Page 32 of Wedded to a Wayne

Chapter Seven

Tanisha

“So, she’s amazing.”

I hide my smile as I exit the kitchen, leaving Hugo and Robert to corner Emerson after dinner.

Hugo likes me.

I brought my biryani dish as a side, at Lang’s request. Apparently, it’s a hit with the entire Wayne family, as well as their significant others.

I’m walking back toward the main dining room to gather up more of the dirty dishes when I find an obstacle in my path. A giant, handsome, Samoan obstacle.

“Is our babysitter still in New Zealand?” Royal asks, glancing down at his phone. “Because I really want to tease him for missing this meal just so he can search for Lord of the Rings memorabilia with Elliot, but I’m not sure if he’s up or not.”

“I think he’s in the air. Unless he changed his reservations, he’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

I see a hint of disappointment in Royal’s eyes and know exactly how he feels. With JD joining his friend Fiona at the Finn dinner, and Joey unable to get an earlier flight due to a weather delay, we’re the only familiar faces at the Wayne holiday gathering.

“But I heard we’ll have visitors for Christmas, right?”

With that, his ever-present twinkle returns. “That’s right. Personally, I can’t wait. I’ll need to record JD having an anxiety attack when he finds out Stewart and Manwich are showing up, too. For posterity.”

“You’re so mean to him.” To be fair, that news makes me nervous. If only because of how often Stewart’s brothers tease him in public about…private, embarrassing things that I shouldn’t know about. That’s what I get for reading his book on wilderness survival. “I can’t wait.”

What I really can’t wait for is Joey’s return. Not only does the situation with Jae need to be handled, but I have so much to tell him about, well…

Dot Dot Dot?

So many dots.

“Tanisha, you look flushed, dear. You should sit down.” Cassandra Wayne, my new mother-in-law, wears a smile tempered with concern. I know that look. It’s a natural reaction most people have until they get to know me better and realize I’m not as limited as I seem.

I think it has to do with our dinner conversation. Lang brought up my prosthesis. Not specifically, he’d been discussing servos and microprocessors and shocking all his aunts and uncles, other than Shelley, with his technobabble. But it was referenced.

She’d been nodding along with him and putting her pink braids up in a bun when she caught me staring. “Smart means curious with a tendency to overshare in this family. Should I change the subject?”

“I’ll change it,” Emerson said beside me, and I placed my hand over his.

“No, it’s fine. I’m impressed at how much he already knows about it.”

Seriously, it’s like he memorized the owner’s manual. He knows more about it than I do.

And I’m proud of him, even if I did get a few familiar looks I was hoping to avoid during my first holiday with my in-laws.

“I’m fine, Mrs. Wayne,” I tell her kindly. “I ate more of that dessert than I should have, so I was trying to walk it off. Everything was delicious. And I loved listening to what everyone was thankful for.”

Royal puts his arm around me and gives a supportive squeeze. “We’ve been thankful for her for years. With one magic leg, this girl’s been running circles around Joey since they were twelve. Of course, we didn’t know she was also running his company. Silently.”

“We’re partners. And I was only silent until recently. Anyway, Matilda knew.”

“My mother knew?” He acts scandalized. “I feel so betrayed right now. I literally can’t even.”

“Aww, poor baby.” Austen puts her hand on the rounded curve of her stomach and smiles like the Madonna at her husband. “You’ll get over it.”

“I don’t think I will,” he argues. “And now she’s got a computer for a leg and all I have are years of lies.”

“You’re still such a ham.” I love that about him.

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