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Mitch put him down gently. Dylan rushed over to look at all Aunt Janice’s Christmas decorations.
“I remember all of these.” Riley smiled. “The nativity set, nutcracker soldier… you still have everything.”
Aunt Janice nodded. “Of course. I hope you’re here long enough so that Dylan can help me decorate the tree.”
“Can we, Mom? Please?” Dylan asked.
“I have to go back to work, sweetie.”
Fortunately, Dylan saw another Christmas decoration and rushed off.
Aiden put his arm around Riley. His eyes twinkled. “You do know why you’ve been conned into visiting Marietta?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aunt Janice isn’t quite satisfied yet. Although both Craig and I have fallen for two local beauties, you’re still unattached. She’s trying out her matchmaking skills again. Aunt Janice, who do you have in mind for our Riley? The science teacher? Annie wasn’t interested in him; maybe Aunt Janice thinks he’s the right one for you.”
Riley looked at her aunt who was suddenly fussing over the coffee mugs. “Aunt Janice? Is it true?”
“Is what true, sweetie?” she asked, looking vague.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Riley called out. “Let me spell it out for you again. I’m not in the market, nor will I ever be in the market, for a husband. You know what happened the one time I tried that. I’m single and very happy, thank you very much.”
“Aunt Janice still denies getting me to visit her under false pretenses.” Aiden chuckled.
“I asked you to do a story about Marietta’s Valentine’s Day,” their aunt said. “I didn’t know you were going to hurt yourself in the airport, nor could I know you’d fall for Vivian the moment you saw her.”
“It was also your idea to get Craig to help Annie with marketing her B and B,” Aiden said.
Aunt Janice threw her hands up. “Yes, I asked him to help Annie. How could I know they already had feelings for one another?”
Laughing, Aiden hugged her. “You forget we know you too well. You can deny all you want to—we know it was all orchestrated by you.”
“As long as you remember I’m not interested in a husband, I’m happy to visit you.” Riley chuckled.
“What’s a husband, Mommy?” Dylan asked.
Aware of all the eyes on her, Riley frantically searched for the right words. Her son was at the stage where he asked lots of questions, not all of them appropriate and not all of them in ideal situations. “Well, for instance, Uncle Craig is Aunt Annie’s husband, and Uncle Aiden is Aunt Vivian’s husband.”
Frowning, Dylan stared at her. “’Cause we had weddings and they kissed?”
Everyone chuckled.
“Indeed,” Riley said, meeting Mitch’s eyes. “They got married, so now they are husbands and wives.”
Dylan was still frowning, though, looking from her to Mitch. “Uncle Mitch doesn’t yell anymore. He kissed you. He’ll be a nice husband.”
Dropping her head in her palm, Riley shook her head while the others laughed. Dylan had the uncanny ability to connect dots at the most inopportune moments. “It doesn’t work that way, sweetie. Do you want anything to eat?”
Fortunately, her son was still at the age where food trumped just about anything else, even talks about husbands.
Still chuckling, Aunt Janice took a plastic container out of the fridge. “I’ve made sandwiches. I thought Dylan might be hungry when you arrived.”
Frowning, Aiden looked from Mitch to Riley. “So, why is this the first time I’ve heard Mitch kissed you?”
“Oh, come on, Aiden.” Riley smiled, trying to make light of the whole situation. “We’re practically family. He’s kissed me good-bye, that’s it.”
“Well, I still vividly remember the hard time you gave me about Vivian, so I’m watching you,” Aiden said to Mitch.
