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“Me, too, but when I asked Mick about it, he told me Park was asking more than double what he paid for it.”
“Which means Park probably knows something.”
They all looked at Hannah, who huffed out a breath. “Which means I have to talk to Park?”
Tag grinned at his sister. “He loves you, Banana,” he said, hoping to soften her up by using her childhood nickname.
“Yes, he does,” Shay added with a chuckle.
“Ugh. Well, he does owe me for the pool lessons I’ve been giving him. Fine. If he knows something, I’ll get it out of him.”
* * *
ALLY SAT IN the passenger seat of Flynn’s SUV and tried to enjoy the scenery as they traveled out of town. A difficult feat, what with her stomach feeling like a wind spinner on a breezy day. After several miles, they turned onto a gravel drive. An attractively carved and painted sign read James Guide & Outfitter Service.
Where the long driveway forked, Flynn took a left, away from the house, and parked among the other cars already scattered near some outbuildings. Removing a gift bag from the back seat, he climbed out of the car.
“Should I have brought something?”
A grin played at his lips. “No, this is a little joke between Iris and me.”
“You guys are good friends, huh?”
“Um, sort of.”
“Hey, that reminds me, you never told me she was a triplet.”
“I didn’t?” He cocked his head. “Huh. I guess…I don’t think of her that way.”
Ally gave him a curious look, but there was no time to ask questions because Flynn was already moving. They headed toward a growing crowd of people near the large house, some bunched under a gazebo, others congregating in clusters around the spacious yard. They passed the professional-looking basketball half-court Flynn had mentioned. Kids were bouncing balls and shooting baskets.
“Wow…” Ally gawked at the parklike setting.
“I know. It’s pretty great, right? Bering and Emily love to entertain, and they’ve spent a lot of time on this place.”
A cluster of people milled around a horseshoe pit. Off to one side, there was a badminton net where four teenagers were laughing and smacking at a birdie. Farther away, the white wickets of a croquet course had been set up, and Ally heard the distinctive thwack of croquet mallet against ball.
Ally recognized Iris as she broke away from a group near one of the picnic tables.
“There’s Iris.” She glanced at Flynn, only to discover that he’d already spotted her. His body tensed even as his smile brightened. He waved and headed in Iris’s direction. Interesting.
Ally felt the back of her neck prickle. Her gaze swept across the sea of people and quickly latched onto Tag’s. His knowing grin paired with a quirk of one brow suggested he’d been waiting for her to catch sight of him. A furnace blast of heat radiated from her core all the way out through her skin. She returned the smile, and the next thing she knew they were moving toward each other.
“Hey,” he said, stopping in front of her. “Nice of you to come today.”
“Thank you. Flynn actually invited me like a week ago. I didn’t know any of you yet. I mean, you and I had met, but, well, I didn’t know who you were. And anyway, you know…it will be more fun now than if the party had been last week.”
She loved the deep sound of his laughter, the way it seemed to vibrate through her. “It sure will. Do you think we can find a few minutes to talk later?”
Ally wondered what about. She’d spent the previous evening trying to decide if she imagined the connection they’d forged and what to do about it. She wanted to explore it, spend time with him. But she had no idea how to go about it. She hadn’t dated much and when she had, the guy had always done the asking. Should she invite him over for dinner or maybe see if he wanted to grab lunch one day soon?
“Yeah, sure. There’s something I’d like to ask you, too. As long as you don’t plan on beating this age thing to death?” she teased.
“Hey,” he joked, “I’ll have you know age is not an issue with me. My pretend wife is years younger, and we are as happy as can be.”
