Page 40 of The Wedding Favor

Lulu was the coolest person I knew. Ate what she wanted. Took naps when she wanted. Said whatever she was thinking. Had her father wrapped around her finger. Drove her mother crazy. She was my favorite person in the world.

She put both her hands on my cheeks, her blue eyes serious. “Eye-bis, can you hide me?”

This likely had something to do with the chocolate frosting and yellow cake crumbs all over her face, her hands, in her hair, and marching down her shirt. The same hands that had just touched my face.

“Uh-oh.” Chris gave his daughter a stern look. “Did you get into the cake?”

“Nah-uh, Daddy.” She shook her head, sending a spray of cake bits all over me. “I didn’t do nothing.”

He tapped her nose. “I think we’re going to have that talk about the difference between the truth and a lie again.”

“Louisa Madeline Sterns,” my sister called from across the lawn, her face almost as red as her hair. In her hands, a bakery box.

“Hide me, Eye-bis,” Lulu whispered.

“Come on.” I hustled to the nearest oak tree about ten feet away and tucked Lulu behind it. “Stay. Be quiet.”

She slapped both hands over her mouth, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Hiding my smile, I strolled away. Before my niece came along, I’d never given much thought to having kids of my own, but now I was sort of excited by the idea. Kids were fun. Of course, I knew they weren’t always that way. For example, I had been a horrid teenager, practically a walking advertisement for the pros of parental abandonment with how hard I made life on all of us, including myself.

But one day, I wanted to have a family. A husband, kids, maybe a dog. Part of Aidan’s charm was that he had all the qualities I’d want in a husband—smart, good job, steady, responsible, people respected him. For a girl with a father no one respected, it was a siren call.

I wandered back over to Chris just as Mae arrived.

“Where is she?” Mae glared at me. “I know you know.”

“Hi, Mae. I’m great, thank you for asking. How are you?”

Mae tapped her foot impatiently. “Well, let’s see. The cake I bought for dessert has somehow been attacked by an as-yet unidentified culprit, but all signs point to one little girl who is about to get in big trouble.”

“I didn’t do it,” the tree yelled.

“See?” Mae waved a hand in the direction of the tree.

“Mae, sweetie, that’s a tree. They don’t talk.”

The tree giggled.

“You are such a bad influence.” Her eyes snapped with anger. Even for Mae this reaction was over the top.

“It’s a cake; she didn’t rob a bank.” I nudged her shoulder. “I don’t want to say calm down but if the shoe fits⁠—”

“Do you have a death wish?” Chris asked.

Just then, Ali burst through the patio door. She stopped abruptly and then jumped forward when Theo, her husband, ran into her. “Excuse me, but what’s with the Mae-and-Iris-are-having-a-fight vibe?”

“That’s because,” Chris said, closing the lid to the barbecue, “Mae and Iris are having a fight.”

Ali marched over to us. “There is no fighting. It’s Saturday barbecue, and…” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “… I have brought guests.”

On cue, Abe appeared on the patio, hands tucked in the pockets of his navy gym shorts, smiling uncertainly.

“I was done with this discussion anyway,” I said drily.

“Fine,” Mae said. How she could infuse so much annoyance in a single word was a talent she wasn’t given enough credit for. “Now, where is my daughter?”

“I is hiding,” the tree shouted.

Mae shot me a look and stalked past me. Inside, I smiled smugly.