Page 86 of Calamity Rayne Knocked Up

I frowned. “Who’s Leilani, and why is she falling?”

“It’s a private island,” Hale explained. “The winning team gets it for the year. Sort of like a timeshare.”

“Well, that’s neat.” I liked islands. “Are you any good? I’m assuming the island’s nice.”

“It’s gorgeous,” Phina said. “Just outside of Bora Bora. Remember the year we had it? That was the best winter.”

“The year you were caught with the Tahitian groundskeeper?”

“Shut up, Barrett.” Phina smiled nervously at Xander, but he showed no reaction to Barrett’s comment. “You’re such a jerk,” she hissed at her brother.

My dinner was delicious, but it bothered me that Marta wasn’t here for me to thank her. “Excuse me.” Like the wave at a baseball game, all the men stood when I stood. “Oh. I, uh…” I hitched a thumb over my shoulder. “I just need to check on something in the kitchen.”

“What is it, Meyers? One of the servants will get it for you.”

“It’s okay.” I left my napkin on my seat and left the formal dining room before anyone else could stop me.

When I pushed through the kitchen door I was greeted by laughter that quickly silenced. Raoul looked up and Marta’s smile shifted to concern. “Niña, do you need something?”

Hugo was eating with them. So I sat down. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Your dinner is okay?”

“My dinner is flippin’ delicious, Marta. I’m already fantasizing about the leftovers.”

She hugged me tight and kissed my head. “Good! You’re finished already?”

“No, but you guys were inhere, and I wanted to say hi.”

The three of them looked at me like I was crazy.

“Rayne?” Hale appeared in the doorway and frowned. “What are you doing?”

“I was just checking on Marta and Raoul and Hugo.”

Marta dropped her gaze, but the men watched Hale. “Your dinner’s getting cold.”

The seating arrangement bothered me more than anyone else, including Marta. I sighed. Sometimes, I hated etiquette.

Kissing Marta’s dark hair, I hugged her again. “Thank you for cooking for me. The bean is very happy.”

She patted a loving hand on my belly. “De nada, Niña. Me alegro que el bebe este feliz.Now, go back where you belong.”

I followed Hale back to the dinner table. When I entered the dining room, all the men stood again, and I blushed. Getting up sure caused a stir around here.

My mom kept the conversation going at Remington’s end of the table while the men mainly discussed social policy and upcoming land interests. By the time I finished eating, I was ready for sweatpants and a blanky, but this group had other plans.

The men went to the parlor for morecordials and cigars. I sent Hale along, because Elara was with his mom and I could tell he wanted some manly time after baking pies all afternoon. The smell of smoke was seeping through the house and making me nauseous, so I took a blanket and moved outside to the front porch, where the air was fresher.

Rocking on the porch swing, I leaned my head back and sighed. The sky was a perfect golden glow at sunset and I was too comfortable to move inside once it got dark.

The glowing cherry of a cigar blazed in the distance, and I sat up, realizing I wasn’t alone. A plume of smoke drifted through the air and Xander appeared.

“We have to stop running into each other like this.”

I smiled tightly. “I needed some air. The smoke was getting to me.”

He glanced at his cigar and pinched off the tip, extinguishing it. “Do you mind if I join you?”

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