“You just like the making part,” Dane said coolly.
Vanessa scrunched her face. “Eww.”
He leaned back and steepled his hands over his belly. “Stop over-thinking this. You all have a choice. You can have your children and deal with the fact that whoever Dad marries next is very likely going to be younger than we are. Or you can simply not have any kids and avoid the uncomfortable discussion. See how easy it is?”
“That’s not a choice!”
“Only because you chose to do things out of order.” He stared at her belly meaningfully. She’d gotten pregnant first, then married.
Vanessa turned crimson. “Are you quite finished?”
“Not at all. You should’ve known this would happen when the divorce came about. Dad is not good at being single. He’ll re-marry soon enough, probably to a woman half your age. If that bothers you, you can wait a decade or two before starting a family. Or you can go ahead and teach your kids how the world really works.”
His siblings gaped at him, their mouths hanging open like singularly stupid goldfish.
“Now I’m finished.” Dane got up and left.
* * *
Working things out with Dane at the wedding might not have been the most brilliant idea. Sophia hadn’t realized how hectic and crazy it was going to be at the grove. Then there were the unforeseen family issues. She should’ve known Geraldine would be attending.
The only people who seemed unaffected were Vanessa and Justin’s great-uncle Barron, both of whom had eaten like everything was quite normal. But Sophia hadn’t been able to manage more than a couple of bites, and most everyone else had consumed more alcohol than food from what she could tell.
At least the garden was quiet and peaceful. She needed the respite to think things through.
She spotted another person and stopped. The voluptuous silhouette made it clear who it was: Hilary.
The bride-to-be was alone. She was still in the deep magenta cocktail dress she’d had on at dinner. This is a little weird. Mark seemed so protective of his future wife. Sophia would’ve thought they’d have a walk together.
Should she say hello? Attending the wedding was starting to seem like a bad idea after all. The tension among some of the family members seemed to have intensified because of her, and she didn’t want to upset the bride-to-be any more than she already had.
She’d just decided to slip away between trees when Hilary said, “Hey there.”
All right. No choice now. “Hi.”
“Recharging?”
“Sort of. Yeah.” Sophia walked closer, then rolled her weight back and forth on the balls of her feet. “Sorry about being here and causing”—an awkward shrug—“the situation.”
Hilary snorted. “It’s not you. They would’ve found another reason to fight, especially with Ceinlys divorcing Salazar.”
“Really? You think so?”
“Trust me. I know the family well enough now. You have to focus on what you want and pretend not to hear anything they say.”
“Does that work?”
“Most of the time.” Hilary gave her a rueful smile. “When Salazar told me he was going to bring you, I knew he had other motives.”
“He’s trying to help.”
“He wants to help himself first.” Hilary regarded Sophia thoughtfully. “I’d say he was trying to make Ceinlys jealous, but it only ended up putting you in a difficult situation with Dane.”
“How did you guess?”
“You were at La Mer with him, right? Romantic dinner?”
“News travels fast aroun— Ohh, that’s right. Mark…”
“…owns the restaurant. So which is it? Are you interested in Salazar or Dane?”
Sophia choked. “You’re very blunt.”
“You have to be in this family if you want to get what you want. Everyone is used to getting their way, and if you’re timid, you know, they just roll right over you.” Hilary shrugged. “You have to be fearless to get what you want in life, and if you’re dealing with the Pryce family, you have to be doubly fearless. I almost let my doubts sabotage what I have with Mark, and that would’ve been awful. I hate to even think about it now.”
“I can’t imagine someone as self-assured as you having doubts.”
“Ceinlys was against us being together. She didn’t think it was good for Mark. She wanted him to have an ‘emotionally comfortable relationship.’”
“Which is…what?”
“I know, right? But I guess it makes sense if you have a background like hers.”
“I like Dane.” Was “like” even a good word for what she felt toward him? Frustrated with, crazy about, unable to forget… Those might be better for her complicated emotions. Sophia sighed. “But he’s so hot and cold. There are times when I think he doesn’t even want to be around me, and then there are times he’s amazingly sweet.”