Holly shook her hand and was surprised at how firm the old lady’s grip was. “I’m Holly. I’m—”
“Holly is my girlfriend,” Paul’s voice came from a few yards behind her.
She turned and saw him approach, a big smile on his face. He immediately pulled his great-aunt into a big hug and almost lifted her off her feet. The old lady chuckled.
“So great to see you, Aunt Mirabelle!” he greeted her.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true!” Paul claimed, and released her. Then he nodded to his father. “Dad, how was the drive?”
“Tolerable.”
Mirabelle leaned closer to Paul while glancing at her nephew, Paul’s father. “Your father is a saint. Your mother wouldn’t shut up the entire drive down here. I tell you, I now know the entire menu for the anniversary party, plus the names of all the waiters, the florist, and whoever else is involved in pulling this thing off. Maybe next time I’ll take the train down.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mirabelle,” Paul’s father said softly. He made a dismissive gesture and exchanged a look with Paul. “Your great-aunt is exaggerating as usual. Your mother has so many things on her mind.”
Mirabelle rolled her eyes, then stepped closer to Holly. “So, you’re Paul’s girl.” She looked at Paul. “How did you manage to get this stunning beauty to go out with you? Did you drug her?”
“I assure you that wasn’t necessary.” Paul grinned and put his arm around Holly. “This amazing woman here actually likes me.”
When Paul’s eyes met hers, Holly felt warmth spread in her belly. Yes, she did like him. She liked him very much indeed.
“In that case, you’d better hold on to her. You never know when you’ll be that lucky again.”
Paul laughed. “I have to apologize, Holly, but Aunt Mirabelle has a twisted sense of humor.”
“I think your great-aunt is perfectly fine.” Holly winked at the old woman, feeling an instant connection with her when she smiled back. “And she’s right too. You’re a very lucky guy!”
“Dad, help me out here,” Paul addressed his father dramatically, while pulling Holly closer to his side as if to make sure she knew he was only joking. “I think the women are ganging up on us.”
“You’re only noticing that now, son? Welcome to my world.” Then he stretched his hand out to Holly. “Very nice to meet you, Holly. Call me Brad.”
Holly stepped out of Paul’s embrace to shake his father’s hand. “Nice to meet you too.”
“What’s going on here? Why aren’t you coming out to the terrace to say hello to Olivia and Quentin? Tara is here too. You remember Tara Pierpont, Aunt Mirabelle, don’t you?”
Everybody turned to see Paul’s mother approach. She was alone and had obviously handed off her grandson to somebody else. When her eyes fell on Holly, she appeared displeased. “I said you could go now. We’re watching Jonathan for a few hours. Come back at dinner time to get him ready for bed.”
“Mother!” Paul snapped, making her look at him in surprise.
“What did I say?”
“You just ordered my girlfriend around.” He reached for Holly’s hand. “This is Holly.”
“You brought a girlfriend?”
Holly felt her eyes on her body, as if she were being inspected at a cattle auction—not that she’d ever been to one.
“What about Tara? You can’t have two women here for the week!”
“I didn’t invite Tara. You did. So you’ll entertain her, and I’ll entertain my girlfriend.”
“But you didn’t tell me . . . ”
“I told you at lunch in New York that I’d be bringing Holly this week.”
“But I thought you were just making it up, because you didn’t—”
“—didn’t want you to interfere in my private life?”
Holly could not only see Paul’s anger surging, but his mother’s, too. “I told you I had a girlfriend, so get used to it. I expect her to be treated with respect.”
His mother huffed. “And what do you expect me to do with Tara? I promised her mother—”
“Your problem, not mine! And I’d appreciate it very much if you stopped talking about setting me up with another woman while my girlfriend is right here. Don’t pretend you don’t see her. It’s downright rude, and I thought appearances were so important to you.”