A Wedding on Lilac Lane by Hope Ramsay (best book clubs .txt) 📕

“Frustrating.”

He nodded.

“But you should still go upstairs and give Mom a hug.”

“I will go upstairs and be civil. I promise. Although giving your mother a hug would probably blow her mind.”

“Yeah, probably. But the guests will be here any minute, and we need to be upstairs to greet them.”

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his eyes. He seemed so weary right at that moment that Ella threw caution to the wind and threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him. She’d intended the hug to be sisterly but it morphed into something a whole lot more erotic when he pressed his body against hers.

They stayed that way for too long and didn’t break apart until they heard someone coming down the ship’s ladder. Ella’s face went hot as she turned to find Ashley Scott standing at the base of the ladder giving them both a sober look.

“Y’all should be upstairs with your parents greeting the guests,” she said, then headed for the bar.

Behind her, Jackie, Ashley’s plus-one for the evening, came rushing down the ladder. “Isn’t this cool?” he asked.

“Yeah, it is,” Ella said.

“Oh, wow, chocolate.” The kid’s eyes grew wide as he spied the chocolate fountain in the corner of the salon.

“Help yourself,” Ella said as she turned away from the Scotts and headed up the ladder with Dylan close on her heels. With each step, she started constructing the lie she’d need to cover for what Ashley had seen. It would start with Dylan’s hospitalized patient, which was probably seriously bad karma. But what else could she say if she was confronted?

She couldn’t tell the truth. Not tonight of all nights.

*  *  *

Brenda breathed deeply and told her heart to quit bouncing around her chest. She was supposed to enjoy this event, but things had gotten off to a rocky start. As near as Brenda could see, Ella was doing all the work, and Dylan was along for the ride, probably taking notes and waiting until the right moment to try to create a scene.

And what better place than at this party?

She pasted a reception-line smile on her face. Ashley Scott and her son, Jackie, had been the first to arrive. They hadn’t seemed to notice Ella and Dylan’s absence. So maybe it would be all right. A few more guests came over the gangplank before Ella finally materialized at her elbow, checking names off the RSVP list. Dylan followed her and took up a spot next to his father.

Momma was playing hostess down at the front of the boat, where the ship’s crew was handing out glasses of champagne. Finally, everyone was in place, and for this moment, it looked as if they were one happy family. It was a sham, of course, and Brenda hoped to God they avoided the drama that had blown up Easter Sunday. But just as she started to relax and actually enjoy herself, Jim stiffened noticeably.

The next guest in the informal receiving line was Preston Everly, a former member of the town council and Magnolia Harbor’s newly elected state representative. He’d won a landslide victory in a special election last fall to fill the seat recently vacated by Caleb Tate, who had resigned under a scandalous cloud involving several shady real estate transactions.  Rep. Everly was squeaky clean, had run on a reform platform, and was a longtime member of the Magnolia Harbor Yacht Club.

Brenda had wanted his name dropped from the list, but Ella had told her that Dylan insisted. Evidently, they went way back or something. In the end, Ella had negotiated several names with Dylan, including Rep. Everly’s, and had managed to get Jackie Scott added as a concession for allowing this politician’s name to remain on the list. Ella had become fond of the little boy and hadn’t wanted him to miss out on a cruise.

So that’s what they’d done. But now Brenda wondered if Dylan had put a fast one over on them. If Preston and Jim went way back, why was Jim suddenly so tense? A deep unease welled up in her, and her heart went on another familiar gallop around her chest.

The woman on Rep. Everly’s arm—his wife, Brenda presumed—was the kind of fifty-something woman every female aspired to become. Blond, slim, with chiseled features, and wearing a gorgeous sundress with a pink flower border. Her shoes and bag were probably from some designer, although Brenda never paid any attention to brand names. Expensive-looking diamond rings on her fingers sparkled in the afternoon light as she gripped her husband’s arm.

“Congratulations, man,” Preston said, giving Jim a practiced slap on the back. Boy, the guy had the classic politician’s smile. Were those teeth his own, or had he gotten a full set of implants? They were dazzling.

He turned toward his wife. “I think you know Tammy.”

“Hello, James,” the woman said in a low, husky voice, then turned toward Dylan. “And this is Dylan. The last time I saw you, you were what…?”

“Fifteen,” Dylan said in a curt voice that telegraphed to the world just how much he didn’t want to be there. Could Jim’s son be any more unpleasant if he tried? Not really.

“Meet Brenda.” Jim touched her back and gave her a gentle push forward. When had she taken a step back? She didn’t remember. But she fought against the ridiculous urge to run away from Rep. Everly’s wife.

“Hello, Mrs. Everly,” she said.

The blonde threw back her head and laughed. “Oh no, Preston and I aren’t married. We’re old friends. I’m his plus-one for the evening. Jim and Preston and I go way back to our younger days sailing at the yacht club. I was Julianne’s best friend. We went to Duke together. I was there when she fell for Jim all those years ago.”

Tammy studied Brenda out of a pair of sharp brown eyes and seemed to be totaling things up in her head: the extra fifteen pounds Brenda hadn’t been able to lose for years, the plain gold studs