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They shared a smile as Loyal walked into the foyer behind Shelby, followed by Roxanna, another dark-haired guy who must be one of the cousins, and a petite, brunette who also had the Diamond features. Only her eyes were hazel, not full on brown. Her gaze darted around the room, and a frown of disappointment made it evident she didn’t find what or who she was hoping to see.
Recognition flickered, and Mae realized she probably saw them at the wedding in May, though she didn’t recall meeting them directly. There had been a lot of people there, and if she remembered correctly, there was yet another set of Diamond cousins besides these ones here. Three or four girls belonging to another uncle? Something like that.
“What’s everyone doing hanging out here?” Loyal asked. Then he paused when his gaze bounced from Merit to Mae. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi.”
As Merit greeted his cousins, Roxanna’s supportive smile confirmed Loyal had told her about the situation. Mae tightened her grip on her purse strap to keep from fidgeting. There was nothing she could do about the heat warming her cheeks or the prickle of discomfort along the back of her neck.
Merit broke free from the dark-haired guy’s bear hug. He was still laughing as he turned back to her. “Mae, these are my cousins from Texas, Axel and Raine.” He glanced behind them. “Phoenix must be scoping out the kitchen.”
“As always.”
Raine offered a reserved smile, but Axel gave her a friendly grin. “Hi, Mae. Are you actually here with Mooch?”
Merit’s expression went tight as she raised her eyebrows. “Mooch?”
“Stupid nickname,” he muttered.
“He’s known for coasting along on the family name and taking it easy.”
“Fuck off, Axel,” he grit out at the same time Loyal backhanded their cousin on the shoulder.
“Geez, sorry. Didn’t know it had become a touchy subject.”
And clearly, it was. Mae knew from comments Asher had made over the past year that Merit didn’t seem particularly career driven, but she was surprised even his cousins picked on him for it.
A loud clap from the doorway drew everyone’s attention. Mae caught a glimpse of Merit’s mother before those taller than her—which was everyone save Honor and Raine—shifted and blocked her view.
“Let’s go. Come on. Out to the patio,” Janine ordered. “Elena has brunch ready to go.”
Still looking uncomfortable, Merit motioned Mae ahead of him, and Shelby fell into step beside her. “Elena is Reyes’ mom. She manages the house staff.”
She nodded as if that made perfect sense, even though the idea of having house staff was completely foreign. “I met her at the rehearsal dinner, but I didn’t realize she worked for your family.”
“They’ve been with us for so long, they’re like part of the family. Their dad, Estefan, manages the stables, and when Reyes got out of the military last summer, he came back to work with him. He’ll probably take over when his dad retires, just like Estefan took over from his dad.”
“He seems like a nice guy.” She gave her a playful nudge with her shoulder. “Very good looking.”
“All of ‘em in that family are.”
Something in her voice caught Mae’s attention even as she was aware of Merit joking with his cousin behind them. “All?”
“He has an older brother and sister. Solana’s in the middle, and she works for the FBI.”
“Impressive. And their brother?”
“Devante is special forces in the Army. He doesn’t make it home much.”
There it was again, this time reflected in her subdued smile. Sadness. And a hint of resignation and longing. Made Mae very curious about Devante. Did the two have a history? Was he why she hadn’t given Reyes a second look when he left? And why she’d been reluctant to accept that dinner invitation last week?
“I meant to ask the other day, how’d your date go with Chad?”
A new emotion flickered across Shelby’s face, but it was gone too fast to identify. “It was fine.” Her smile faded, then ramped up again. “He’s nice.”
Okay, great. But who was she trying to convince?
“Are you going to see him again?” she asked as she noticed Roxanna’s gaze sharpen on the younger Diamond.
