She hoped he remembered what she’d said last night and would not ask if they could go out to dinner or anything when they returned to LA. “If I don’t see you before I leave tomorrow, Matt, it was nice spending time with you.”
“Likewise, Iris.”
Nodding, she turned to walk away.
* * *
Iris joined Pam and Dillon on stage. The next activity was Tic-Tac-Toe. Thanks to a few of the Westmoreland men, a huge board had been built with nine squares of photographs taken at Aidan and Jill’s wedding. When you chose a square and flipped it over, the color on the reversible side was either pink or blue. This activity would only tell you the gender of one of the twins.
She had helped Pam work out the details to make sure that when the board was assembled, there was nothing that would give it away. Iris watched as Jill and Aidan took turns with the board. Now they were down to the last two squares, and excitement was building around the room. Although Iris was privy to the results, she was still wired with anticipation like everyone else. Rumor had it that some of the Westmoreland men had taken bets as to the outcome. She wasn’t surprised.
Aidan turned over one of the squares to reveal pink. Jill quickly turned over hers to win tic-tac-toe, and in doing so the row of three blues revealed that one of the twins would be a boy. A happy Jill and Aidan clapped and hugged. Then they shared another kiss, amid cheers and applause from the audience. Iris could feel their love and happiness.
For some reason, she glanced across the room and her gaze found Matt. He was staring at her, and when he smiled, she smiled back. She hoped he didn’t take it as a flirtatious smile but only one of friendliness. She had meant what she’d told him earlier about enjoying her time with him. She would admit to being surprised at how Garlan seemed to enjoy talking to him. Although her son had never been unfriendly to Karlton or Warren, he’d never taken the time to share an in-depth conversation with either of them. He actually seemed interested in what Matt had to say. But it could have been only because the topic had been horses.
Iris broke eye contact with Matt when Pam began speaking. “Now, for the final activity to determine the gender of the other baby. The next activity is one that all of you will have the opportunity to participate in. The hostesses are passing out confetti poppers.”
When Pam got the signal that the task was done, she then said, “At the count of five, everyone is to aim for the ceiling, release and shoot. This room will then be filled with either pink or blue confetti. Pink means their second twin is a girl, and blue means they’re having two boys.”
Iris glanced around the room at the eager faces, including those of Jill and Aidan, who were given their own poppers. Dillon came up to the mic to start the count. He again reminded everyone not to shoot the popper until he said the number five and then to aim it toward the ceiling.
Dillon began counting. “One…two…three…four.” He paused and then hollered out, “Five!”
The room suddenly filled with blue confetti and a ton of blue streamers. Iris pressed a remote and blue balloons were released from the ceiling to cascade down onto the crowd. It was such a beautiful sight, and she was glad the videographers from Pam’s school were there to film it all.
“The twins are both boys,” Pam then announced.
A happy Aidan jumped up and down, and Jill was crying tears of joy. Iris’s heart felt full. When she and Pam first met in college, Jill was barely twelve, and now she was married and having twins. She could just imagine how proud and happy big sister Pam felt at that moment and understood her tears.
“All I can say,” Dillon said to the crowd, breaking into Iris’s thoughts, “heaven helps us all if those boys are identical. It will be like reliving Adrian and Aidan’s escapades all over again. But then maybe it’s time at least one of them got a taste of their own medicine.”
It appeared that other Westmorelands, who’d been on the receiving end of the twins’ switcheroos, wholeheartedly agreed. Iris had been one of them several times.
After everyone calmed down, Aidan and Jill thanked Dillon and Pam, as well as Iris and all their helpers, and expressed their happiness at welcoming two sons.
Then an emotional Aidan said, “Now Jill and I have a special announcement to make. One that even Dillon and Pam don’t know about.”
The entire room got quiet. It was obvious that whatever the couple had to say was emotional for them. Aidan began speaking again. “As all of you know, Jill and I often worked at hospitals in different cities while completing our individual residencies. We desperately wanted to start a family but knew it would be best to wait. Now we’re glad we did because so many things are happening in our favor.”
He reached out his hand to Jill, who took it and then scooted to his side. “We’re coming home. Jill and I have been hired as part of the medical team at Denver General Hospital, and that means we’re moving back to Westmoreland Country.”
This was surprising news, and the room erupted with cheers. Iris knew the couple’s announcement not only affected Dillon and Pam but also several other Westmorelands. She glanced across the room again and met Matt’s gaze. It was as if he’d known she would seek him out. And she had.
A part of her wasn’t at all pleased with that and hoped upon returning to LA that the proverb “out of sight, out of mind” would come into play. As far as she was concerned, there was no reason why it shouldn’t.
Chapter Nine
A month later
Matt glanced at the contract he had received that morning. The triplets hadn’t wasted any time getting it to him after he had called to let them know of his decision. He would accept their offer of the four hundred acres adjacent to the south ridge of the Golden Glade Ranch.
He had discussed it with Deena, and she thought he was making the right decision. He smiled, thinking of her reaction when he told her of his intent to give her two hundred of those acres to build her own home one day. You would have thought he’d given her not only the moon but a few stars to go with it. His daughter’s happiness meant everything to him, and he could definitely say she was happy.
The buzzer on his desk sounded. “Yes, Luna?”
“That reporter, Joel Evanstine, is calling for you again.”
Matt rolled his eyes. When would the man give up? But it wasn’t just him, it was others as well, all of whom were convinced that sooner or later he would cave and grant them the interview they wanted. It had been nearly seven months since he’d attended that foundation dinner, and he was still getting calls for a story. His response of “there isn’t a story” just wasn’t cutting it.