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“He might not have wanted to bring it up,” Alex put in. “What with…everything.”
We were all silent as we remembered the elephant in the room. Before Mack had started doing Alex’s makeup, she had a moment of tearfulness, mentioning that her mother loved to get ready with the girls and that she got all her fashion tips from the late Mrs. Hemingway.
I leaned forward in my chair, a question ready for Mack, even though I knew it would be hard to talk about. “How did Nathan react to your mom being gone?” I asked quietly. “He doesn’t really talk about it, just saying that it was hard.”
“He stormed out the house when he got the news,” she said, her voice subdued. “We didn’t know where he went. Eventually, he came back, but he took the news pretty hard. He was the closest to her, of all the siblings. She was training him on taking over the family holdings, so they spent a lot of time together. He was obviously her favorite.” She rolled her eyes, though I suspected she did it to hide her tears.
I made a sound of sympathy, my heart going out to Nathan. “That must have been so hard for him, then. For all of you. Was she sick?”
“No,” Mack said, dabbing under her eyes with a tissue. “Not that we knew of. And that was the thing that was the hardest. Nathan said he had just talked to her the day before she died, and she sounded fine. We had no idea.”
“Wow,” I breathed. Unshed tears burned my throat as I thought about all Nathan and his family had lost. Of the family, I had only met Nathan and Mack, but even with them, I could feel the impact their mother had on their life. A trickle of feeling for my own loss drew my attention inward, but I suppressed it.
Mack shook her head as if trying to bring herself back to the present moment and smiled brightly. “But that’s enough of the sad stuff,” she said. “We are officially ready to party. Alex, I’m glad we’re the same size and I brought an extra pair of shoes.” She eyed Alex’s shoes, which had been banished to the corner of the room.
Mack brought Alex to her feet and grinned at the both of us. “Let’s get you some shoes, Alex, and then let’s party!” she declared.
When we left the dressing room, I searched for Nathan. I found him with a group of guys, most of whom had similar features to his. I guessed that an older man, who looked to be in his sixties or seventies, was Nathan’s father. He was talking amiably with my dad.
Nathan spotted me first, smiling as he pulled me to his side. As he pressed a kiss to my forehead, he said in a low voice just for me, “Looks like you survived the inquisition.”
I giggled, suppressing it when two of the guys looked at us. “Stop it,” I whispered.
“I’m just saying.” His breath tickled the side of my neck and warmed the shell of my ear. I tried to control my blush and subsequent thoughts. “If you can survive Mack, the rest of the party will be a breeze.”
“What are y’all whispering about?” a man demanded. Judging by the fake crown on his head that matched the tiara Mack had put on in the dressing room, I guessed this was John. “I wanna be in on the joke.”
Nathan made a face. “Ciara,” he said, pointing to the man, “this is John. John, Ciara.”
John stepped forward and grabbed my hand, smoothing it between his two big ones. His smile was a lot like Nathan’s, but more sly. He kept eye contact with me as he brought my hand to his lips. “Pleasure to meet you,” he murmured. “And if you get tired of my brother, let me know, and I’ll treat you right.”
I bit my lip, my shoulders shaking as I tried to quell my laughter. “Pleasure to meet you as well,” I said.
Nathan pushed John’s shoulder, pointing at him. “Stop,” he said. “Leave Ciara alone.”
“She’s a grown-ass woman,” John said, winking at me. “She don’t need your protection.”
Another man, who was burlier than Nathan and taller than John, sighed. “Are you done?” he asked John, his voice low and grumpy.
John reached out and tugged on one of the man’s long locs. “Just havin’ fun, big bro,” he said. “It’s my birthday after all.”
The man swatted John’s hand away, turning to me. “I’m Brandon,” he said gruffly. “I think I’ve seen you around town before.”
I smiled, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you,” I said. “And probably. Small town and all.”
He nodded once. “True.”
The older man who had been talking to my father stepped forward. “I’m Nathan Hardwick,” he said, bending to give me a hug. I hugged him back, my head falling to his shoulder. He pulled away and smiled, his eyes kind. “Welcome to this crazy family.”
I blushed, feeling shy all of a sudden. “It’s great to be here,” I said. “Thank you for having me. And Happy Birthday, John.” I turned to him with a smile.
John winked at me. “Make sure to save me a dance,” he said. Nathan glowered at him.
My dad turned to me. “I have to get going,” he said. “But I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Okay, Dad,” I said, hugging him. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.” He pulled away, looking around the circle. “Pleasure to meet y’all,” he said. “Take care of my baby.” This he directed to Nathan.
