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“I’m sorry to hear it.” I didn’t realize she was dating anyone.
Reagan looks at Jade. “That reminds me, Beckett Windsor is finally starting tomorrow.”
Jade smiles. “Oh good. We’re replacing one hottie with another.” She turns to me. “Beth’s boyfriend worked at Daulton before he skipped town in the middle of the night.”
I nod in understanding.
“Mom, you know Beckett, right?”
“I met him at Reagan’s party years ago. We talked about art. He’s a collector.”
Reagan nods. “He is. I think he’s known to be one of the biggest and best collectors in the country.”
I know he’s a big collector, but I didn’t realize the extent of it. I hope he meant what he said when he praised my work.
Jade shrugs. “I feel like such an underachiever. All I collect are cheesy pickup lines. I swear, men are getting much more creative and much dirtier with their lines. I had a guy last week tell me he wanted to put his one-eyed genie in my pink panini.”
The table erupts in laughter. Except Declan. He looks murderous. “Who said that to you? Give me a name.”
She rolls her eyes at him.
Reagan shakes her head. “That sounds like something Collin would say.” I think Collin is a childhood friend of Carter’s. I’m fairly certain I met him once or twice throughout the years.
No one else notices, but Jade flushes. That’s interesting. I wonder if it’s Collin she’s seeing. I assume he’sCarter’s age, which is about five or six years younger than me.
Carter nods. “True. He would say that. He’s full of cheesy pickup lines.” He throws his arm around Reagan. “You must have heard a lot before we got together. What’s the cheesiest one you received?”
She thinks for a moment. “Hmm. Oh, I remember a good one.Got a little Irish in you? Want a little Irish in you?” She smiles. “Come to think of it. That might have been Collin too.”
We’re all laughing. Skylar chimes in. “I had a guy once say to me,if you want a facial, all you have to do is tell me.”
I forgot that no topic is off limits for this family. It’s probably why Jade fits in so well and loves her time with them.
She continues, “Oh wait, that was Collin too.”
This Collin guy sounds like a character.
Harley smiles. “A guy once licked his hand and then wiped it on me and said,let’s get you out of these wet clothes.”
Jess, who’s a nurse, giggles. “At the hospital this week, I had a guy say to me,do you feel sick? Because I think you’re suffering from a lack of vitamin me.”
I laugh at that one, though her husband, Hayden, doesn’t look as amused.
Jade turns to me. “What about you, Mom? You picked a few winners in the day. What was the cheesiest line you’ve ever heard?”
“Oh god, there were a lot back when I used to date. One that always made me laugh was,do you want to sit on my lap and talk about the first thing that pops up?”
She lets out a loud laugh. “That’s hysterical.” She turns. “What about you, Melissa?”
“Your father uses horrific lines on meeach and every day of my life. Worse than anything I endured while dating. Yesterday was a new low for him.”
Jade perks up. “Spill it.”
Melissa looks at Declan and he scowls. She loves ruffling his feathers as much as Jade does. She turns to her three sons. “Boys, cover your ears.” She smiles. “He said,why don’t you come over here and I’ll put something in your ass so you have an excuse to be a brat.”
All three of her boys make gagging faces, but everyone else is in a fit of hysterics. I can’t help but smile as I shake my head. That sounds exactly like Declan.
When dinner is over, Declan pulls me aside. “How are you managing?”
