Page 53 of Over the Moon

Was he avoiding me?

“Sweet Eloise, I’m so happy to see you,” Ellie said, as I handed her the bottle of wine. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me so tight, it made my chest squeeze.

This family was so warm and kind, and I’ve never felt so comfortable with people I’d only met a couple of weeks ago.

“Thank you so much for having me. I’ve heard your lasagna is the best.” I squeezed her hand when she pulled back.

“Is Clark bragging about my lasagna?” she chuckled. “It’s his favorite. Such a shame he’s not going to be here. But I’ll wrap some up and have one of you take it to him on your way home.”

“Oh, is he sick?” This is something I should definitely know as his trainer.

“Well, he’s been puking his brains out since yesterday,” Bridger said, walking up beside me. “If it ends up in theTaylor Tea, I’ll assume you passed the information on to your landlord.”

I was still processing his words, but my mind was on Clark. Had he gone out with those women and partied too hard? Had he taken one of them home, or was he really sick? Why was I hoping that he was really sick and not lying in bed with another woman while they both suffered from hangovers? I was an awful person. I actually wanted him to have the flu.

“Her landlord?” Lulu said from behind me, pulling me from my thoughts. “Emilia is her friend. In fact, she’s our friend, too. I like her. We’re starting a book club.”

He let out a loud breath before reaching for his beer bottle on the counter. “Then I’ll expect all the family secrets to be printed every week.”

“Hey, what if we test your theory? You know, we could say something that isn’t true, and see if it gets printed,” Henley said. “And then when it doesn’t get printed, you can drop this vendetta against the poor girl.”

“Oh, are we talking about Cara Carmichael?” Easton said, snatching a carrot stick off the vegetable platter sitting on the kitchen island.

“I wouldn’t call Cara Carmichael a poor girl,” Lulu said, as Rafe came up behind her and handed her a glass of Chardonnay. “Harvey Lawson is easy on the eyes, if you know what I mean.”

“He sure is,” Henley said over her laughter. “He could be George Clooney’s doppelgänger.”

“Please, he’s notthatgood-looking,” Easton and Rafe said at the same time before clinking their beer bottles together.

Keaton asked what I wanted to drink, and he left to get me a glass of wine.

Ellie leaned into the huddle we were standing in. “He really is that good-looking.”

The room erupted in laughter, just as Axel and Archer walked into the kitchen with Melody. Their parents were out of town this weekend, so they weren’t going to be at dinner.

“Why are they giggling, Daddy?” Melody asked, surprising me when she reached for me from her father’s arms.

I scooped her into my arms, settling her on my hip, and she smiled, her little cherub cheeks round and pink. Her hair was tied up in two little buns at the top of her head. She was by far the cutest kid I’d ever met.

“They think Harvey Lawson is good-looking,” Bridger grumped. “That dude always looks like he’s up to something.”

“Well, he is,” Rafe said. “He’s been busy knocking up Cara Carmichael.”

“Isn’t she good friends with Harvey’s daughter?” Easton asked.

“You guys are a bunch of nosy hens,” Ellie said, waving her hand around. “I’ve known Harvey for a long time, and it’s good to see him settling down. He’s a good guy.”

“We’re not the nosy hens,” Easton said, holding his hands up and chuckling. “I didn’t know about him and Cara. I read it in the paper.”

“Correct. You can thank Emilia for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong once again,” Bridger grumped.

“The flower girl, I love her,” Melody said, clapping her hands together.

“You love getting your bouquet, don’t you, angel face?” Archer said, winking at his daughter.

“He gets her pink roses every Saturday,” Ellie whispered in my ear. “He’s such a good dad.”

“The flower girl?” Bridger grumped.

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