Page 6 of A Crane Family New Year

An aggressive breeze caused them to quicken their steps to an enormous red front door, which was opened by a formal butler wearing pristine white gloves.

“Rich people, am I right?” Jaylyn snorted as she stepped inside ahead of him. Zander offered the butler a nod of apology, but the other man’s rigid upper lip didn’t so much as twitch.

“Takes one to know one,” he muttered to Jaylyn as he followed her inside. Her pointing out that their cousins were rich was the epitome of the pot calling the kettle black. Octavius Crane’s children might not be running a hotel chain that spanned the globe, but none of them had worried about money growing up, or now.

Zander handed off his long, black wool coat to the coat check attendant. Jaylyn followed suit and then began fussing over Zander’s bowtie for the fourth time tonight. Well, Eli’s bowtie.

He wondered if Eli and Isabella had arrived yet…

Isabella was at least four inches taller than Chloe, which made Chloe wonder just how short her loaner dress would have been if Isa had worn it instead.

Tugging on the hemline as she walked next to Isa and Eli, Chloe considered, and not for the first time, keeping her coat on tonight. The puffer jacket was far from appropriate for a swanky Crane party but would at least keep her from accidentally flashing unsuspecting guests.

She gaped at the Crane mansion as she stepped carefully along the stone path. Opulence was the only word that sprang to mind. Reese and Merina’s home was massive, with a fountain out front and a cobblestone driveway. It wasn’t hard to imagine colorful flowers in the gardens and the adjacent fountain bubbling and splashing happily in the summer sunshine.

The porch was adorned with pine garland—real, from the looks of it—and fat red and gold bows. Each window lining the front of the house glowed warm yellow thanks to battery-operated candles perched inside on the sills.

They checked their coats—Chloe had lost the argument to hide beneath it with Isa on the ride over—and then Eli, Chloe and Isa on each of his arms, led them into the formal dining room off the foyer. The room was large and ornately decorated in gold and silver, a pair of doors leading into another room where a band played fancy-party-appropriate music.

Twenty-five to thirty guests mingled in this room alone, not enough to congest the space. No, rather than bodies, the room was choked with the air of money. Chloe could practically smell it.

“Bro!” The loud bellow came from Tag Crane, youngest of the Crane crew. He hadn’t changed much since Chloe had first met him. Towering at six-five, caramel-colored hair down to nearly his elbows, he was impossible to miss. He grinned around a neatly trimmed beard and then enveloped Isa in a bear hug. “Hey, sis.”

Isa’s “hello” was muffled as she embraced her brother-in-law.

“You are too refined for my grouchy brother,” Tag concluded. “How’s my nephew?”

“Sleeping better than he was last week. And he’s home with a sitter, which makes me feel like I should be home with him instead of here.” Isa offered a guilty-mom smile.

Tag leaned in, a twinkle in his eye. “You gotta let ’em go sometime, Cap’n.” When his blue gaze landed on Chloe, she clenched her knees together so that she didn’t lose strength in them. He was married but also charming, tall, and gorgeous. His potency was undeniable.

“You remember my friend, Chloe,” Isa introduced. “President of Sable Concierge.”

“President. Damn.” Tag’s brows rose.

“I do what I’ve always done.” Chloe offered a headshake of humility.

“And of course I remember Chloe. She can put tequila away like a champ.” He leaned in and brushed her cheek with a soft, bearded kiss. “You look beautiful in silver. Where have you been hiding those legs?”

Chloe felt her cheeks grow warm. She opened her mouth to explain that the dress was borrowed when Tag’s wife joined their little circle.

“Ignore him.” Rachel looped her arm around his muscular biceps. “He’s incorrigible, and it’s worsening with age.”

“I’m not wrong. Look at her.” He gestured to Chloe.

Rachel sized her up. “He’s not wrong. You look stunning, Chlo.”

“It’s Isa’s dress, and it’s terribly short.”

“It’s perfect, and you clearly have the body to wear it.” Rachel traded Tag’s arm for Chloe’s and, like her husband had a moment ago, pressed a kiss to Chloe’s cheek. “I love your hair like this. All those luscious waves. Hell, I might kiss you at midnight.”

“I get the first kiss from you, Dimples,” Tag stated, one eyebrow high on his forehead. “She can have the one after that.”

Chloe laughed. They were too much. She’d become more acquainted with Rachel and Merina over the last year. Isa had included Chloe in a few girls’ nights out. The other two ladies hadn’t quite made it onto a text loop on her phone, but it was nice to know that Rachel had accepted her.

“I will take all the kisses I can steal since I won’t be drinking.” Rachel smoothed her hand over her very round, pregnant belly. Tag and Rachel were expecting their first. “Two weeks to go.”

“I’m so excited!” Isa clapped her hands, her gold dress shimmering in the warm chandelier lighting. True to her style, she had worn a form-fitting dress that hugged each one of her hairpin-turn curves. Chloe’s loaner dress was a sheath with long sleeves and a billion sparkling crystal beads.

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