I shrug. “She might.”
“Lord knows she needs a break,” Jo jokes.
“So eleven plus Mia, her husband, and Jo. Fourteen total?”
Lexi doesn’t mention her girlfriend, and no one else does either. It’s only a matter of time before it ends.
“Oh,” Jo says in surprise. “No, you don’t have to invite me.”
“Of course you’re invited,” Vivi insists. “Even if you weren’t our yacht connection, we’d want you there.”
Jo smiles, relaxing with their easy acceptance of her. Part of her wandering personality makes it hard for her to form friendships, but I think the breakup with Megan may have calmed some of that instability.
“You’re in the group now,” Lexi says with a charming smile and nudges her shoulder.
The rest of dinner flies by seamlessly. We discuss the logistics, deciding to aim for fall break. Stella and Daisy will be visiting their mom in New York with Grady’s parents and Bonnie offered to take Blake’s kids to Bakersfield to visit their other grandparents. She’s the surrogate grandmother, so I wasn't surprised by her offer.
Jo has never given her dad a reason to say no, and I doubt he’d start after her breakup. I mentally mark it in my calendar, knowing if the Davies want it, I’ll make it happen.
After dessert—everyone loved the pear and chai scones—Calypso and I offered to clean the patio table. Other than taking a few loads of dishes inside and wiping it down, there isn’t much to do. So, when Calypso took thelast pile of bowls, Bonnie didn’t waste any time sliding up to my side.
We expected it considering her insistence I make an appearance.
“How did you like dinner?” she asks, pretending to fix the chairs.
Wiping the table, I smile at her. “It was great. One of my mom’s favorite dishes to make is shrimp scampi, so it was a nice comfort to us.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Crossing her arms, she tilts her head and gives me an assessing once-over. Under the glow of the moon, her and Calypso look even more similar than normal. She inherited so much from her mother—high cheekbones, strawberry blonde hair, and honey brown eyes. However, Bonnie’s stare is more assessing than Calypso’s guarded one. “I’m sorry we didn’t have a moment to talk this evening, but I’m glad you and Jo came.”
Setting the towel down, I give her my full attention. “Please don’t apologize. I should have tried harder to find the time.”
Bonnie is quiet for a moment, pursing her lips. “You are not what I expected,” she muses. “I remembered the stories about you, but I wasn’t going to judge you based on decisions from over a decade ago.”
“You’re one of the few.” I shrug ruefully.
She waves a hand in the air, batting the thought away. “But when I heard the rumors—” she tilts her head back and forth, “—about the two of you, I was cautious to believe them.”
Fighting the urge to fidget or cross my arms, I stand still and quiet, not wanting to accidentally put my foot in my mouth.
“My daughter doesn’t date very often. She hasn’t since her divorce. I assume you know about that?” From the hesitation sliding across her features, she didn’t mean toreveal Calypso’s secrets, but she doesn’t look apologetic either.
“I’ve had the unfortunate displeasure of meeting him a time or two.”
She nods. “I figured. Look, Liam—”
The back door slides open and Calypso comes to a halt when she sees us.
“What are you doing?” she cautiously asks, her eyes bouncing between Bonnie and me.
“I’m speaking with Liam.” Bonnie points in the door’s direction. “Go back inside, Calypso.”
Digging in her heels, she crosses her arms and flatly replies, “No.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Bonnie looks to me for help.
“It’s okay, honey.” Calypso’s gaze cuts to me, subtly softening. With a comforting smile, I promise, “We’re just talking.”
I’ll tell you later.
