Doctor Mills wrapped a possessive arm around a lovely woman who looked earthy, eccentric, and completely bewildered in her round glasses, peasant garb, and Birkenstocks. She had a smudge of pink paint on her tan cheek, and her waist-length, curly brown hair, which was held out of her face with a green plastic headband, looked completely untamable. She fit in with the black-tie crowd almost as well as Eric would have. Rebekah instantly loved her.
"And that sweetheart with him is the highly underrated mixed media artist, Gwen Mills, also known as my mom." Gwen must have known someone was talking about her, because her head swiveled in their direction, and her entire face lit up with delight when she noticed her son. Trey's parents headed in their direction. Isaac tried to hide behind a drapery.
"Did you find someone to talk to?" Dr. Mills asked and extended a hand in Rebekah's direction.
"Yeah, small world," Trey said. "This is Rebekah, Sinners' temporary soundboard engineer. I told you about her. Dave's little sister."
Dr. Mills' expression turned serious. "How's your brother?"
She smiled at his concern and shook his hand. "Not mobile yet, but working on it. It takes more than a broken neck to keep him down."
"And I just found out that she's Eric's fiancée," Trey added. "Check out her new rock."
Gwen took Rebekah's free hand in hers and shook it up and down vigorously. "That boy needs a nice girl to look after him. Good for you!"
"And tonight she's pretending to be Isaac's girlfriend," Trey added, "so mum's the word. Wouldn't want to make dear Isaac uncomfortable."
Trey grabbed Isaac by the arm and pulled him out from behind the gauzy drape. Scowling, Isaac shoved him.
"Don't worry," Trey said. "I already told them all about you."
Isaac turned green. "All about me?"
"Well, not that sexy little noise you make when-" Trey bit his lip. "Never mind."
"It's not healthy to pretend to be something you're not," Dr. Mills said to Isaac. Being Trey's father, the guy had to be incredibly open-minded. Or totally clueless.
Isaac sidled toward the drapery again.
Trey's head turned as he tracked a gorgeous cocktail waitress distributing champagne to guests. "I just wanted to say hey. I'll leave you two pretend lovebirds alone." He dashed off without another word and walked directly in front of the waitress. Startled, she almost dropped her tray of drinks as she skidded to a halt. With a twirl, Trey somehow managed to catch the tray in one hand and press the disoriented woman against his length with the other. "Careful," he said in that low voice that made knees go weak. Rebekah was immune by now, but the waitress sagged against him, her eyes wide, her lips slightly parted as she gawked at him.
Rebekah rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"That son of yours … " Dr. Mills muttered under his breath.
"Oh sure, he's my son when he's chasing skirts," Mrs. Mills said, "but yours when you need to impress your shallow clients. Your son, the famous electric guitarist."
"My sons, the famous electric guitarists," Dr. Mills corrected. "Your sons, the notorious skirt chasers."
"They don't get it from me."
Dr. Mills chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. "I stopped chasing skirts after I found the right one."
Rebekah smiled, hoping she and Eric still shared that kind of affection after thirty years of marriage, and looked over to see how Isaac was taking Trey's continual indiscretions.
Isaac had vanished. The floor-to-ceiling window behind his favorite drape was opened. Had he honestly snuck outside through the open window? Rebekah sighed and rubbed her forehead to stave off a threatening headache. She really didn't need this right now. She already wanted to go home. She had enough drama to deal with in her own life, thank you very much.
A shadow crossed Rebekah's face. "There you are, Rebekah. So good to see you again. Where'd did Isaac run off to?" Isaac's father asked. The man looked nothing like Isaac. Where Isaac was graceful and handsome, Dr. Crandall was shaped like a barrel and had a protruding forehead demarcated by a wild eyebrow. Yes, eyebrow. Singular. The man had apparently never been introduced to tweezers. He sniffed his red, bulbous nose and swiped a hand over his receding hairline. Isaac definitely took after his mother.
"I think he's in the restroom," Rebekah lied.
"As soon as he gets back, tell him to find me so we can make his big announcement." Something caught his attention behind her. He smiled, showing yellowed teeth. "Oh good, your parents are here now. I'll go say hello."