Luscious(22)

She’d fit in. Ever since that night at the play party, Macon’s relatives had treated her like one of their own. She was closest to Serena, but she was getting to know Grace and Charlotte and Avery. She and Avery were trying to teach Eve McKay how to knit. The gorgeous psychologist knew how to curse, but she was trying to be patient.

What would they think of her if they knew she was lying?

“Hello?” A soft feminine voice brought Ally out of her thoughts. She looked up and a stunning blonde stood in the lobby. She was tall and willowy, like she’d stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Dressed in a yellow sundress that had to be designer, she glanced around Top curiously.

Serena and Deena were deeply engrossed in a discussion of whether or not the GPS could easily be hacked via cell phone, so Ally stood up. “I’m sorry. We’re not actually open to the public until Friday.”

The woman laughed. “Oh, I’m not here for dinner. I’m sure it’s a fine establishment and all, but no. I’m looking for my husband. I’ve been told he works here.”

Who among the guys was married? Most of the line chefs were single. “What’s your husband’s name? I’ll go in the back and get him.”

Somehow, she couldn’t imagine any of the rough-and-tumble guys who worked here being married to the supermodel. She was the graceful type who screamed money and good breeding. She wasn’t the type who married dudes who ended up in the military unless they were officers.

“Macon Miles,” she said with a smile.

“Holy shit.” Serena was suddenly at her side. “Are you Elise?”

Elise Miles. Macon’s ex-wife was standing right here in the middle of Top looking like an angel. Every hair was perfectly placed, her makeup artful but not overdone. She was wearing a pair of five-inch heels that would have caused Ally to break her neck, but naturally Elise Miles walked perfectly in them. She kind of floated across the tile.

She held out a manicured hand. “Why, yes, I am. I see Macon’s talked about me.”

“Only using four letter words,” Ally said with a frown.

Serena elbowed her. “I’ve seen a picture. My husband had a picture from your wedding. I believe Macon sent it to him back before Adam was cut off from the family.”

“Yes, I’d heard Adam had married. It’s so good that he finally realized he could be normal,” Elise said.

Jake chose that moment to step out of the men’s room where he’d been fixing a leaky sink. He walked right up to Serena and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’m going to grab a beer, baby. Tell Adam I’m out back when he gets here with Tristan.”

Serena smiled. “Jake, don’t you want to meet Elise?”

He shrugged. “Sure, who’s Elise?” He turned to the newcomer and his eyes went wide. “Holy shit.”

“That’s what I said. She’s happy Adam’s finally normal,” Serena said under her breath.

That brought a snort from Jacob Dean. “Yeah, we’re the most normal threesome here. I’m going to go make a phone call. Nice to meet you. Looking forward to the drama.”

Jake practically ran into the kitchen.

“Well, is someone going to get my husband? I need to speak with him.” Elise’s shoe tapped impatiently.

“Ex.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re divorced. Macon is your ex-husband.” Ally couldn’t stand the way the beauty queen possessively called Macon her husband. “The last he heard, you were busy getting ready to marry his brother.”

The angel’s eyes turned cold and narrowed as she looked down at Ally. “That was a mistake and absolutely none of your business. Look, I can tell from your sad waitress eyes that you have a thing for my husband, and maybe he’s even given you hope that you can be with him, but I’m telling you to step aside. This isn’t going to go your way. That man has been mine since we weren’t even old enough to drink. I get that I hurt him and he’s been slumming, but I assure you, he’ll go home with me.” She looked up and a glorious smile crossed her lips. “Hey, babe. You look good.”

Ally turned and there was Macon looking all hot and masculine in his chef’s whites and khaki slacks. He stood in the doorway, a hand on his hip. “You look here. Why are you here, Elise?”

At least he wasn’t melting at the sight of her. He was frowning, but he looked more confused than angry. He didn’t look at Ally at all. There was no welcoming smile on his lips, nothing at all that would calm her down. He only had eyes for his ex.

“I need to talk to you.” Elise’s eyes picked up the light and there was no way to miss the shimmer of tears there. “It’s been a long time.”

Macon kept frowning, but he nodded toward a table in the back. “All right. Come on.”

Elise’s heels didn’t even clack across the floor. It was like the woman didn’t weigh a thing. No pair of her shoes would ever be so gauche as to thud or squeak when she wasn’t actively trying to make the sound. Oh, no. Not Princess Elise.

Serena put a hand on her arm. “It’s all right. He’s only going to talk to her.”

Ally hoped she looked absolutely nothing like she felt. She felt like picking up a chair and bashing it over Princess Elise’s blonde head. Instead, she simply shrugged. “Of course.”

She noticed Jake and Big Tag walking out of the kitchen. They each had a beer in hand and each man was carrying a tiny infant girl. It looked like Charlotte was still out shopping. They sat at a table across the room from Macon and his former bride, but they didn’t even try to hide their curiosity.

“Kala, this is what’s called drama. This is what we live for, baby girl.” Ian tipped his beer back. “Way better than TV.”

Jake frowned and looked down at his identically dressed infant. “How do you know which one is which?”

“A father always knows,” Big Tag said. “Also, I marked this one with a Sharpie. See, it looks like a tiny mole right behind her ear. That’s Kala.”

Serena gasped. “Ian Taggart, that’s horrible.”

He shrugged. “Nah, what’s horrible is I’m trying to figure out a way to make it permanent. Is it illegal to tattoo a baby?”

“Yes,” Serena and Ally managed to say at the same time.

Big Tag shook his head. “It’s nothing. It’s not like I’m putting a skull and crossbones on her. It’s a miniscule dot so neither one of these girls can pull one over on the old man.” He pointed to the baby in Jake’s arms. “Yeah, I’m looking at you, Kenz. I see how you roll over and try to pretend to be Kala. I’m not blind. Daddy sees everything. Including how you look at that Tristan kid. Stay away from him.”

“Ian, she’s eight weeks old,” Serena pointed out. “Tristan recently turned one. I hardly think they’re planning to date.”

“Yeah, well, it’s never too early to start. I know what your boy’s going to think. He’s going to think Mom didn’t have to pick, why should I, and then suddenly my sweet baby girls are in some weirdo relationship where they have to worship the boy.”

Jake flipped him off but smiled down at Kenzie. “Don’t listen to your father. Tristan’s going to be a gentleman. Ooo, what do you think she said?”

Macon’s hands were in fists on the table, his back ramrod straight.

Finally he was showing a little anger. She could deal with anger.

“It’s all right,” Serena said, giving her a half hug as they watched the table. “He’s going to tell her to go any minute now and then everything will be right back to normal.”

“I have to be reasonable.” Ally said the words as though saying them would calm her. They didn’t really.

“Oh, what’s the fun in that?” Big Tag asked.

“Ignore him. He lives for this kind of thing,” Serena said, glaring at the big guy. “There’s absolutely no reason to get upset. He didn’t invite her here.”

“But he knew she was probably on her way,” Jake said.

“What?” That was completely news to her.

Jake winced, like he knew he’d screwed up. “Sorry. Uhm, Adam told him on Sunday that it was a distinct possibility, but I don’t think Macon really gave a damn.”

He’d known for days that his ex-wife might show up and he hadn’t mentioned it? Was he happy to see her? Was the whole angry thing only for show? Maybe he wanted to have the upper hand. Elise was right. They had been together for most of their adult life, though Macon had been in combat for a good portion of their marriage. Did he want to give it another shot?

“He certainly doesn’t care about her anymore,” Jake said quickly. “I’m sure of that.”

“Well, it sure looks like she cares about him,” Big Tag said. He bounced his daughter gently as she gurgled up at him and tugged on his shirt. “That, baby girl, is what we guys call manipulation. You see when a woman wants a man to do something, sometimes she strokes his hand like she’s stroking another part of his anatomy he really wants stroked. She often doesn’t really go through with this, but some guys are dumbasses.”