She tried to tune in but kept getting distracted by the cheerful atmosphere.
The house was gorgeous and festive, already decked out with a few garlands and ornamental centerpieces. Sandra was super nice. She looked Cass in the eye when talking, listened to what Cass had to say, and smiled a lot. She seemed thrilled that Cass had come with Mack, which was a surprise. Cass couldn’t imagine Mack had a dearth of lady friends. But maybe very few he’d brought home?
That thought pleased her. Too much.
She turned to the two women she’d just been introduced to and smiled. Ashley, married to the oldest, James, seemed as nice as Mack had said she was. A woman with light-brown skin and an expressive face, she seemed to glow with joy. And pregnancy, Cass recalled, not seeing much of a baby bump.
“I know whatever Alec comes up with will work. He’s pretty particular about details though.” She rested her hand on her stomach. “Oh my gosh, Sandy, I can’t wait to eat. My stomach has been growling all day, and the smell of what’s in the oven is killing me.”
Cass laughed. “Me too. I wasn’t going to say anything, but my stomach is growling overtime. What are you making to go with the turkey?”
“Whatisn’tshe making, you mean?” The other woman with them asked. Tall, with short, dark hair and intense eyes, Sasha appeared to be dating Xavier. From what Cass had been told, the woman worked as a 911 operator and had nerves of steel. “I hope you made a lot of mashed potatoes. And sweet potatoes too. I can’t help it. I love the starch family. Can you tell?”
Sasha had a voluptuous figure, and she owned her curves. Personally, Cass felt a little underwhelming standing near her. But then, she didn’t need to look ultrafeminine and sexy for Mack to like her.
She glanced over to see him talking to Alec and Dean.
“Which is why I made some of everything for you.” Sandy smiled. “So you can keep that amazing figure. Honey, if I had looked like you when I met my husband, I would have made him work even harder to win me over. I still think he got off lightly.”
Jimmy walked by. “What’s that, Cath?”
She snorted. “You still owe me a honeymoon.”
“Oh boy. Not this again,” Jimmy muttered. He turned around. “Forgot my drink.”
“In your hand?” Sandy yelled after him. “Wimp.”
A familiar argument, apparently. The women laughed, and Cass found them all funny and sweet. She didn’t have a lot of women friends. Shannon had been her first real girlfriend for any length of time. Growing up, Cass had always tended to bond with boys. She’d had her fair share of teasing, but she didn’t know how to explain it. She liked being a girl, but she seemed to get along better with the male of the species. Until Shannon, another sarcastic, honest-to-the-skin, funny woman.
And now, these ladies, who treated her as if she belonged without really knowing her.
Sean’s parents and sisters had been standoffish, as if always measuring her worth.
“What about you, Cass?” Mack’s mom asked her. “What’s your favorite dish?”
He’s standing over there with Alec and Dean.“Oh, I like stuffing. It’s a sickness.”
“Me too,” Ashley agreed. “Although lately I seem to like everything.”
James appeared at his wife’s side and kissed her. “Hey, Ash. You doing okay?” He put his hand over hers, protectively on her belly. “Ash Junior isn’t giving you any trouble, is she?”
“Not yet. But she’s hungry.”
James smiled.
Cass had a tough time not staring at the gorgeous Reveres. She’d known of Xavier and Mack’s resemblance, of course, but seeing all five Revere men together had given her brain freeze.
That sweet look on James’s face for his wife, she’d seen that on Mack’s when looking at her. She turned to see him staring at her and drinking a soda as if dying of thirst. When he saw her watching, he winked.
She felt her cheeks heating and turned back to Ashley. “When are you due?”
“Another five months. We don’t exactly know it’s a girl, but James seems sure.”
“I can just tell.” He smiled at his wife, kissed her on the cheek again, and grabbed more olives from the refrigerator. “Besides, what a nightmare if we keep having boys, right, Ma?”
“You said it.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, boys are a joy. So easy to manage.”
Mack joined them and laughed. “Yeah, right. I was the easy one. The others were nightmares.”
