Page 122 of Promise Not to Fall for the Rich & Famous

“Oh, yes. It’s a very big deal for the Benton Family. We always come up to the cabin for at least a night or two. There’s a funny story behind the whole Irish thing actually.” Betzy leaned far over to see into the cabin’s front entry room, where the grandparents were entertaining the little ones with a shamrock toss.

Looking satisfied that they were out of earshot, Betzy continued. “My mom thought she had Irish on both sides. In fact, that’s where we figured my red hair came from. And while that is still probably true, I did one of those tests…you know, to discover your ancestry, and it turned out I was less than a quarter percent.”

“And Claudia figured you’d be half?” Kat asked.

She nodded and leaned in. “I didn’t tell her about the test. She likes blaming her temper on being full-blooded Irish. We don’t want to take that away from her.”

Kat chuckled. “No doubt.”

“How are things coming over there, ladies?” Betzy asked the gals at the other end of the large kitchen. “We on schedule to eat by around four o’clock?”

Camila and Jeanie stood up to the sink, prepping a bowl of baby potatoes and cabbage wedges.

“Yep,” Camila assured. “The corned beef is well on its way to perfection, and we’re just about to throw the rest of this goodness into the pot.”

Jeanie shook her head. “Kat, you lucked out getting a personal chef in the family.”

Kat nodded. “I know.”

“Well,” Camila said, “Kat’s family is our family now, so that means you do too.”

A rush of warmth filled Kat’s heart at the words. She liked the sound of that. In the month since she and Zander had been back in LA the family had been welcoming indeed.

Of course, the fact that Kat was still more technically married to Duke than she was Zander—seeing that his name was on the marriage license—had become prime joking material among the Bentons.

Not that Kat minded. The setup had a comical note for sure. Still, she looked forward to the time when—once the contract was up—she and Zander could rectify that.

“It’s funny,” Kat said, “I never would’ve guessed that the Bentons were such a close-knit family.”

“Yeah,” Jeanie added. “You guys really stick together, don’t you?”

Betzy and Camila looked at each other across the kitchen. “We do,” Betzy said. “And I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that we ladies are finally evening things out. I grew up with nothing but brothers. Having sisters now…it’s the best thing ever.”

Camila let out a wistful sigh. “When I started dating James, I was surprised by how…normal the Bentons were. I didn’t comeinto this with a family of my own, so I’ve really loved all the get-togethers they have. Fun ones. Activities that make you want to hurry up and have kids so they can join in on the fun too.”

“Oh, yeah. Sawyer’s already talking about it.”

“James too,” Camila said. “How long did you and Craig wait to have kids, Jeanie?”

“Not long enough,” Jeanie said with a laugh. “But we wouldn’t take it back if we could. Kids are extra, that’s for sure, but when you add that to ordinary, you get extraordinary, and you can’t imagine life without them.”

“I love that,” Camila said with a grin.

Kat had finished pouring the gelatin into the pans. She rested the spatula in the mixing bowl and grabbed onto the first pan.

“Here goes nothing,” she said.

“I’ve got pan number two,” Betzy said from behind.

Jeanie hurried over to the industrial-sized fridge and tugged open the doors. “And I’ve got the fridge.”

Kat moved with slow steps, watching as the green Jell-O tipped and swayed in the shallow pan. Gently then, she slid it onto one of the open shelves, and sighed once it was safely in place.

Betzy repeated the action with the second pan.

“Well,” Camila said, removing her apron and looping it around a hook on the pantry door. “We’re done with our part. Now, we can do one of three things. Help out with the shamrock toss, check on the guys and see how the treasure hunt’s coming, or kick up our feet while sampling some of my mint chocolate fudge.”

“I like option three,” Betzy said.