Oh, God. Cow. “Um, are you sure he won’t mind—”
Brent waved a hand. “Nah, he won’t care. Just pull up in the flashy Mercedes and we’ll all know it’s you.”
“Yes, um, okay.”
Brent stared at him expectantly. “You wanna take out your phone and get the address down?”
“Oh, yes.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed in the address as Brent gave it to him, still trying to think of a way to get out of this. “And it’s not just family?”
“Nah, we’ll have all kinds of riffraff there. Just swing by. There’ll be food and beer, although I can’t promise sophisticated conversation.”
Spencer smiled at that. “Sophisticated conversation is overrated.”
Brent grinned. “Now you’re talking my language.” He patted Violet on the shoulder. “All right, Princess. Let’s get a move on. Your mom is going to think we got kidnapped.”
Violet giggled and skipped ahead of Brent. “See you tonight, Mr. Spencer!”
ALEX HELD THE bowl of broccoli salad against her chest as she walked toward Cal’s backyard. His house sat on secluded acreage that was perfect for Cal and perfect for backyard barbecues when they sometimes got a little rowdy. Sunday dinners at his place had become a tradition lately, and Alex couldn’t say she didn’t love it. For once, she felt a part of a family—albeit a flawed family with too much testosterone. But it felt like hers nonetheless, and Sunday dinners were a part of that.
She rounded the corner of the house and found Asher and Violet throwing a tennis ball with Honeybear. Jenna and Ivy were drinking beer on chaise lounges and Cal was manning the grill. Brent stood next to him, clearly directing him how to cook while Jack stood nearby, arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face as he occasionally barked orders at his two sons.
Max was there, the youngest Payton, with his fiancée, Lea. Alex had met him only once or twice since he was a teacher in Pennsylvania. He stood with his arm around Lea, watching Honeybear as she twisted in the air to catch the ball. Davis sat next to them in his wheelchair, the beer in his hand resting loosely on his thigh.
A warmth, an unfamiliar but comforting contentment, settled in Alex’s gut. Yeah, this was home.
She set her broccoli salad on a foldout table near the house and walked toward Ivy and Jenna. They were laughing as Alex approached. Ivy looked up, blue eyes bright. “Hey, you.”
“You guys started without me.” Alex pointed toward the beers.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Jenna said, sending the girls into another fit of giggles.
The sound of gravel pinging and loud music sounded from the front of the house. Alex cocked her head as an engine shut off. “Delilah must be here.”
Soon enough, the tiny dynamo bounced around the corner of the house, wearing a large tunic, leggings, and purple platform sandals. “How do you even walk in those?” Alex asked as Delilah strode up to them. Alex noticed her eyes darting toward the man in the wheelchair.
She shoved her sunglasses on top of her head. “I walk better in these than in my bare feet,” Delilah said. “So, what’s to drink?”
“Cooler’s over there.” Jenna pointed. “Take your pick.”
In the next half hour, Gabe showed up with his brother Julian, who immediately paired off with his boyfriend, Asher. A couple of other friends came by, and then Cal hollered that the burgers were ready. Alex sat down at a chair with a full plate on her lap and Delilah settled in beside her, oversize glasses covering her eyes from the setting sun. Alex could still feel Delilah’s gaze on her. “Nice to see you dressed up for the occasion,” Delilah said with a smirk.
Alex stuck a forkful of broccoli salad in her mouth. “My Sunday best.”
Delilah grinned and crossed her legs, tilting her head back to take a huge gulp of beer. Alex owed a lot to the woman next to her. Delilah was a friend of a friend who’d told Alex about the opening at Payton and Sons. Delilah had also employed Ivy, so all around she was aces in Alex’s book.
Plus, girls’ night out was always interesting with Delilah present.
“So I heard your one-night stand is back in town.” Delilah’s glasses were on top of her head now and she eyed Alex.
So the downfall of Delilah was that she loved to gossip.
Alex sighed, pushing around her food, clamping her lips shut so she didn’t correct Delilah that technically it was a two-night stand. Or, a one-night stand plus a fuck on a car.
Jesus.
Alex took a sip of her beer. “You and Ivy are old gossiping biddies.”
“Look, this town never sees action, and the Kardashians are all getting knocked up now. I need entertainment.”
“Del—”
“He’s very attractive in this dark, frowning British way.”
“He doesn’t always frown,” Alex muttered.
Delilah giggled. “I guess not.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Please go on, tell me what he does with his mouth besides frowning.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me and you know it.”
“Don’t you have some man of your own to worry about?”
Delilah waggled her eyebrows. “Worrying about your men is much more fun. Less mess.”
Alex sighed, unwilling to confess about the fuck against his car. “Look, he’s only here in town to work with his friend and her husband—”
Delilah’s eyes widened. “Oh, plot twist!”
“How is that a plot twist?”
“Because he’s in a ménage relationship?”
Alex cackled. “I’m pretty sure he’s not in a ménage.”
Ivy looked concerned. “What if he is? What if that’s, like, a weird New York businessman British thing?”
Delilah tapped her chin. “I think I read about this in a book or something.”
“Oh, stop.” Alex rolled her eyes. “No, you didn’t.”
“What’d you read about?” Jenna stopped in front of their chairs holding a beer bottle in her hand.
“Threesomes in New York,” Delilah said, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to be discussing over a Sunday dinner.
“I feel like I read that too?” Jenna said, her voice rising into a question. “Who was it by?”
Alex was done. “You two are ridiculous.”
Jenna pulled up a chair and sat next to them. “Why are we talking about ménages? Because Cal won’t be into that, Delilah. I guess you could ask Brent and Ivy.”
“How much have you had to drink?” Alex demanded.
Jenna stared at her beer. “Um, a bunch?”
“A bunch of beer?”
Jenna nodded, biting her lip, then dissolved into giggles.
Alex needed to drink more to deal with this. She was about to stand up and grab another bottle when the doorbell rang inside the house. She dropped the burger onto her plate and turned around to peer through the screen door into the house. “Who the hell are the newbies ringing the doorbell?” Alex asked Jenna.
Jenna frowned. “Huh, I don’t know, actually. Maybe Cal invited someone.”
Which made them both laugh. Because Cal didn’t invite anyone.
Jenna went to stand up, but wobbled a little.
Alex rolled her eyes. “Sit down, lightweight. I’ll get the door.”
“I can get it!” Jenna protested.
Alex was already walking into the house. “Too slow!”
She wiped her hands on her jeans and straightened her old, faded Metallica T-shirt. She opened the door, and was about to explain that no one ever knocked on Sundays, but her voice died in her throat.
Spencer stood on the porch, his mouth tight, while Penny and Nick flanked him. Penny was craning her neck behind them to take in the front yard, while Nick looked unimpressed with Cal’s house.
Spencer’s mouth was tight, his shoulders tense. “Um, hello, Alex.”
At the sound of Alex’s name, Penny whipped her head forward. Her smile split her face. “Hello again, Alex.”
Alex just stared, one hand on the door, the other hanging limply at her side. “What’re you doing here?” Which was rude, yeah, but honestly, why the fuck were they there?
Penny lifted her eyebrows but Spencer’s expression didn’t change. He cleared his throat. “I ran into Brent at the grocery store, and he invited us.”
The anger burned in her throat, and she had to count to ten so she didn’t bark at them to leave. All she could think was that Spencer had invaded her sanctuary. Her private, Sunday, family-friendly sanctuary.
He couldn’t have declined? Made up some excuse on why he couldn’t come? She narrowed her eyes a little. “I’m surprised you have time for something like this, what with all the work you have to do while you’re in town.”
A muscle in Spencer’s jaw ticked. “Seems we were able to spare a few hours.”
Penny cleared her throat and held up a paper bag. “We brought dessert, some cupcakes from the bakery outside of town. I hope that’s sufficient?”
Alex hesitated, but this woman didn’t deserve her ire. She took the bag and nodded. “Yes, that’s, uh, very nice of you. You can head down this hallway and out the back door. Everyone’s in the backyard.”
“Come on, Nick,” Penny said, her gaze lingering on Spencer. “Nice to see you again, Alex.” She set off down the hallway, her husband at her heels.