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A distinguished gentleman with silver hair walked toward us. He was dressed in Dockers and a button-down shirt. Once I noticed his blue eyes, I knew without a doubt this was Leo’s dad.
“Addison, this my husband, Gerard. Gerard, this is Leo’s friend, Addy.”
The way she said “friend” made it clear to me this was new territory for them.
Gerard extended his hand to take mine. “So nice to meet you. Welcome to our home.”
“Thanks for having me.”
His eyes lit up when he spotted his middle child, and he gave him a hug. “Leonardo, nice to see you, son.”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Come on in. We have lots of food. Just waiting on Samantha to arrive,” his father commented.
Leo’s brow arched. “The birthday girl isn’t here yet?”
His mom sighed, but it was Dominic who didn’t beat around the bush. “It was her birthday two days ago, and this is Gabe’s weekend, but his ex decided to take her out of town last minute, despite knowing we had this party planned. Gabe drove to get her, and then he’ll be on his way over.” He turned to me to fill in the gap. “My ex-sister-in-law is a piece of work.”
Anna mitigated. “Let’s hold our tongues about her as this is Samantha’s day.”
“Would be if she was here,” Leo quipped, earning a glare from his mother.
ChapterThirty-Three
LEO
What my family wasn’t mentioning, given the news that my brother’s ex-wife had essentially submarined my niece’s party, was when Gabriel arrived, he was sure to be in a terrible mood.
My mother, always the optimist, ushered us into the kitchen where she’d prepared quite the spread of appetizers. I appreciated when she insisted on cooking everything herself despite having more than enough money to hire a caterer.
“Wow, this all looks delicious,” Addy remarked, surveying the counter. “And the birthday cake is beautiful.”
My mom smiled. “Thank you. I can take credit for the food, but the cake came from a local bakery.”
Addy turned toward me. “You weren’t exaggerating when you said you get your cooking talents from your mom.”
Everyone froze. Not that Addy noticed. She was happily engaged in dishing up a plate, behind Kelsey.
My mom recovered first. “Leo cooks for you?”
Addy bobbed her head. “Pretty much every night. I didn’t enjoy vegetables until he grilled them for me.”
Oh, boy. My mom’s smile practically lit up the room. She was probably mentally reserving the church for a spring wedding. “How very nice. So, how did you two meet?”
Nic chuckled. “This is a great story. Then what I’d like to hear is how you went from mortal enemies to this—” He motioned between us.
A half hour later, I realized what I’d thought would be an awkward grilling from my family had turned instead into an easy gathering with Addison fitting right in. There were plenty of laughs over how we’d met with Addy giving an edited version of her bad date and how I’d taken her out for dinner afterward. With of course no mention of the blow job from hell and subsequent lost condom or baby-making plans.
We all stood up when the door opened. My niece, Samantha, ran in, all smiles. Meanwhile my brother Gabriel appeared as if he’d swallowed a bag of nails and was trying his best not to show it.
“Got some bourbon?” he asked, his expression sour.
“I’m on it.” But first I took time to hug Samantha, who looked like she’d grown a couple inches since I’d last seen her. And damn, was she wearing makeup now? Gone was the little-girl face, replaced by a young woman. She favored her father in coloring and had the Chambers nose and chin, but her blond hair was definitely from her mother.
“Hi, Uncle Leo.”
“Hey, kiddo. Happy birthday.”
