“You still owe me a wedding,” Lily said as she played with Eli.
“Wait, are you talking to me or to Eli?” Tempest said.
“You, and you know I’m talking to you,” Lily said.
“But you’re looking at Eli. So, I was a little confused,” Tempest said, suppressing a grin.
Lily turned to face Tempest. “You know I really want to help plan a wedding for you. You even agreed to let me yesterday.”
“That was yesterday. Today I’m not so sure.”
“Tempest!” Lily exclaimed.
“Mom! We don’t need it. Brandt and I couldn’t be any more committed than we are.”
“I know, and I’m not questioning that. But I had so much fun planning my wedding, and I guess I always thought I’d get to be a part of yours, too, one day.”
“If you really want one, we can do it today,” Angelle said.
“No, we can’t,” Tempest said. “And I’m not saying no forever. I’m just saying, not right now.”
“Think about it a little more, please,” Lily said. “I like to do things like that.”
“I’ll think about it. A little,” Tempest agreed. “But for now, I really just want to enjoy the barbecue.”
“Well, of course. I can’t very well plan a spectacular wedding in less than an hour,” Lily said.
The sound of new voices downstairs, followed by footsteps coming up toward the door had them all looking expectantly at the door.
Carolena tapped on the door jamb as she stepped over the threshold. “Hello!” she said, greeting everyone.
“Welcome!” Angelle called out. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she said, hurrying around the kitchen island to hug Carolena.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Lily popped in earlier to say you and Boon were inviting us all to a cook out, so you know we had to be here,” Carolena said.
“You’re always welcome here,” Angelle said, hugging Carolena again.
“Thank you, Angelle. I appreciate that.” Carolena looked around the house. “You’ve got such a beautiful home, Angelle. Carnage said it was nice, but it’s hard to get more than ‘it’s got rooms’ out of him as a description.”
“That’s right! You haven’t seen it yet. Please, make yourself at home. Go take a look and see the rest of it,” Angelle said.
“You sure?” Carolena asked.
“Of course. You’re family,” Angelle said.
Carolena went off to do just that, and they could all hear her oohing and ahhing all the way back to the kitchen.
“Knock knock!” a soft, very melodic voice called from the door.
Angelle looked over at the door and was immediately struck with the beauty of the woman standing there. She wasstunningly beautiful and exotic, but at the same time a little quiet and unsure of her reception.
“Aubreigne!” Lily said, picking up Eli and carrying him on her hip as she moved toward Aubreigne.
“Hi, Lily. What a handsome little man!” Aubreigne said.
“This is my grandson, Elijah. He looks quite a lot like his father,” Lily said as she hugged Aubreigne.
“That would be Brandt, right?” Aubreigne said, pointing over her shoulder toward the group of men bonding around the roasting hog.
