Page 103 of Make Mine Sweet
Her laugh is a red thread wrapped around my heart. “That’s a relief. Maybe we could?—”
My doorbell rings, cutting her off.
“Amy and Jodi said they might come by early,” I tell her. Then I turn toward the living room and shout, “Door’s open.”
The door creaks, and steps sound on the hardwood floor. “Hello?”
My stomach sinks. That’s not either of my aunts.
I crutch to the center of the kitchen to confirm for myself. But yes, that’s my brother Steven walking through my living room, with Iris right behind him.
His thousand-watt grin seems designed to irritate. “Surprise!”
“Surprise is right,” I mutter.
His gaze drifts to my side, locking in on Tess. His steps falter comically. “Are we interrupting something?”
I frown at him. From the hint of pink in Tess’s cheeks, it’s clear he caught us in a private moment. Asking just amplifies the embarrassment.
For her, anyway. I’m not embarrassed for a second.
“Tess, this is my brother, Steven, and his wife, Iris.”
“It is adelightto meet you,” Steven says, shaking hands with Tess. He gives me a meaningful look, just in case I don’t know all the assumptions forming in his head. His glee is overkill. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to deduce what’s going on.
“It’s good to meet you, too,” Tess tells them with a warm smile.
“What are you doing here?” I’ve got considerably less enthusiasm than she does.
“Amy told us about your birthday party,” Iris explains. “We decided to fly in for a few days to celebrate with you.”
“That’s…nice.”
It is, on the face of it. But Tess and I had a cozy little bubble going, and they just burst right through it.
Tess wraps a hand around my biceps. Not sure if it’s a signal to be more appreciative or just a reminder she’s with me, but it works either way. They’re trying to be supportive. It’s not their fault their support irritates me.
Not entirely.
“I need to go wrangle my son and make sure everything’s ready for this evening,” Tess tells them.
I turn to her. “I told you I would handle the food tonight. You’ve already helmed one party today. Don’t worry about this one.”
“I know, but I toldyouI’m still in charge of dessert.”
I smile down at her. “That you are, angel.”
We linger too long, considering present company, but I never want to pass up an opportunity to look at the vision before me. She finally says goodbye to our interlopers and escapes out the back door.
I turn, watching her talk with August before they both go inside next door. Dutch sits in the grass, stoically looking toward the hillside as though he alone stands guard.
“Angel, huh?” Steven says. “That’s a new one.”
I cut my gaze to him. “Shut up.”
“What he means is, we’re happy for you.” Iris glares, but Steven doesn’t notice. He’s too busy gloating.
He looks me over. “Amy didn’t tell us the dress code for the party was this casual.”
