“It’s in June at Uncle Mark’s estate on Martha’s Vineyard.”
“I’ve gone to Block Island three or four times but never Martha’s Vineyard,” he said, taking their exit off the highway and approaching a stop sign. “Which way now?”
“Left, and at the traffic light take a right. We should be there in about five minutes.”
Fundraisers and other society events didn’t faze her; she’d simply been to too many of them over the years. While each one might be for a different purpose, they all shared things in common, including the people on the guest lists. And some of those people were ones she only interacted with when given no other choice. The first person she spotted after walking into her uncle’s house fell into that category. Before Tasha spotted her and either dragged her into a conversation or, worse, started hitting on Aaron—the woman was like a tiger stalking its prey when she saw a hot guy—Juliette took Aaron’s hand and hurried in the opposite direction in search of her parents.
While sitting next to her at the cottage or eating dinner with her at his house, Aaron forgot Juliette wasn’t like everyone else he knew. When he kissed her, it never occurred to him that the woman in his arms came from one of the country's wealthiest families or that she called President Sherbrooke Uncle Warren. No, when they were together, she was just Juliette Belmont, the woman opening a new business in town and taking over his heart.
With the truth all around him, he couldn’t forget or ignore it.
Aaron remained silent as she led him down another hallway and into a home library after speaking with her parents. Men dressed in custom-tailored suits and women wearing diamonds the size of golf balls sat chatting away inside. Thankfully, not only did he know four of the room’s inhabitants, but he liked them. He hoped the rest of Juliette’s family was as friendly and down-to-earth as the cousins he’d met last weekend.
The man standing near Curt looked in their direction as they entered and smiled. Aaron never wasted his time reading trashy tabloid magazines. Still, he’d seen the man’s face enough times over the years while standing in the supermarket check-out line to know the individual next to Curt was Jake Sherbrooke, President Sherbrooke’s son.
“We were just talking about you,” Jake said in place of a proper greeting, hugging Juliette when they joined the group.
“No, we weren’t,” a pretty redhead commented, giving Juliette a hug once her cousin moved away.
“Don’t worry, Juliette, Charlie is right. We weren’t talking about you; we were talking about Aaron,” Trent said with a grin.
“Just ignore them. It’s what I do. Especially that one.” The woman named Charlie pointed toward Jake, then extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Aaron.”
Nodding, Juliette slipped an arm protectively around his waist. “It’s what we all do.”
“Funny, you weren’t ignoring me this morning, Charlie,” Jake said with a slight shrug before looking back at Aaron. “I hope my cousin treats you better than my wife treats me. Although knowing my cousin, it’s debatable.”
She’d told him her cousins Jake and Trent had similar personalities. From what he’d heard so far, it was true. “Juliette has her moments. But most of the time, she behaves.”
Juliette pinched his side but didn’t respond to his comment. “Are Scott and Paige here?”
“No. They decided to play it safe and not come,” Jake answered.
“Makes sense.” Juliette sounded disappointed as she accepted a glass of wine from a passing waiter and offered it to Aaron before taking one for herself.
During one of their many conversations, Juliette had shared her sister-in-law was pregnant with twins and due in June. He knew next to nothing about what pregnant women should or shouldn’t do, but traveling seemed like something you might want to limit once you reached a certain point.
“Are Courtney and Josh here?” Juliette asked.
For the next moment or two, Curt gave her a rundown of what relatives were in attendance. After that, the conversation turned to Juliette’s new business venture as well as her future home and the changes it needed. Eventually, they made their way to the large tent set up outside. Considering he’d so far spotted Governor Wentworth, Congresswoman Janice Bettencourt, Drew McKenzie, the star quarterback for the New England Rebels football team, and actor Anderson Brady among the guests tonight, he could only imagine the conversations that were going on around him.
No sooner did Juliette sit in the chair he’d pulled out for her than she stood back up. “All of you be nice,” she said, looking at her three male cousins and then at him. “I’ll be right back. I just want to say hello to Tory.” She kissed his cheek before heading across the dance floor.
His eyes, along with those of several of the other male guests in attendance, followed her every movement. Without realizing it, he pushed back his chair so he could follow her and make sure everyone there knew who she’d be leaving with tonight.
“Wow, you’ve got it bad.” Jake’s voice stopped him before he stood. “But you’ve got nothing to worry about. My cousin hasn’t taken her eyes off you all night. Don’t you agree, Trent?”
Trent frowned and nodded. “Yeah, I wish someone would look at me the way Juliette’s been looking at you, Aaron.” In return, his wife pinched his hand. “Hey, that wasn’t nice.”
“Ignore the kids, Aaron. After a while, they’ll be quiet,” Curt said.
Aaron suppressed a smile but couldn’t resist joining in the fun. “Do they always invite children to these types of things? Or is tonight a special occasion?” Although he hadn’t expected to, he liked Juliette’s cousins, at least all the ones he’d met so far.
“Unfortunately, these two are usually included.” Curt pointed to his cousins.
“Charlie and I can’t find babysitters willing to put up with them,” Addie added.
He couldn’t help but laugh. He’d been a little apprehensive about coming tonight, but it was turning into a very enjoyable evening.