“Exactly.”
We both watched as Harvey attempted to chase something invisible across the lawn, Claire following at a much more reasonable pace while her sister darted ahead like she’d already decided rules were optional in this game.
Laney glanced at me again with a small smile playing across her lips. “You know, they’ve been asking to play cricket all day.”
I frowned. “Cricket?”
“Yes, Jesse. Cricket. A game involving a bat, a ball, and trying to connect said bat with said ball. I think there’s more to it than that, but I don’t really understand it all that well.”
I looked down at my tux. “I don’t understand it either, but I don’t think I’m dressed for it.”
“They don’t care,” she said. “They just want you to run around and eventually lose.”
“That actually sounds like my speed,” I decided out loud, then drained the rest of my champagne and handed the glass to Laney. “Alright, let’s do it. I’m all for embarrassing myself internationally. It counts as respectable if it’s for the kids.”
She laughed. I let her girls drag me out to the far end of the lawn after she’d called them over. Someone had set up what I assumed was a cricket…pitch? Field? Area?
Whatever.
Claire pointed at a few wooden poles stuck into the ground, handing me a bat as she started explaining what to do, but halfway through, someone called my name. “Jesse!”
I frowned, glancing up as the sound cut through the hum of conversation and distant laughter. I turned slowly, scanning theveranda overlooking the garden since I assumed the voice had come from there, but I didn’t recognize anyone.
Just as I was turning back to Claire, it happened again. “Jesse!”
I straightened slightly, stepping away from the girls as I tried to place the voice, but it didn’t sound familiar. Accented and female, I would’ve assumed it was Will’s wife, Eliza, if she’d been here, but she wasn’t.
“Jesse!”
“What?!” I finally called back, squinting up toward the house as annoyance raced through me.
At first, there was nothing. No response. Thenshestepped into view. A strikingly beautiful, dark-haired siren walked out onto the veranda, the sunlight illuminating her in a way that made my brain take a second to catch up to my eyes.
I didn’t recognize her and I would’ve if I’d met her before. As she looked down at me, however, her features slowly changed from expectation, to confusion, to irritation.
Which is uncalled for, given thatshe’sthe one yellingmyname across a castle garden like we’re in some kind of dramatic period piece.
Since she seemed so uncertain about who she’d been calling to, I lifted a hand slightly, letting her know thatIwas Jesse, but she only stared at me for a second longer before giving a small, dismissive wave, like I’d somehow disappointed her already. Then she turned and disappeared around the side of the house.
I shook my head, not knowing what the hell that had been about, but I was suddenly a lot less bored.
“Hey!”
I glanced down to see Claire plant her hands on her little hips in a gesture that was deeply familiar and faintly terrifying at the same time.God, she looks exactly like my sister, Charlotte, at this age.
Seriously. She could’ve been my sister’s twin, especially when she narrowed her eyes, her tone suddenly accusing. “You’re not even playing.”
Her sister seemed equally unimpressed, nodding her agreement. I still didn’t understand the wickets and whatever else was involved in this sport, but I did know how to fake it till I made it. “That’s because you don’t want me to play, young ladies.”
Claire squinted at me. “Why not?”
“Because I am going to absolutely destroy you.”
The younger one gasped, apparently delighted by this news, but Claire rolled her eyes. “You don’t know how to play.”
“That’s irrelevant. I have natural talent. Call it raw athleticism if you will. It’s a burden, really.”
“That’s not how cricket works,” she informed me with the kind of authority only a five-year-old could muster. “Come on, Jesse.”