“I’m not a baker, even when I’m not in an aluminum box, so I have no idea.”
Steph pulled a hand steamer out of a bag she’d been rummaging through. “I’m so glad you were able to come Wednesday instead of waiting until Sunday. I was afraid if you just came for the wedding part, things would still be awkward at the ceremony.”
“It was smart to dangle a free vacation in the woods of northern New Hampshire with my son in front of me. And you’re also lucky, because you called on a day I was soover the city I wanted to curl up on the floor of my shower and cry. Excellent timing.” She laughed. “I’ve had fun.”
Of course, if she’d only come for Sunday and Monday, she probably would have left Oliver with Robin. Her friend would have watched him for overnight and then gotten him off to daycare with little disruption to his schedule. And if she hadn’t brought Oliver with her, Brian and his family wouldn’t have seen him and nobody would know.
But she would have. At some point, she would have seen Brian smile in that way the Kowalskis had and the resemblance was so strong, there’s no way she wouldn’t have missed the connection. And then what would she have done?
Probably nothing at the time, she decided. But once she got home, it would have eaten at her. She would have tried to contact Kelly, of course. But as terrifying as this all was, she didn’t think she could live with herself if she chose to hide him from Brian. That was a choice her sister had made, not her.
“You okay?”
Siobhan blinked away the what-ifs and smiled at her friend. “Of course. I was just lost in thought for a minute.”
“Anything juicy?”
Alarm jolted through Siobhan at her friend’s choice of words. Had she and Brian been seen last night? “Juicy? Hardly. I was thinking about the best order to steam the clothes in, actually. And speaking of, I can handle this myself, you know, freeing you up to relax. I’m pretty sure taking stuff off your plate is in my job description.”
“Listen, I had to fend off pretty much all of the women in this campground right now to get this time with you. I feel like we’ve hardly had time to talk since you got hereand I feel bad. You dropped everything to be my maid of honor.”
“Don’t worry about me. We’re having a great time.” Not the part where she accidentally found her son’s biological father—maybe—and then kissed him, but she and Oliver were enjoying themselves for the most part. “It must be nice to spend time with your whole family like this.”
Steph beamed. “It really is. It’s exactly what Kyle and I wanted. Bringing our families together and just wallowing in the love and happiness is the perfect way to make it official.”
She couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Wallowing?”
Before Steph could respond, there was a light knock on the door and then it opened. Brian stepped in, blinking as he crossed from the bright sunshine into the dim cabin.
“Hey, Steph, do you need—” He spotted Siobhan and froze for a second. “Sorry. I heard you were steaming stuff and figured I’d see if you need an extension cord.”
“Glad I wasn’t in the middle of trying my dress on,” Steph said, and then she laughed. “And Brian Kowalski, are you actuallysuggestingI plug something with a heating element into an extension cord?”
“There’s a big difference between a hand steamer and a space heater.” He snorted. “And that was Bobby that almost burned down the garage, not me.”
“I’m going to get you a T-shirt that saysIt Was Bobbyfor Christmas.”
“I’d wear it every day.” He looked at Siobhan. “Did she tell you Rob used to be Bobby until his voice changed and he thought a new nickname would make him sound older?”
She laughed. “Rob told me about the nickname, actually, although he left out the part about his voice changing.”
Brian grinned, his blue eyes crinkling, and Siobhan smiled back. Their gazes held until her heart was pounding in her chest. Then she realized she was twirling the end of her hair around her finger and shoved her hands into her pockets. One ill-advised kiss and she was acting like a dreamy teenager.
“We’re all set, I think,” Steph said, and they both looked at her without responding. “The extension cord you were talking about? We don’t need it.”
“Oh, right,” Brian said. “Text me if you change your mind.”
When the door closed behind her cousin, Steph put her hands on her hips. “What wasthat?”
“What was what?”
She waggled a finger between Siobhan and the door. “That. You and Brian. There was…something going on there.”
Siobhan snorted, but she could feel the heat in her chest and cheeks. She was absolutelynotgoing to confess there had been a kiss between them, and she could only hope nobody had seen them. “Trust me, there’s nothing at all going on there.”
“I’m pretty sure there are rules about maids of honor lying to brides. I’ve known him my whole life, obviously, and he’s into you.” She pointed at Siobhan. “And you’re into him back. How did I not see this coming?”
“Because there was nothing toseecoming. Steph, he’s my sister’s ex-husband.” Talk about needing something written on a T-shirt. Maybe cross-stitched on a pillow. Written on her mirror in lipstick.
