“She was just relaxing in the hot tub?” Maggie squealed.
“Yup,” Stella said. “Ruby stepped outside in her bathing suit with a bottle of champagne in her hand, and a second later, she was screaming and darting back into the house. That was an anniversary Paul will never forget.”
“She’s been known to take naps in the canoes folks leaveon the bank of the river,” I added, my storytelling not quite so entertaining. “And one time, she walked into Reed’s garage and opened his beer fridge.”
“Nothing but fancy stuff in there.” Stella laughed.
Stella put Julian to bed shortly after, and the girls wandered back to the living room. Though I was tempted to head for the door, I stayed and loaded the dishwasher, waiting for Stella to return.
When she came down the stairs, she crossed her arms. “You’re great with them.” Despite her posture, she wore a soft, observant look. The teacher look that made me feel like she was clocking my every move.
I shrugged. “They’re good kids.”
“That’s not what I said.” She stuck her tongue out at me.
I’d known Stella since we were kids. And in my mind, she still was a little girl. While she was probably over thirty now, all my memories of her involved her tagging along with the big kids, cheering at hockey games, and coming to the farm to sell Girl Scout cookies to my dad.
She was cute and curvy, with a bright smile, big brown doe eyes and wavy blond hair. And she was smart. She was exactly the kind of woman who should fascinate me.
But I’d never seen her that way. She lived firmly in little sister territory.
And I imagined Stella hadn’t ever thought of me romantically either. As far as I knew, she’d been in love with Gabe since junior high.
While we cleaned up in silence, my thoughts were occupied by someone else. A woman I should absolutely not be thinking about. Ever.
Blessedly, before my mind wandered even farther downthis very inappropriate lane, Maggie called me from the living room.
“You gonna play me chess with me or what?”
She’d already set up the board, so we dove right in. It was more fun than I’d anticipated. She was hilarious, and while I was a bit rusty, I found myself getting back into it.
“Why does the king only move one space at a time? That’s so boring,” she complained, dropping her chin into her hand with a sigh.
“Sorry, kid. That’s because the queen”—I picked the piece up—“holds all the real power. She can go anywhere, anytime.”
“Because women are superior to men,” Ellie said, not looking up from her book.
Giggling, Maggie made her next move.
I won the first game, but Maggie caught on quickly and was dominating the second.
“My rook is going to end you,” she chirped.
She may have only been getting the basics of chess, but her trash talk was excellent already.
While we played, Stella and Ellie got into a spirited debate aboutThe Hunger Games, so when Celine walked in, none of us noticed, until she cleared her throat.
My focus snapped to her immediately. She frowned at me, her face awash with confusion, but as she surveyed the room, her shoulders lowered.
Damn. I was beginning to think she’d lived her entire life on edge.
“Did you have fun?” Stella asked, doing some kind of ornate braid in Ellie’s hair.
Celine nodded. “It was nice. But a bit overwhelming. Imet your sister,” she said to Stella. “And,” she turned to me, “your… sister-in-law?”
“I wish,” I said. “But Evie is family regardless. With any luck, she’ll make an honest man out of my brother at some point.”
Jasper and Evie were madly in love. With each other and with their son Vincent. Jas was the baby of the family, and he’d always been the wild child.