She spun on the spot and held out a hand.“Roxanna Kyst.”
“Kyst-Lomond,” Tripp called from the couch, earning himself an eye-roll glare.
“You think there’s a risk of me having an affair in this room?”Roxanna asked and flashed the guy the impressive glitter on her hand.“I’m married.Big whoop.I think the world knows it.I made enough money telling them about it.”
“Just saying,” the guy teased.“I’m counting.”
“You do that, boy,” Roxanna said and rested a hand on her upper arm.“Tripp Breckenridge and I are Collier family friends.Thena is Cam’s mom; Mimi’s his grandmother.And you’re Ariella Tipton?”There weren’t words.Not in her head.Her throat.Hearing that name was almost too much to compute.“I’m sorry, should I know Ariella Tipton?”
Still, there was nothing to—
Cam appeared beside Roxanna as his mother moved deeper into the room.
“Are the panties necessary for something, Parfait?”Thena asked.“Are they art?”
The question gave them all a new focus, thank God.The cool guy, Tripp, sat right in the middle of the couch, completely non-plussed by the lingerie strewn around and beneath him.
“Noble’s upstairs,” Cam said.
Explanation enough, his mother nodded and bypassed it all to sit at the dinner table instead.Less underwear there.
The moment was mortifying for many, many reasons.Her guilt and discomfort grew when it occurred to her the mess was only there because of her.And it should’ve been her job to make sure it was gone before the sun reached the horizon.Long before anyone respectable showed up.Fail.
“The cleaners will be here at noon.”
“No one cares about the mess,” Cam said, gentle, like he wasn’t mad.How could he not be mad?“Every time Roxie has a party, the entire state ends up a mess worse than this.We’re all used to it.”
Roxie nodded, stroking gently.“It’s true.Didn’t even register.”
“And if this is the state of the place when Cam’s on the wagon…” Tripp scanned the space, hooking one pair of panties on his index finger to spin it around until it flew across the room.“Damn, I’m sorry I missed it.Noble become the king of party games?”
“Of getting women naked,” Mimi said.The older woman had been strangely quiet until then.She went to sit by Tripp.Right beside him.The guy’s arms were stretched along the back until Mimi was settled, then one came down around her.“You thrive on competition.”
“He’s a Breckenridge,” Roxie said, putting an arm around her.“Once upon a time, my guy would’ve claimed that title.”
“You’ve clipped his wings.”
Roxie grinned with pride.“I sure have.”
She didn’t have the wherewithal to free herself from being directed back to the living room.
“A true Breckenridge would get their old, decrepit auntie a sherry.”Yeah, Mimi looked and sounded anything but decrepit.In fact, if asked, she’d have said the woman wasn’t old enough to have grandsons Cam’s age.“I changed your diapers, you know.”
“Pah!You’ve never changed a diaper in your life, Old Woman,” Tripp replied.“You think my mom let any baby out of her sight long enough for anyone else to get in there?”
“I’ll do it,” Cam said before Tripp could move.“Sherry?”
“Alcohol at this time in the morning?”Thena asked.
“Yes!It’s a celebration!We solved a mystery,” Mimi said and smiled at her.“We found long lost Ariella Tipton.Someone call Caspian and tell him we have the front page!”
Horror impacted her chest so hard, her next breath went nowhere.
“Can’t you see she doesn’t want to be found, Mimi?”
“We’re supposed to pretend we didn’t see her?”Mimi recoiled from Tripp to check his face.“Do women call you Priest in bed?”
Okay, hairpin, and that came from…?
