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Chapter Twenty-six
Seeing Sloan’s disadvantage, Alia knew she should say something, continue the act they’d discussed previously about her surprising him. From the look on his shocked face, he was playing his part perfectly.
Having the adorable child clutching his head in such a loveable fashion, well, that just turned her to mush while her new partner scored a ten. One of… strike that. He was undoubtedlythemost handsome man she’d ever met. The memory of this moment wouldn’t soon go away.
With her knees acting all weak and her head spinning, Alia wobbled forward, her high heels on the grass not making it any easier. Without knowing she would, she reached to caress the little one’s face, and had her hand grabbed by the cherub who was now arcing her small body toward her.
A woman intercepted and pulled the child away. But the stubborn tiny miss howled at not getting to her target. She’d spotted the large multi-colored stones in the necklace Alia had used to detail her slim-cut white dress and, as most little ones would, she wanted them.
Still sensing all eyes on her, the noise of the guests having all but receded when they’d spotted her and Kean arriving, Alia awkwardly reached out and hoped the mother would let her hold the adorable wriggler.
Janna hesitated. First she looked at Sloan, who said nothing. Shy now that she was the center of attention, shushing the little one who still cried, Janna let her daughter slide into Alia’s waiting arms and peace was suddenly restored.
Sloan, playing his role, finally spoke. “Can I help you?”
Taking her cue, Alia hugged the baby a little tighter and began Act One. “Hi, Sloan, I’m Alia Hawkins… your stepsister.”Okay that hadn’t gone well. Where was all the lead-up she’d rehearsed? The explanation of why she’d come and how she’d found him.
Sloan’s eyes hardened slightly but his grin remained. “There’s gotta be a mistake. I don’t have a stepsister.”
Alia sensed Kean’s distress as he leaned into her from behind. “Iamyour stepsister.” This time she put emphasis on the one word she needed everyone to believe, her voice hardening and her eyes spitting fire.
“Don’t get me wrong, if I did have a stepsister, I’d be over the moon. Who’s your mother?”
“Wai Kealoha Booker, formally known as Wai Sloan. She was a fabric designer and lived in San Diego.”
“She was my mother too. You don’t look like her.”
“I know. She was beautiful. I recently moved to Honolulu, only to find my house full of termites and so it’s being renovated. I hoped you’d let me and my son stay with you. Didn’t the lawyers contact you?”
Sounds of shock filtered through the group of onlookers, but no one spoke until Sloan asked the next question they’d put into his script.
“Yes. Some time ago. I told them I’d be willing to meet you but they needed to do all the background checks before they sent you to me. I haven’t heard from them since. What’s your name?”
“Alia Landon is my married name, though I’m now divorced. Look, they promised to contact you and let you know that I was moving to Hawaii.”
“They didn’t. How did you find me?”
“The lawyers gave me a letter from my mother when she passed, which explained that she had a son from an earlier relationship with Tom Booker, your father. Since you’re now my only family, I wanted to find you… meet you. I have a son. You’re his uncle.”Okay, she was now back on script.
Sloan slowly crouched down and reached out his hand toward Kean. “Hey, kid, you want an uncle? I have a pool, lots of good friends and I cook a mean hamburger. Whaddaya say? Ya wanna stick around with me so we can be a family for a while?”
Kean hesitated. He looked up at his mother, waiting for her approval. This whole farce had been stressful for Kean and she felt terrible that he’d had to suffer through this damn act so necessary to introduce her into Sloan’s life and his house.
She nodded at him and hugged the little girl tighter, who was now trying to get the necklace to go over her head too. Being choked to death at this point seemed preferable than having to live out this charade for one more minute.
Kean searched Sloan’s features. Being his mother’s son, he didn’t jump head first into any situation. Even though earlier he’d seemed stoked by having Sloan enter his life, when the chips were down, wariness kicked in. “Do you like kids… boys?”
A sigh went around the group, who’d all moved closer to watch the newest episode of a day in Booker’s world. Sloan looked stunned, as if the words had punched him in the gut.
He reached out to hold both of Kean’s arms and his voice turned solemn, the joking tone vanished. “I used to be a boy myself. It’s a tough world for us guys. I had three dads to help me make things less tough. If you like, I can share two of them with you, and if you add me in as your uncle, that’s three of us in your corner. Work for you?”
Kean lit up, his face now wreathed in smiles. “Okay!” He nodded, his head resembling a bird bobbing for feed, and then he dropped a bombshell. “I’m kinda hungry, but I think your hamburgers are burning.”
Those words broke the spell and everyone moved to the rescue. Sloan, who’d taken Kean by the hand, rushed to see if their dinner could be saved, and left Alia holding the proverbial bag, meaning the kid doing her damnedest to strangle her with her own necklace.
Janna, insistent with Anya, took her from Alia’s arms and shushed her renewed cries, until Alia removed the jewelry and placed it around the toddler’s neck. Instantly Anya’s cries turned to happy hiccups, and her large brown eyes sparkled.
“No, please, miss. You mustn’t. The necklace is expensive, and she’s little more than a baby who doesn’t understand. She’ll break it.”
After almost taking a header from having her heel stick in the grass, Alia kicked off her shoes and moved closer, wanting to calm the lovely woman… who was now her suspect.
Their eyes met, and Alia saw the essence of Janna, her spirit and kindness, her open friendliness in welcoming a new person into the group.
They’d just overcome the largest hurdle in their plan, initiating Alia’s entry into Sloan’s world. But now she had a different problem that wouldn’t be as easily conquered. A link had formed between her and Janna Aman, an instant liking from the minute their eyes had taken each other’s measure.
Dammit! How the hell was she to do her job now?
Spying on her new friend…
