Page 61 of Kyle
"Oh. No wonder she looks so grim. I suppose it depends on what she saw then."
"She lost two sons in Japan."
"Oh." Sympathy flooded her. "That's awful." Her hand tightened on his arm as they made their way to the Great room. "I don't know if I can face my mother so soon after what happened."
"Then it's a good thing she'll not be here."
Her eyes flew to his face. "Really?"
He nodded. "I made it my point of duty to ask my dad. I was going to suggest they leave her out of the dinner party."
"And Matthew?"
He cast her a sympathetic look. "He cried off as well. You have to give it time."
"I suppose." She shrugged and planted a genial smile before they stepped into the room. William Ryder with a drink in his hand, stood by the mantle, looking a little thin, but dapper in his black pants and ruby red lounge jacket. Jack McCreary stood at the counter, mixing drinks while Jason sat sprawled in a comfortable chair, nursing his drink of choice.
Jessica sans husband had a glass of wine in her hand and was sitting across from her dad. For once, her hair was down, giving her a softened look. Ingrid noticed that her father was also absent and wondered why.
"Welcome, welcome." Jack abandoning his drink duty, came forward to greet them with open arms. "My, don't you two look great together." Tugging Ingrid over, he kissed her on both cheeks. "William and I have been congratulating ourselves on a job well done."
"You should be relieved that we ended up loving each other." She wanted to sound stern but could not carry it off.
"What're you drinking my beauty?"
Rolling her eyes at him, she allowed herself to be carried off. And settled on sparkling water.
Jack flashed a playful grin. "Sparkling water it is, then. You keep us all on our toes." Ingrid accepted the glass, feeling the warmth of the room and the familiar faces ease her nerves a little. The buzz of conversation floated around her, mingling with the clink of glasses and the subtle strains of music from a corner speaker. For a fleeting moment, she let herself relax, grateful for the small reprieve from the tension that had followed her all week.
In spite of her apprehension, the dinner went off smoothly, a far cry from the disastrous one she had planned. She tried several times to engage her sister-in-law in conversation without success. The woman was determined to wallow in her misery. Especially after it was announced during dessert that 'her worthless good for nothing husband' was gone for good, according to Jack. Ingrid felt a flash of anger at the callous way it was handled when she saw the flash of pain on Jessica's face and resolved then and there to double her effort to try and reach out. Her husband did not have to know about it.
Chapter 14
She planned it carefully. Kyle had surprised her by planning a five-day trip, where they took in the spectacular sights in Norway and Sweden, places she had never been before. They had ended up in Scotland and Wales.
Now they were back. She still had not heard from her brother, but Andre had called and told her he was still shut down. She was just going to allow him to have his space.
When he gets out of his funk, she would slam him with the news that he was going to be an uncle. Surely that should lean heavily into him forgiving her.
She had argued and won the battle with Kyle who had insisted that she slow down at the office. She had a community to build and had already taken several days from the project, enough was enough.
He had warned her that if there was anything the slightest bit amiss, they were getting into it.
But now, she was doing something he would not approve of. She had invited his sister for lunch, somewhere they would not be bothered by the pesky reporters.
"Darlin'," Cherry Blossom (her real name!) gushed as she drifted over and embraced her. The woman was as willowy as a wand and one of a kind.
Today, her thick afro was colored red, with slashes of green through the black. Her dark brown eyes were heavily kohled and her lips were an eyepopping red. Her restaurant, "Cherry's Blossom" was an eclectic blend of foods from the Caribbean and Africa.
Cherry had become a friend when Ingrid fought the redevelopment of the area where she has her restaurant.
"Look at you." She purred, stroking fingers over Ingrid's cheek. "Please tell me that gorgeous man is treating you right. If not, you can always take me up on my offer to become my lover." She winked, long false lashes fluttering.
"I've testimony from several people that says I'm an excellent lover." Her braying laughter had Ingrid grinning.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass. He's treating me like a queen."
"Bitch." Sliding her hand through Ingrid's arm, she wove her way through chairs and tables until they were climbing the steps to a booth that offered privacy.
