Adria couldn’t help herself. She got closer, pulled out her reading glasses and stared. “Wow! I do, Becca, and there are more than a few actually. Have you been using that special serum because I don’t think it’s working?” She leaned in and touched her face at the center of her brows, and then beside her lips. “Yup, I see some sagging, it’s awful.” She smiled, started laughing and then stopped the moment her sister nudged her with her foot.
“Stop that! I really want to know.”
“Becca, your face is porcelain and thanks to our good genetics you will have that glowing, youthful skin for many years. Mom had it well into her sixties and then when it started, she only had a few wrinkles.”
Becca smiled, nudging Adria again playfully. “You're right, she was so beautiful and had the best skin. You should let me give you a manicure. We can paint your nails red and I have these cute Christmas trees we can set into the polish.”
Liam had also disappeared for a moment but came trotting down the stairs like he’d clearly made himself comfortable and at home. “Okay, who wants to play chess?”
“I will.” Becca sat up and tossed her mirror aside.
Feeling disgruntled by her sister, she got up and went in search of Devin.This was supposed to be our sister's time. She doesn't want anything to do with that now that men are involved. Sometimes she only cares about attention.
Rounding the corner of the kitchen, she ran into Devin, their faces inches from one another. “Oh.” She stared up into his eyes. All the thoughts fled from her mind as she looked at him and he smiled a little.
Her throat closed, and suddenly she had nothing to say. She felt silly.
Devin’s eyes softened a little, and she saw the slightest hint of something. “I solved our little problem.” He cleared his throat and stepped back.
The butterflies that floated in her stomach settled down and Adria’s racing heart continued to beat a hundred miles per hour. “What problem?”
“The solarium problem.” Devin looked at her like she was nuts.
Adria felt foolish, and she struggled to catch up. Obviously, it was all her as he felt nothing. “Oh, right, the squirrels, I forgot all about them. I don’t think we ever told Becca and Liam.”
“Well, let’s go…” Devin stepped forward and headed for the great room.
Adria stopped him, her shaky hand grabbing his arm lightly. “Let's go have a look ourselves first. You can show me what you did and then we can tell them.”
Not only did Adria not want to disturb Becca and Liam and possibly upset Devin but she also wanted a few minutes alone with him. Everyone seemed to be flocking to Becca as they usually did her whole life. She was always the life of the party even though she barely did anything but pout her lips.
To say that Adria was jealous wouldn’t have been a lie and she had been over the years. Now, she’d pretty much resolved herself to that problem since they had busy lives and didn't move in the same social circles.
She loved Becca so much but she was starting to feel cranky and they still had so much to do before Christmas arrived.
“Okay.” Devin turned and walked with her to the solarium. “I fixed it really well with some things I found and I don’t think they’ll be coming back.”
He led the way to the spot where the big hole had been the night before. “Have a look and let me know what you think.”
Adria smiled, honored he’d want her opinion, even if she knew nothing about construction work. As she leaned over, she was surprised to find he was quite handy even though he was a lawyer. It was perfectly covered and the material he used blended in nicely with the rest of the wall. “Wow, that’s a really nice job. You do great work. I didn’t know you were so handy, Devin.”
He must have been trying to lean with her to look again because when she stood up, they were so close, she felt his breath fanning her cheek. “Thanks, I appreciate that. I learned a few things over the years.”
“Oh.” Again that breathless, dizzy feeling. She swallowed her nervousness and smiled. “I bet you did. Maybe you could fix a few other things around here.”
“What do you need fixed, Adria?” His eyes were so intense and her heart raced a thousand miles an hour that Adria thought she might faint. She wanted very much to kiss him, just to see what it felt like after all these years but didn't have the courage.
She was a lot of things, but she wasn’t bold and brazen when it came to men unless she wanted them to be more than a friend. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it and maybe you can do a few things if we’re all snowed in here.”
There was a long silence as they both looked at each other. Adria felt his body heat and thought for sure he was going to kiss her when he leaned slowly forward.
“There you two are!” Becca’s loud voice broke the magic between them.
Devin lifted his head up quickly and turned around with a smile. “Hey. We didn't get to show you last night, but we found a family of squirrels in here. They made a giant hole in the wall and you wouldn’t believe it, but they had a box of cereal they were surviving on.”
Becca came over and leaned down to look and Adria backed up. Their moment was gone and she looked at Liam with a smile. “Did you beat her at chess?”
“I did. But she’s good. Now it's your turn if you want to play.”
