“Oh, cut it out. You know you love it there.” Nadine,Nona’s daughter and Troy’s aunt, gave her mother a long-suffering look as she and her sister Nancy sat down at their table. “We all know you love nothing more than to be right in the middle of the action. You’re probably running the place by now.”
Nona scoffed. “Not even close. You girls know I’m just a shy, retiring, former librarian.”
Nancy snorted. “And I’m a Radio City Rockette.”
Like their mother, the sisters were full of personality and never afraid to speak their mind. Troy had always been a little embarrassed about his father’s family. Not Holly. She adored them all.
They chatted about their plans for the upcoming holidays and about the popular Christmas market in town.
“So Holly,” Stacy suddenly said during a break in the conversation, “what’s this I hear about you bringing a hot date to the wedding?”
Holly froze, her fork poised halfway to her mouth. She set it down sharply, feeling her face flush. “I’m not sure. What have you heard?”
Troy’s sister pressed one hand over her very pregnant belly. “Only that he’s some gorgeous pilot and he’s supposed to be crazy about you.”
“Who told you that?” she asked, aghast.
Stacy gestured to her mother, who was deep in conversation with Kristine’s future mother-in-law, a woman Holly didn’t know.
“Mom couldn’t stop talking about it. She said you were all hush-hush about him but she happened to talk to your sister, Hannah, at the Shelter Inn the other day and she told her all about him. Susan is over the moon that you’re dating again.”
“Why?”
Stacy and her aunts exchanged a look and then Nancy, the oldest, finally spoke.
“She took your breakup hard, especially since Troy was the one who walked out on you and moved in with Brittany right away.”
“Mom feels guilty that any son of hers could be such a jerk,” Stacy said bluntly. “You know we have all been pretty upset at Troy.”
Holly set her fork down, her appetite gone. She had hoped she could come to the bridal shower and simply enjoy a pleasant time without having to exhume her failed marriage over and over.
“It’s been two years,” she said. “We’ve both moved on.”
“I still think it’s tough for Mom to truly embrace Brittany and their baby when we all know you were treated so poorly in the whole deal.”
She hated being put in the position of a victim with his family. It wasn’t fair to anybody.
“I hope that’s not true,” Holly said quietly. “Little Hudson is adorable and completely innocent in the whole thing.”
“The important thing is, you have somebody now,” Nancy said cheerfully. “When she sees you happy again with your sexy pilot, maybe Susan can finally relax and enjoy the holidays, Kristine’s wedding and her newest grandbaby.”
Holly shifted, mortified by this whole conversation and annoyed that everyone was putting so much emphasis on her supposed relationship. She did not need a man in her life to be happy and it frustrated her that Troy’s mother seemed to think she did.
“Tell me all about him,” Nona said, her wrinkled features avid with curiosity. “How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?”
She forced a smile. “Um, he’s the brother of my friend Kim, who works for me.”
“Oh good. So this Kim can vouch for whether he’s good enough for our Holly and Lydia,” Nona said, her tone completely serious.
“I suppose,” she said after a moment.
This whole thing was spiraling quickly out of her control. She hated lying to Troy’s family. But what would happen if she came clean and told them all she wasn’t truly in a relationship with Ryan?
“We just started dating,” she said. “It’s still early days.”
“You like him, though. That’s the first step,” Nona said.
She did like him. Probably too much. Earlier in the day when she had been certain he wanted to kiss her, she had felt giddy with anticipation.
