Page 52 of Stunner (Whiskey Dolls 3)

I also couldn’t find my favorite lipstick either, which only added to my discomfort. I could have on a full face of makeup, but without my ruby red, I felt naked. “Maybe we should postpone brunch until I find them.”

He grabbed the door handle and pulled it open at the same time he bent to place a smacking kiss on my lips. “Too late. You’re gonna be fine.” Then he put his hand on my ass and shoved me through the door.

“There they are!” Owen’s mom shot to her feet the moment she saw us. The whole crew was already there, sitting at a long rectangular table right in the middle of the room. His father was sitting at the head of the table, his mom to his left, with Hazel in the chair beside her grandmother, coloring on one of those paper menus places provide for kids to keep them entertained during the meal.

Hardin was on the right of Mr. Shields, with an empty seat beside her, and another at the end of the table.

Hazel was the second to notice us after Mrs. Shields’s proclamation.

“Uncle Owen!” she cheered loudly, her whole face lighting up like a fireworks display.

“Honey, no running,” Hardin said, but ended with a roll of her eyes when the lecture fell on deaf ears.

My breath caught in my lungs and my stomach bottomed out when she launched herself through the air, but as if he’d been expecting it, Owen plucked her right up, giving her a little toss that made her giggle like crazy before propping her on his hip.

My heart rate increased and a tingle shot through my lady parts at the sight of him with his niece, but then she took his cheeks in her tiny hands, smooshing them together before she gave him a loud, smacking kiss, and my poor ovaries damn near exploded. When I thought the man couldn’t possibly be any hotter than he already was, he went and upped the ante. The only thing that would have made me swoon harder was if he’d been holding a basket full of fluffy baby kittens or something.

“Hey, my little munchkin. How you doing?”

“Good! Mommy says I can have French toast, and Gammy gave me five dollars ’cause I lost my tooth. See?” She opened her mouth as wide as she could get it to show off the missing front tooth.

Owen took her chin in his hands and moved her head left and right like he was inspecting closely. “Ah, I see. Didn’t the Tooth Fairy come?”

“Uh-huh. But Gammy gave me money anyway.”

I smiled big, feeling warm inside as Owen looked back at me and rolled his eyes playfully. “Of course she did.” He placed her back on her feet and grabbed my hand once more as Hazel skipped back to the table without a care.

He leaned in and placed a kiss to my temple before whispering, “When I was a kid, all I got for a tooth was a freaking quarter.”

I twisted to look at him as we got closer to the table and shot him a wink. “It’s called inflation. Don’t be a baby about it.”

“Hi, honey,” Owen’s mom greeted as she rounded the table and moved to her son. He bent toward her, wrapping her in a hug and placing a kiss on her cheek. She was a petite woman, much shorter than her son, but utterly beautiful like her daughter.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Son,” his father called, and as the two of them exchanged one of those manly hugs, complete with rough back slaps, I could see daughter favored mother, while son favored father. I could also see that the family bond was strong between the Shieldses. Despite how this morning had started out, there were no hard feelings or anger.

Hardin stood and moved to me, giving me a friendly hug. “Sorry about this morning. That was a prank meant more to torture my brother.” She pulled her lips into a wince. “I didn’t mean to get you caught in the crossfire like that. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I assured her. “Knowing my mom, there’s more embarrassment just around the corner.”

Mrs. Shields practically body-checked her daughter out of the way in order to wrap me into a warm, welcoming embrace. “I’m so glad you two could make it. I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you.”

She pulled back, and I could see from her smile, that her statement was totally genuine, and worked wonders in making me feel better about this meeting.

“I’m so sorry about this morning Mrs. Shields—”

She lifted her hand to cut me off. “First off, call me Gloria. And please. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.I’mthe one who should be apologizing for barging in the way we did.”

Owen hadn’t been lying, Gloria and Angela were night and day, and my gut was telling me that Owen’s mother and I were going to get along so much better.

Owen

“And here’s one from the comic book convention he begged us to take him too.”

My mother passed over another photograph from the large stack she’d pulled out of her purse, bringing them with her for just this occasion.

Asher snatched it from her grip excitedly, and cooed over the picture through a fit of giggles. This had been the nightmare I’d been living for the past twenty minutes.

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