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“I see you’ve found the secret reading room,” said Steven Gherring, as he peered in through the low doorway. “I spent a lot of hours in here as a kid. And you can go out the window and down that roof ledge and sit on the balcony.”
Jace immediately flew to the window, ready to attempt the trick.
“Don’t be teaching him dangerous habits,” Gram scolded.
Steven laughed. “You don’t want to do it in this weather, Jace. There’s ice on the roof, and the balcony is cold and windy. Josh will have to bring you back this summer.”
“Can I really come here again sometime?” Jace hopped up and down.
“Certainly,” said Gram. “This house is cavernous and boring without little boys running around in it.”
Emily’s voice interrupted from the hallway. “Gram! Dinner is ready. And you didn’t tell me we were going to have fireworks.”
“Fireworks?” Jace cried.
“No—sorry Jace,” Emily said. “Not real fireworks. I was speaking figuratively. These fireworks are actually people—Papa Steven’s cousin, Evan, is here with his grown sons.
“Gram!” growled Steven.
“Don’t start with me, Steven.” Gram’s haughty expression almost made her look taller. “They’re family. You’ll simply have to get along.”
“Who are they?” asked Josh, as they started downstairs.
“It’s my dearest cousin Evan and his two equally lecherous sons, all of whom seem to flirt indiscriminately with any female in range.” Steven coated his words with acid.
“They’re not so bad,” Gram defended. “Steven and Evan simply have a bit of bad blood between them. You should give them the benefit of the doubt, Josh.”
“We’ll see how he feels when David and Collin put the moves on Charlie,” Steven spit back.
Josh could already feel his blood pressure rising. “None of them are married?”
“One woman managed to put up with Evan’s antics long enough to produce two sons, but he’s not currently married. And his sons have been too busy with the LA party scene to settle down.”
“They’re Hollywood producers,” Gram said.
“That’s just a line they use to pick up women, Gram,” Steven corrected. “You have to actually produce something to be a legitimate producer.”
“I MEAN IT, CHARLIE,” said Collin. “With your face and hair and that gorgeous body, I know I could get you some starring roles. We’re shooting a commercial on the beach right now, and we need some extras in swimsuits.” Charlie barely kept a straight face. She’d heard about how flirtatious Steven’s cousin had been with her mother before she’d married Steven, but she didn’t realize the art had been passed from father to sons. The boys, who were in their late twenties, had inherited their father’s sandy-blond hair and good looks, along with his philandering tendencies.
“Collin, I have scars all over my chest from my surgery. I won’t look good in a swimsuit.”
“It would take more than a few scars to keep you from looking hot in a bikini. I bet we can cover the scars with makeup anyway. Let me see them.” Instinctively she braced her good arm across her chest when he leaned over as if to peer down the scooped neck of her sweater. Suddenly, he was lifted bodily away as Josh hauled him back by the scruff of his shirt.
“I’ll thank you to keep your hands off my fiancée!” said Josh.
“Cool off, buddy—I didn’t touch her.” Collin shook off Josh’s arm and tugged his shirt to straighten it. “But she’s not wearing a ring. How was I supposed to know?”
“Please, Collin,” Steven remarked. “Since when would a ring have stopped you?”
“I didn’t say it would have stopped me. I just said I didn’t know.”
His brother, David, looked up from his flirtatious conversation with Hannah to join him in laughter. “Gram, this is the best Christmas present ever—a whole roomful of hot women.”
Charlie saw Spencer’s parents exchange a look of alarm, but Anne patted Connie’s arm. “Sorry about these boys, but they’re really harmless. They’re all talk.”
“Don’t believe it for a minute,” Steven remarked to Spencer’s father, Joe.
As the group made their way to the dining room, David sat between Olivia and Hannah, while Collin snagged a spot between Charlie and Claire. Josh was extremely irritated to find himself next to Charlie’s bandaged left arm, while Collin evidently felt free to casually touch her other arm at every available opportunity.
