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“Your call.”
Today we were out of the house earlier than I used to leave, and some days we were a little later. Today Mr. Dark Suit was nowhere to be seen. It didn’t matter. I had my fiancé next to me. That was all the reassurance I needed that all was right with the world.
Of course, being named acting department manager while a replacement for Mr. Heiden was recruited allowed me to have a more flexible schedule—except for Mondays. As a department head, Krause now expected me to sit up front for his boring meetings.
* * *
Back at thehouse that afternoon, my leg was jittery. My nerves had been fried running up to today.
“Don’t worry, it’s probably traffic,” my brother Vincent said as he came up behind me.
I’d been pacing in front of the window, watching the street.
“Yeah,” his wife, Ashley, added. “Because he flew the corporate jet, they have to land at Dulles.”
I hadn’t considered that.
Moments later, a black town car pulled up and deposited my parents.
I checked the street again. “Where’s everybody else?” I asked Daddy after he and Momma came in.
“We took separate cars from the airport. I guess our driver knew a better shortcut.”
Adam appeared from the kitchen, and I introduced him to Momma. Daddy gave him a quick handshake.
Momma, however, engulfed him in a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you, Adam. Kelly’s told us such wonderful things about you.”
“Hopefully only half of them are lies,” Adam said.
After a few more pleasantries, he escorted them back to the kitchen for drinks.
I didn’t have to wait long for Josh to arrive.
This time his plus one was a pretty girl named Nicole.
Serena arrived shortly after.
Her boyfriend, Duke, had even more ink than I remembered from when I’d last been out to California.
Another half hour had passed when Adam came out and found me still at the window.
“This isn’t where the guest of honor should be hanging out,” he said.
“A polite hostess greets her guests at the door.”
He pulled me toward the kitchen. “It’s your family. You should mingle.”
From the sound of it, the group was having a jolly time without me. Dennis still hadn’t arrived, and I was worried now that he wouldn’t show.
I’d relied on Serena’s assurance that Dennis would be okay here with Adam after what had happened between them. For my part, I thought it would be a tough meeting, but I expected Adam to be classy about it. That’s what he’d promised me at least.
With Adam constantly refilling the champagne glasses, my family was getting rowdy. I’d worried that Daddy’s years of ranting about the Cartwrights would lead to a chilly reception, but Adam moved seamlessly from one group to another around the room without a hint of animosity from my family.
The women all took turns admiring my ring, which was flattering.
At one point Duke lifted his shirt to show off and explain his latest tats. Serena, Nicole, and Momma listened intently. In Momma’s case it was probably the champagne, because she had never liked tattoos. She’d even objected to me getting my cousin’s initials on my ankle.
I overheard Daddy off to the side once more trying to convince Vincent to come back to California.
