“Sicilyisbeautiful,” Debbie said, “but Greece stole my heart.” She placed a hand on her chest as she studied the wall. “Savannah’s painting touches something deep inside me. It feels so life-like, I can practically smell the salty air and feel the sun on my face.”
Cheyenne studied the wall again, and Austin waited for a compliment on Savvy’s work. Instead, she turned to Tucker with a pout. “We should visit Greece someday.”
Really?
He stepped forward—jaw clenched—ready to tell Cheyenne she could forget trying to get custody of the kids.
Debbie leaned into him, sliding her arm around his waist, as if sensing his need for a calming influence. “I’m so amazed by Savannah’s talent. She’s inspired me to finally decorate the house.”
“I thought your walls looked a little bare.” Cheyenne looked around with a frown, scrutinizing every piece of decor, which was minimal, while Tucker closed his eyes for a long moment and shook his head.
Austin always thought Debbie was a minimalist and that’s why her house was sparsely decorated. He’d never considered that she simply hadn’t had the desire. He’d always felt it was a family that made a house a home. Did Debbie feel the same way?
Had decorating not been a priority since what she really wanted was to fill her house with children rather than expensive things?
“I’m starting to develop a vision of what I want and have commissioned a few pieces of art that I think are going to be amazing.” Debbie pulled him toward the table.
She insisted Cheyenne and Tucker sit in the seats that faced away from the painting, and Austin wanted to hug her for it. He’d much rather look at Savvy’s unfinished painting than their dinner guests. And he certainly didn’t want them to have the opportunity to scrutinize and find fault with Savvy’s painting.
As they ate their salads, Debbie and Cheyenne continued to talk—with occasional comments from Tucker—about the exotic places they’d visited. Debbie had traveled much more extensively than their guests. Yet Cheyenne’s tone remained boastful while Debbie’s held a note of gratitude for being able to experience so many amazing places.
Austin had never been interested in traveling the world, but the awe with which Debbie described the Parthenon, the Egyptian pyramids, and the Incan ruins made him want to visit those places. With her.
After Amy brought out the main dish of filet mignon, Debbie shifted the topic of the conversation. “Tucker, what kind of work do you do?”
Austin focused on the delicious food in front of him and partially tuned out Tucker for the next twenty minutes while the man talked about working for an international consulting firm. The kind that often dismantled struggling businesses only to put them back together again, but costing thousands of people their jobs in the process.
For the first time, Austin noted that they were eating from fine china and drinking from crystal goblets. Debbie really had pulled out all the stops tonight.
As Tucker continued to drone on about all the companies he’d worked with throughout the world, Austin found correlations between Tucker’s work and the cities Cheyenne boasted about visiting.
She travels with him.
They may have traveled all over the world, but they hadn’t paid their own expenses. Tucker may make good money doing what he does, but Austin doubted he had the kind of wealth Debbie did.
For some reason, that pleased him.
He almost laughed out loud when Amy brought out thick slices of chocolate cake for dessert. The same decadent cake Debbie served him the first time he came to talk to her. Was that really only two weeks ago?
So much had happened over the past couple of weeks that he felt like Debbie had always been a part of their lives. Warmth spread through his chest, and he sucked in a deep breath. He couldn’t lose sight of the fact that there were too many major differences between them.
Remembering Debbie’s reaction the last time she ate this cake, he watched her face as she took her first bite.
She didn’t disappoint him. Her eyes drifted close, and she hummed a soft, “Mmm.”
He was still staring at her when she opened her eyes again. She turned to find him watching her. She grinned, and her lashes dipped, hooding her eyes. He couldn’t decide whether she looked guilty or embarrassed, but she definitely looked adorable.
His gaze focused on a speck of frosting on her lip. The urge to kiss it off swept over him. He tightened his grip on his fork to keep himself from reaching out and pulling her into his arms.
“So, Debbie, how many servants do you have?” Cheyenne’s high-pitched voice broke the spell Debbie had over Austin.
He dropped his fork and balled his hands into fists. The fork landed on his plate with a clatter.
Could the woman be any more inappropriate?
Tucker’s face colored as he gave a tight smile. He leaned toward his wife again. “That’s none of our business, honey.”
Austin was so fed up with Cheyenne, he wanted to kick her and Tucker out. But it wasn’t his house. However, Debbie said he should act like this was his home.
