“Deep breaths,” he cautioned as they approached.
“Well, look who’s here,” Ted Hamilton exclaimed, opening his arms wide. “One of my very favorite people in the whole world.”
“Happy birthday, Uncle Ted.”
“Thank you for coming,” he said, lowering his voice. “I know this can’t be easy for you. You can’t know how sorry I am.”
Paige nodded, not sure if he was referring to the fact that her father wasn’t here or that Heather and Noah were. Possibly both.
“Paige, darling,” his wife said, breaking into the conversation. “So glad you decided to come. And who’s this handsome fellow?”
“This is my friend, Sam Benjamin.”
“So nice to meet you, Sam,” Bev said, giving him a not-too-subtle once-over. She smiled.Not as handsome as Noah,the smile said.Score one for Heather.
“Very nice to meet you both,” Sam said. “Happy birthday, sir. Many happy returns of the day.”
“Thank you. My wife throws one hell of a party, doesn’t she?”
“Well, the ballroom was Heather’s idea,” Bev demurred, glancing toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Such a beautiful view.”
“Did you know that the Boston Common is the country’s oldest public park?” Sam asked.
“Well, I knew it was old,” Bev said with a laugh. The laugh was bigger and more robust than it needed to be.
“Established in 1634.”
“Which makes it almost as old as me,” Ted Hamilton joked.
Really?Paige thought.We’re talking about the Boston Common? Next, we’ll be talking about the weather.
“Lovely day today, wasn’t it?” Bev said obligingly.
“At my age, every day aboveground is a lovely day,” Ted Hamilton said.
“Oh, Ted,” his wife giggled. “Eighty’s hardly old anymore. You have lots of years left.”
“Excuse me,” Paige said, feeling her blood begin to boil and turning away before she started screaming.
“Breathe,” Sam said again, following her.
“I’m not sure how much of this I can take.”
“Then you’d better brace yourself,” Sam said, peering over her shoulder. “There’s a woman headed this way…”
Paige swiveled in the direction of his gaze. “Oh, shit.”
“Hello, Paige.” Her cousin was standing in front of her, a slow smile stretching toward her ears.
“Heather,” Paige acknowledged, feeling all eyes in the room swivel toward them. There was a moment of silence as Paige tried to choose between grabbing her cousin by the throat or fleeing the premises.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Why?” Paige heard herself ask. “Do you want to fuck him?”
Heather’s cheeks blushed the same color as her dress. “Excuse me!”
“Whoa,” Sam said softly, his hand reaching for Paige’s elbow.