Chapter 30
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— Bea —
“You came for the kids,” Lilac said, not quite a question.
“Of course I came for the kids,” I confirmed, clutching the wrapped presents like a shield. “Knox and Luca invited me personally. I wasn’t going to disappoint them.”
Lilac studied me with that look she had — the one that saw too much. She was enormous. Eight months pregnant with more twins, leaning against the doorframe of the clubhouse like the building was holding her up rather than the other way around. One hand rested on her belly, fingers spread wide over the fabric of a dress that had clearly been chosen for the single purpose of fitting.
“And the fact that Holden will be here?”
“Irrelevant.”
“Bea —”
“I’m here for the twins’ birthday. That’s all.” I squared my shoulders and walked into the clubhouse before she could push further.
The main room had been transformed. Streamers and balloons in blue and green—the boys’ favorite colors. A cake shaped like a motorcycle sat on the bar, surrounded by presents. Brothers milled around, some looking distinctly uncomfortable in party hats, others throwing themselves into the festivities with surprising enthusiasm. A couple of the club girls had set up behind the bar. One was serving drinks; the other was nowferrying platters out of the kitchen. Lilac had mentioned they’d come in early to help with the cooking. It gave the whole room a different energy. Bigger, louder, more like a real party.
It was smaller than last year’s party. I’d been invited to that one, too, but I’d been out of town the weekend it happened. Lilac had told me about it—the bouncy castle, the mechanical bull, the fake tattoo station, Colt going so far over the top that she’d stood at the edge of the compound and run out of words. This year Colt had been instructed to scale back, which apparently meant no bouncy castle, and a face-painting station instead of fake tattoos because, according to Lilac, “I’m not dealing with another round of angry parents at school pickup.”
I could see the restraint was costing him. Colt stood near the food table with his arms crossed, scanning the party like a man mentally cataloging everything that could go wrong. Every few seconds his gaze drifted to Lilac, tracking her movement through the room, and his whole body angled toward her without seeming to realize it.
“Sit down,” he called across the room.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re on your feet.”
“I’m aware of what I’m on, Colt.”
Betty appeared from behind the food table carrying a plate stacked with sandwiches cut into triangles. She set them down, wiped her hands on her apron, and aimed a look at Colt that could have stopped traffic.
“Let the woman walk. She’s pregnant, not incapacitated.”
“She’s pregnant withtwo—”
“Women have been doing this since the dawn of time, and Lilac’s done it before. She’s got a doctor, a midwife, and a retired nurse in this room. If she needs to rest, she’ll rest. Now make yourself useful with the lemonade.”
Colt shut his mouth. Betty gave him a look that said she’d meant every word, then noticed me standing near the entrance and her face changed entirely—warm, open, the Betty I remembered from Lilac’s stories and the few times I’d met her at family events.
“Bea, sweetheart. Come in. Don’t stand there holding those like they’re going to bite you.”
She crossed the room, took the presents from my arms before I could protest, then set them on the gift table, and squeezed my elbow—brief, firm, the kind of touch that saidI see you and you’re welcome herewithout requiring a response.
“The boys have been asking about you all morning,” she said. “Knox informed me at breakfast that if Miss Bea didn’t come, the whole party was off.”
I had to swallow twice before I could speak. “He said that?”
“He did. And Luca backed him up, which as you know is the real endorsement.” She glanced toward the pool table. “Go on. They’re over there with their uncle.”
I followed her gaze and found them.
Holden was at the pool table with the boys. Knox was lining up a shot while Luca watched from the other side, already planning his next move. Holden leaned against the table with his cue, waiting his turn.
Knox took the shot. The cue ball connected, sending a striped ball rolling toward the corner pocket. It dropped in, and Knox erupted in cheers.
