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Lily lowered her hands to smooth the front of her dress. “You’re right, you’re right. It’s not as bad as I like to think it is, and I suppose I’ll eventually move closer to her since I can’t convince her to come to me. My son lives in southern Wyoming. There’s really no point for me to live here once I retire at the end of my term.”
“My brother lives in Laramie, Wyoming,” Reed supplied.
“Not too far from my boy. He lives on his father’s family ranch in Sugar Brush Creek. It’s all very…rugged.”
Reed shuddered. “Open spaces give me the creeps.”
Miles clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Oh, kid. Tell me you’re a city boy without telling me you’re a city boy.”
Lily waved them off. “No, I quite understand. When you’re used to being snug in one spot, going to a place where the possibilities are endless can be petrifying and intimidating.”
“See?” Reed turned to Miles, a crooked smile on his face. “Lily understands me.”
That made her laugh lightly. “I like you, Reed. And don’t worry, there will be a whole contingent of kids your age at the party. You won’t have to hang with the old folks.”
He tensed, his body locking. “Thank you,” he intoned, barely moving his jaw.
Miles leaned over and murmured something only Reed could hear. As I watched my brother relax, I did too. I didn’t need to know what Miles had said. With him, we were in good hands. That much I knew without a single doubt.
Chapter Thirty-four
Daisy
I wasn’t one to throw the word “perfect” around. That might have been due to circumstance. There hadn’t been many things in my life or experience that had even verged on perfection. But tonight…
I was tempted to use it.
Reed was happy, and that was everything to me. The teens Lily had told us about had converged in her pool house. There were six or seven, a mix of boys and girls. I’d sort of forced Reed to go with them, but when I checked a little while later, they had accepted him as one of them.
The next time I went back to peek, they were eating junk and remixing a song together on someone’s laptop. Reed didn’t even glance up at me.
Miles had to stop me from checking on them a third time. Though, it wasn’t exactly checking, more like spying. Reed was a loner. To see him getting along—no, to see everyone gathered around him digging one of the songs he’d made—was a sight that made my heart swell.
I snuck a picture to send to our parents. That was when Miles had put his foot down and barred me from going back.
That was okay. Once I knew he was having fun, I relaxed and enjoyed myself too. Lily introduced us to everyone like we were celebrities. Miles was her beloved daughter’s business partner, and I was the genius who’d created the masterpiece everyone had been pecking from all night.
It was over the top, but Miles and I kept looking at each other and grinning.
A man in his thirties wearing a crisp business suit approached as we were piling our plates with canapes.
“I’ve been checking out your website,” he said without preamble.
“Oh, have you?”
Miles slipped my plate from my hand, giving me space to talk.
“I have. It’s clean and to the point. Give your web designer props.”
I raised my hand. “That would be me. Thank you for the compliment.”
“Multi-talented.”
“I do a few things well, sure. Were you looking for something specific on my site?”
“Actually, yes. My name is Brad Hamilton. I’m the state senate building events manager. My job has many dimensions. One is arranging catering for meetings. Your charcuterie cups would work perfectly, but according to your website, you’re based out of Colorado. Is that right?”
Disappointment lodged in my chest. “That’s right. I’m able to travel for some jobs, but it sounds like this is something you’d need on a regular basis.”
