Page 83 of Taming the Boss

“Yeah, we definitely know Maddie. Oh, hey there, little buddy.” Seth grinned at Owen. “You gotta meet Alexander. He’s a few years older than you, and he’s with our dad. So are Laurie and Star and Stella. Star and Stella are Sage and my brother’s kids.” He rolled his eyes. “Well, our dad and his new whatever she is, Cookie. Last we saw them they were buying many things on Founders’ Row.”

I cocked my head. “Is that something new?”

“Just a new way to drum up business for some of the locals.” Seth rolled his eyes again. “Dad insisted Hamilton Realty have a booth there, as well as Sage and Oliver’s Hummingbird’s Nest B&B, but we managed to con other employees into manning them so we could actually enjoy the holiday.”

“Damn straight. Ella is a wonderful woman,” Oliver announced. “She’s one of our chefs. She doesn’t have any kids yet so she was fine with running the booth.”

“Cookie?” Jude echoed, obviously a few steps behind as he rubbed his forehead in a way that indicated he was probably getting a headache. I was currently in information overload myself, and I already knew these people and had for years. Poor Jude had never even met them before.

I had a moment to wish we’d discussed a possible plan of attack before just coming to this public event as if there was any chance in hell they wouldn’t all be here with most of the other families in the Cove. But we hadn’t thought about it. I hadn’t thought about it.

“Is Cookie Mr. Hamilton’s new girlfriend?” I asked, trying to take some pressure off Jude.

“If you can call her that.” Oliver sighed heavily. “We try not to think about it too much.”

At least Reagan had led Owen over to one of the stands that sold glow sticks and he was now clutching two of them, one per hand, waving them in every direction at once.

Thank God, because he’d had enough flux in life already. He didn’t need to be introduced to a whole new huge subset of his family on the same day his mom had re-entered his life—and immediately left yet again.

“At all,” Seth added, holding onto Ally in much the same way Jude was still holding on to me. The difference was Seth and Ally had gone to high school together before getting married much later on, and Jude and I hadn’t known each other for more than a couple weeks.

Even if it felt like much longer.

Sage reached out to take my hand, which she patted as if I was in extreme emotional distress. “Maddie, don’t tell me you got yourself sucked in too. Did you know I dated two of your brothers in high school?”

“What? God, no.” I wanted to hold up a hand before she launched into what was likely to be a blistering diatribe of how one or both of them had done her wrong in some way or another, leaving her no choice but to fall madly in love with—and make babies with—Oliver Hamilton.

Almost everyone in town knew how they’d hooked up and were married in Vegas by an Elvis impersonator. But I wasn’t sure Jude could handle that story without something stronger to drink than the lemonade Seth had just brought him from a neighboring tent. The one he was currently gulping like a man in desperate straits.

“I mean, I kind of knew about you and Moose, but who else?” I asked weakly, thinking I’d likely accrue major good karma points for acting as if I wanted to know.

“Christian too, although to be honest, we never dated. We just, you know.”

“Had sex?” I gasped.

As if on cue, Honey and Christian appeared on the sidewalk, although they had the better part of a block to cover yet since Honey was pushing Jacob in his stroller.

Sage looked at me, aghast, holding a hand to her chest. “Why, Madison Masterson, you very well know I was a virgin until marriage.”

“Um, no, since you were very largely pregnant for the ceremony, turtledove,” Oliver said with a smirk that made her poke him hard in the chest.

“You had deflowered me before, yes, but I have never been with another man but my husband, as you very well know.”

Her indignant reaction made her bestie, Ally, snort. “Everyone knows, Sage.”

“You can’t talk. You were an innocent even longer than I was.” When Ally chose not to respond, Sage leaned toward me, nearly causing her bountiful cleavage to fall from her red, white, and blue dress adorned with flags and fireworks. She must’ve taken the idea of stars and stripes literally. “I just flirted with Christian, by the way. Since I’d dated Moose on and off here and there. On occasion.”

“How can anyone be with only one man forever?” Reagan asked, leading Owen in front of the bench while he continued pinwheeling his arms with his glow sticks. “Oh, hi, Dad,” she said sheepishly as Christian loudly cleared his throat as he, Honey, and Jacob reached us.

I said nothing. I’d been with several, but that didn’t seem like the best conversation to have while Jude was turning green from all the facts he was rapidly learning about his new family.

All at one time.

Not to mention that was not a discussion I wanted to take part in while my brother was lurking nearby, doing his best to not seem like a by-the-book cop though everyone knew he was one.

“So, yeah, we’ve known about you and your sister for some years, Jude,” Oliver said smoothly, clearly looking to change the subject from the topic of his wife’s lady business.

“How did you find out about us? Certainly no one told either of us.” Jude shifted on the bench, giving me a bit more room though he absolutely stayed close. His grip on me relaxed a fraction, though, so I let out a breath.

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