet, another woman with long dark red hair was holding Emma, playing peek-a-boo with my niece.
“Thanks so much, Jacey. You’re a lifesaver.” Leah accepted the plate from my hands and settled it onto her lap. “You remember Delia, don’t you? I think you met some time in the past week.”
“I’m sure we did,” I laughed. “I’ve been introduced to so many people, it’s hard to keep them all straight. Nice to see you again.” I flickered my eyes to my sister-in-law. “Do you need me to wrangle the princess while you eat?”
“No.” Leah shook her head. “As long as Dee doesn’t mind holding her, I think we’re all right. Go get yourself some food.”
“On my way.” I hesitated. “Uh, Leah, if I don’t come right back, don’t send a search party, okay? I sort of need to talk to someone, too, while I’m getting my grub.”
Curiosity flooded her face. “Talk to someone? Who do you know here besides me—and maybe Sam and Max, who seem to be a tad busy just now?”
“Can I explain later?” I whispered, feeling my face heat.
A wicked grin curved her lips. “Sure, you can. As long as you promise to do it in vivid detail. From the look on your face, this isn’t a job opportunity you need to discuss with someone.”
“You’re not wrong.” I gritted my teeth. “I’ll be back in a few. Let me know if you need me before then.”
