Shit, this is good.
Finishing it in two-point-two seconds, I made my way back over to the buffet table. This time, I grabbed a plateful of appetizers. As soon as I stuffed a deviled egg into my mouth, I felt a hand on my back.
“Still like to eat your dessert first?” Wes whispered against my ear.
Turning, I held my hand over my mouth as I finished chewing my food. Once I’d swallowed it, I took a few sips of lemonade. “It was so good.”
His gaze dropped to my plate. “I didn’t see the eggs.”
“Want one of mine?”
He leaned in and I popped one into his mouth. “Damn, this is good,” he muttered around the food. “I need to grab a plate.”
“We can share,” I suggested.
After I loaded up two plates with more delectable treats, we settled into a secluded spot near the pool. Sharing our food was something we used to do all the time. I never ate everything on my plate, so he usually ate his and mine.
Wes grabbed a beef rib. “How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“I decided to take a vacation,” he admitted. “Two weeks.”
“That’s a long time to be out of the office.”
“Right? I haven’t taken time off like this since I’ve been at the company.”
I ate some potato salad. “Then you deserve the time off.”
He frowned. “Where’s Bri? Hendrix said she was coming with you.”
“She’s inside. Air conditioning.”
“Ah.”
I eyed him curiously. “Can I ask you something?”
“What’s up?” He finished his bone and dropped it onto the plate. “You look concerned.”
“Don’t you think it’s weird that there are so many young people here? Do you know these people?”
He stared into the main area of the backyard. “A few of them.”
“Where did they come from?”
“Grandkids or kids of their poker friends.”
“Hm.”
“Why?”
“It’s odd,” I continued. “I mean, Grandma loves the Fourth, but she typically only invites close friends and family. It feels a little awkward.”
We chatted for a few minutes about an encounter I had near the buffet table with one of the older women. She’d grilled me about my job, my activities, my life. Then asked me who my grandmother was. Once I told her who I was, she’d quickly excused herself and made a beeline to the other side of the yard. As if that wasn’t weird enough, I’d caught her whispering to another woman. Then they both stared at me.
“Maybe she felt bad for not knowing who you were,” he suggested. “It is Grandma Liv’s house. You’re her only granddaughter.”
I shrugged. “I guess you could be right. It just didn’t give me a good feeling.”
