“You know what I mean. He’s the reason I met your family. If he hadn’t sent you those tickets, I wouldn’t have been with you in Sydney on the night Henry was taken to the hospital. Meeting the McLachlans set our whole arrangement into a different motion—it changed everything. Mr. Brees has no idea but he may very well be behind me becoming your wife.”
“Wow. Here I was thinking all this time that I was the reason you became my wife.”
I roll my eyes. “Ha ha.”
“All joking aside. You have no reason to worry about Bianca. She knows you’re my wife and I’m not interested in her.”
I hate looking like the jealous wife. It’s not an attractive look for anyone, but I’d choose it over the naïve, played wife any day. “I’ll cool my jets because I trust you but let’s be clear about one thing. She makes one false move—one—and she’s gone.”
He grasps my hand and brings it to his mouth for a kiss. “Anything you say, babe.”
We arrive at Henry and Margaret’s a couple hours before my party. Jack Henry plants himself in the living room with his dad so he can check out the score of some game on TV. Suits me. I want to talk to Chloe about Ben, so I go into the kitchen. I see my chocolate cake on the counter and have an incredible urge to grab a fork. “Someone is eyeing that dessert very intently.”
“I’ve been craving this cake since the last time we were here. I almost called to beg you for one last week. I was willing to drive four hours to pick it up.”
“You should’ve called me. I would’ve made one and brought it to you.” Margaret’s grinning. I’m sure she’s assuming I have this special craving for a particular reason, but I don’t. I think it’s just a delicious cake and I didn’t get enough of it before.
I can tell Chloe is processing this conversation. “I’ve seen that same reaction from some of the people at the restaurant and they’re always pregnant. Think you could be?”
Margaret knows we’re trying but I’m not ready to go there with the rest of the family. And yet I don’t want to lie to Chloe. She’s my sister-in-law, and also a good friend, but I don’t want to say anything to spur more questions. I shrug, attempting to appear nonchalant. “Not that I’m aware of.” I walk over to take a look at what she’s preparing—and change the subject. “What did you decide to go with?”
The birthday girl, or boy, always get to choose the meal. I couldn’t come up with anything that sounded great so I told Chloe to choose for me. “My version of chicken and biscuits. I thought you might like it since it’s sort of similar to your southern cuisine.”
“That sounds so good. I need a huge glass of sweet tea to go with it.”
“Done. Jack told me you’d want that rather than wine so I gave it a try.” Smooth one, McLachlan. You got me out of having to refuse alcohol.
She takes out a pitcher from the fridge and pours some over ice. “Try this and tell me if it’s sweet enough for you.”
It’s really good. “You nailed it. Tastes just like Nanna’s.”
“It tastes like syrup to me but Jack said it had to be really sweet.”
“He knows me well.”
Margaret leaves the kitchen saying she wants to check on the game’s score. She gave me a wink when she said it so I’m certain she has an agenda—to quiz Jack Henry on how the baby-making efforts are going since she can’t ask me in front of Chloe.
“How are things with Ben?”
“Really good. I know Jack hates him but I like Ben a lot. He treats me well—better than any of the other losers I’ve dated lately.” She gets a giddy look on her face. “It’s crazy, Laurelyn. It’s only been a little over a month since we started dating but I think … I think he could be the one.”
I never thought Ben was a bad guy. He just got a little zealous when Jack Henry started swinging his weight around. Honestly, I think he liked the challenge Jack Henry presented more than he liked me. “It’s not crazy at all. I knew very soon after I started dating your brother that Jack Henry was the only man I’d ever love.”
“Ben’s perfect for me, although I never thought I’d want to be with someone in the business. They don’t make the best family men.” She looks up at me and scrunches her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Jack has changed because of you and he’d never be absent like Dad.”
“It’s fine. I know what you mean … but you should probably be prepared for your brother to cause problems. He’s not happy about your relationship.”
“I don’t care. His approval isn’t a requirement for me to be happy.”
“I’ll work on him.”
Chloe comes over to give me a hug. “I’d appreciate that. I say I don’t care if he approves, but that’s not the truth. I want him to accept Ben.”
“I think he will in time. All of this is still fresh. Be patient with him.”
She puts a baking dish in the oven, sets the timer, and then comes back to sit with me at the bar. A huge grin spreads across her face. “This isn’t something I could say to Addison but I’ve been dying to tell someone.” She giggles before leaning over to whisper, “Ben is supremely fucklicious.” She groans. “Mmm … the man is damn good at what he does.”
Okay. So, I don’t have to ask if they’re having sex—not that I would anyway. “It certainly helps when it’s good, doesn’t it?”
“Oh yeah. No man has ever done to me the things he does. I just thought I was having good sex before. But umm … no. Is that how American men are?”
“I only had one sexual relationship before Jack Henry, and it was terrible, so I think you lucked out with Ben being … supremely fucklicious. It has nothing to do with him being American.”
She’s wearing a shocked expression. “Laurelyn. You only had one sexual partner before my brother?” Her eyes are huge. “You were almost a virgin when you met him. I bet he fucking loved that.”
“Actually, he hates it. He wishes I hadn’t had the one.”
“I can totally see that; he’s a greedy bastard. But you’re his wife so I guess he’s supposed to feel that way.”
Jack Henry comes into the kitchen to grab a beer. “Smells good in here, sis.” We both go silent and he knows he’s interrupted something. “What are you up to in here?”