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They spoke of colors and decorations in rapid fire. Suddenly, Sami leaned out, and without warning, Emma snatched her up and threw her over her shoulder.
Sami shrieked with laughter before Emma dropped her down to hook onto her hip. “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”
Gina’s eyes went huge. “Wow, great reflexes.”
Emma did a similar sway to what she did with her own daughter as Sami settled down. “Toddlers aren’t much different than squirming puppies. I volunteer to help my brother at the kennel sometimes.”
Clint waved. “They all love her at the clinic.”
“My brother is a vet over at Thorny Paw Clinic.”
“Oh, we bring our dog there.” Gina straightened Sami’s shirt which had ridden up in all the twisting. “Dr. Thorn is great.”
“He’s a great boss.” Clint spread his arm along the back of Kitty’s chair. “This is my wife, Kitty.”
“Now that the niceties are out of the way.” I ushered Gina toward the adjoining table. “Let’s get you guys settled.” I grabbed one of the booster chairs for Sami and did a quick check on Emma’s baby, who was snoozing away in her carrier in the chair next to the one Emma had evacuated.
I brushed my hand over Sami’s curls as Gina buckled her in and the women fawned over my niece’s glittery light-up sneakers.
I sneaked away while they were chatting and tried not to notice the laser beam stare that Clint was shooting into my back as I hurried into the dining room.
Whatever he was imagining didn’t matter. I knew the lines and I lived within them for a reason.
All I wanted right now was a damn burger. And a burger I would have.
THIRTEEN
A cute waiterwith messy surfer hair brought us more food while Clint and Kitty were debating names for their impending baby. They didn’t know what the sex of the baby was yet, but knowing Kitty, she’d be finding out as soon as humanly possible.
She liked to be ready for every eventuality.
She was perfect for my brother.
I wasn’t quite sure how Mason managed to have chicken nuggets in animal shapes, but they came out with a squeezy applesauce that made Gina and Jared’s adorable daughter eat every scrap on her plate.
Jared—the Chief, for God’s sake—joined us and we hashed out a preliminary list of what they were looking for party-wise. Since there would be a rotation of people in and out thanks to the police department and firemen in their family, we’d opted for a longer than usual party.
Handily, being the brother of the owner of the boat meant we didn’t have to worry about a by-hour cost boost to the party budget. I’d have to talk to Mason about that for future parties.
When I’d rented out theaters for plays, there were definitely hourly rates. And if we could book more than one party in a day, it would certainly get his name out there for bookings.
I knew most business owners liked that bottom line.
And I really needed a planner for all of these details. I liked keeping a notebook and paper planner because digital could so easily be fucked up. There were a lot of details to keep track of and I would need all the organizing I could get—and that meant some digital programs as well.
I’d have to do a little research about that tonight after bean went down for the night. Well, most of the night. She woke every three or four hours. Just enough sleep for me that it wasn’t as easy to drop back to sleep after Adriana visited the milkbar.
Excitement buzzed under my skin. The last few months of my degree had been a slog. I’d gone through the motions for the final production. Mostly because Pierre had soured my love of theater once I knew how fickle he was.
And hiding the fact that a baby was growing inside of me while my ex fawned over the buxom Terri had been a lot to digest. Luckily, his starry eyes for the new lead had allowed me to fade into the background.
A place I wasn’t exactly used to being in.
In the end, I’d finagled the last credits I needed for my degree during the winter semester and graduated early. The idea of walking for my diploma had held little appeal once I’d felt bean kick for the first time.
School and the drama department had been far more fun when I was the darling of the troupe. With a little distance, I’d realized it was belonging to the group I loved more than the acting. Oh, sure I loved the attention—what woman wouldn’t?
Walking away had been far easier than it should have been.
