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Hedra bit back her grin as Anthony joined Althea and gave her his most charming smile. “Well, hello, beautiful. I’m Anthony Miller.”
Althea rolled her eyes. “I’m Althea Jameson, and your charm won’t work on me.”
“Are you sure?” Anthony said with another grin. “I can be very charming.”
To Hedra’s surprise, a rare smile crossed Althea’s face. “In my youth, I would have taken you for a ride you’d never forget.”
“Mrs. Jameson, you’re making me blush,” Anthony said.
“Althea, these are my siblings. You’ve met Anthony, and this is Nora, Jack, and Everett.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Jameson,” Nora said politely.
“Ayuh,” Althea said. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a call to make.”
She thumped her way down the hallway. Alfie lingered near the kitchen doorway and growled at Nora when she bent to pet him. She growled back, and he made a soft yelp before hurrying after Althea.
Nora giggled and put her arm around Hedra’s shoulders. “Honey, are you so surprised?”
“I am,” Hedra said. “Why are you here?”
“Uh, it’s your birthday, butthead?” Anthony said.
“It’s your birthday today?” Boone had returned and stared at Hedra with what looked like hurt crossing his face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s not today,” she said. “It’s tomorrow.”
Feeling weirdly nervous, she said, “Boone, these are my siblings. Jack, Everett, Anthony, Nora, this is… Boone.”
“Nice to meet you.” Boone shook Jack and Everett’s hands before shaking Anthony’s. “Sorry about earlier.”
“No problem,” Anthony said, giving Boone’s hand a firm shake.
Boone smiled at Nora and shook her hand. “Hi, Nora.”
“Hey. You’re so handsome. How long have you and my sister been dating?” Nora asked.
“Nora,” Hedra said sharply. “Enough.”
“What?” she said innocently.
Hedra turned to Everett. “Why are you here?”
“We came for your birthday,” Everett said. “We’re throwing you an impromptu birthday party.”
“You’re what?” Hedra said.
“It was Chase’s idea,” Jack said. “He’s invited a bunch of your friends here, and he knows some celebrity who said we could use her grandmother’s mansion for the party.”
Hedra blinked at him. “Are you talking about Ryan Shepherd?”
Jack shrugged. “Maybe. I can’t remember. The party is tomorrow night - surprise! - but we got in tonight and decided to do our family birthday dinner. Get your shoes on.”
“Oh, I, uh, I told Boone I would have dinner with him and Althea tonight,” Hedra said with a quick look at Boone.
He shook his head. “It’s fine. Enjoy your family dinner.”
Hedra hesitated, and Nora hooked her arm around Hedra’s. “Girl, seriously? We took time off work and drove all the way here to see you. You can’t ditch on family birthday dinner. It’s a tradition, even if Mom and Dad can’t be at this one.”
