Secretly pleased, she whispered back, “Fair warning—if you ever call me ‘your little Gwen,’ I’m stabbing you in the leg with a pickle fork.”
Peyton sat in a high chair between them, happily gurgling away on a ring of rubber keys. Jonathon smiled and their eyes met over Peyton’s head. For that moment—with Helen spewing utter nonsense at the end of the table, surrounded by her family with all their ridiculous eccentricities—she felt a bone-deep connection to Jonathon. Somehow, being with him made all of this—this weird family stuff she was having to deal with—seem more manageable. Yes, her family was overbearing, controlling, borderline obsessive. But for the first time, she felt strong enough to handle it. Because he was here with her.
That’s when it hit her. She loved him.
This newfound feeling of being at peace with her family—hell, with the whole world—was due to him. Having him in her corner made her believe that she was capable of anything.
Wendy shook her head, rattled by the sudden—and damn scary—insight. At the head of the table, Helen said something that she must have intended to be funny, because she gave a tittering laugh. Peyton let out a loud squawk of protest. To calm her down, Wendy reached a hand over to pat her on the back. From the other side, Jonathon did the same and their hands touched. For an instant, they both stilled. Then Jonathon brushed his thumb across the back of her hand. Such a simple gesture, but the first time he’d voluntarily touched her since they’d had sex at the office.
A feeling of calm swept over her. They were going to be all right. Sure, they’d have some tough times ahead, but they could work through them. She was pretty sure. She tried to keep her smile to herself, but didn’t quite manage it.
But then she glanced at Jonathon and realized he’d gone stone still. His gaze was pinned to a woman by the door. She was dressed simply in worn jeans and a T-shirt. Her hair was long and dark, with an inch-thick gray streak arcing over her forehead. She looked both earthy and beautiful. And her eyes were the exact same shade as Jonathon’s.
“Oh, good!” Helen clapped her hands. “You must be Jonathon’s sister, Mary. It’s nice to meet after all the emails exchanged.”
“Marie,” the woman said, her gaze sweeping over the cluster of tables that now dominated Cutie Pies.
“I was afraid no one from Jonathon’s family would make it.” Helen made a grand show of bustling over to Marie. She hesitated, as if trying to figure out how to give Marie a welcoming hug without actually touching the other woman. She settled on giving an air kiss in the vicinity of Marie’s cheek. “Welcome to the family.”
Marie arched a brow, practically sneering her derision.
Wendy liked her instantly.
Unfortunately, it was obvious that Jonathon did not feel the same way.
Marie had never liked rich people. Of course, under these circumstances, Jonathon couldn’t blame her. Helen was pretentious and obnoxious. She clearly thought she was better than Marie—probably better than everyone in the whole town—and she didn’t bother to hide it.
Jonathon wasn’t surprised that after all these years, Marie could still get her nose bent out of shape so easily. He also wasn’t surprised that she was the only one in his family who would bother to show up. Family was everything to Marie. Even for family that had long ago deserted her.
Still it was obvious she didn’t want to be there, in everything from the way she ordered nothing but tea, to the generous space she managed to wedge between her seat and the others near her.
Helen seemed doggedly determined to ignore the tension that hung over the table.
“So, Marie,” Helen said brightly. “Tell us what you do.”
Marie shot an annoyed look at Jonathon, as if he was somehow to blame for the inquisition. “I stay at home with my kids.”
“Oh,” was all Helen could say.
“What, you don’t think that’s real work?”
“No. I—” Helen fumbled for an answer. Jonathon couldn’t help but enjoy her discomfort. After all, she had it coming. “I stay at home with my children myself. I know what a big job it is.”
Beside him, Wendy snorted into her iced tea, trying to hide her laughter and keep from spewing her drink. Hadn’t Wendy said Helen’s kids went to boarding school?
Wendy stepped in to rescue Helen before she made an even bigger ass of herself. “Marie, will more of Jonathon’s family be able to make it to the reception tomorrow? We’d love to meet his parents.”
Marie shot him a confused frown. “Our dad died when Jonathon was in high school.”