Jenny blinked at him, wondering what on earth she could possibly say to that. Even if she wanted to go along with whatever was happening right now, her hair was long, straight, and very dark.
“It’s because she likes everything to bejust right,” Gael said brightly.
Even though she was overwhelmed, Jenny couldn’t help but smile at his quick thinking.
“Is that right?” the man said with a chuckle. “Okay, little man, okay. I didn’t know there was a stepsonin the mix.”
“I’m adopted,” Gael said. “She adopted me. Isn’t that cool?”
“Thatiscool,” Tom said, nodding and clapping Gael on the shoulder. “And now you’re going to have two amazing parents.”
“Is this her?” another man who had to be Fallon asked, striding into the center hall with a hopeful look on his face. “We’re so glad you’re here.”
“Thank you,” Jenny couldn’t help saying. “It’s nice to be here.”
“We’re tired though,” Gael put in.
“Yes, right,” Erik said quickly. “Let’s get you two upstairs. We’ll have plenty of time to hang out later.”
Breathing a sigh of relief that she hoped no one else noticed, Jenny turned to Trudy, who had come out from behind the counter with keys in her hand.
“Don’t worry about checking in,” Trudy said kindly. “I marked you down. Let me just show you upstairs.”
Jenny nodded, grateful not to have to sort out who she was with the owner in front of everyone. As they headed up the stairs, she could just hear the three veterans still chatting.
“…such a sweet kid,” Angie was saying.
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell us,” Tom added excitedly. “We’ve got to come up with an extra surprise for the little guy.”
Her heart wrenched as she wished that it could allbe true. What if shewasthe one who wasgoing to marry Erik Anderson next week?
I wouldn’t have missed my flight for anything, that’s for sure.
That Goldilocks of his must be a fool.
4
JENNY
Jenny looked around the suite of rooms, amazed. This wasfarlarger than the nice-sized bedroom and bath Trudy had promised her. It had a big bedroom, a living room, and even a tiny dining area. And every bit of it was beautifully decorated for Christmas.
There was a little tree with twinkling lights, a fireplace with hooks that would be perfect for hanging their stockings, and strings of tiny white lights over every window.
There was also a banner that saidCongratulations, Newlywedshanging in the arch between the living and dining areas. Erik promptly found something interesting to study about his shoes when he spotted that.
“I’ll be right back with your snack,” Trudy said,slipping out before Jenny could explain herself or ask any questions.
Letting out her breath slowly and trying to force herself to relax, Jenny turned back to Erik and her son as soon as the door closed behind Trudy.
“Gael, why did you say that I was Erik’s fiancée?” she asked as patiently as she could.
Inwardly, she couldn’t help asking herself an even better question:Why didn’t I correct him?
He was just a kid, after all. But she was supposed to know better. And so was Erik, for that matter.
“Seriously?” Gael said to her, his eyes sparkling. “Don’t you remember season twelve, episode seven?”
Erik gave the boy a predictably puzzled look. Of course Gael was thinking about the soap opera. Jenny frowned and tried to remember that particular season ofRidley Hospital. They had watched so many in such a short time when he was getting her all caught up on the story that it was hard to remember them all.
