Restoring Romance (Welcome to Romance 1)
Page 8
She set Lucky down on the couch and moved to pick up the paper with Erin’s phone number.
“She gave me her cell number—maybe I have a friend.” Gaining one friend in twenty-four hours was lightning speed for Ash. Erin, on the other hand, exuded outgoing confidence, and probably had tons of friends.
Erin answered on the first ring.
“Is this Ash?”
“It’s me.”
“Yay, I’m glad you called me!”
Erin certainly sounded enthusiastic, although Ash couldn’t imagine why. Oh... she’s probably worried about Lucky.
“I’m happy to hear from you. Lucky’s doing fine.” Ash plopped onto the couch and Lucky, jumped into her lap, purring even before she settled in.
“That’s great to hear. I hoped you wouldn’t be mad at me for talking you into the adoption.”
“No, she’s great.” Ash stroked the fur and Lucky arched her back into her palm.
“But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. I’m supposed to invite you to the Walkers’ house for dinner tonight.”
“The Walkers? As in Adam Walker?”
“Well yes, it’s my in-laws’ house—Donna and Mark Walker. They have four sons. Adam and my husband Daniel are the oldest. They’re twins, but Adam has always acted like he’s the father of the other three.”
“Bossy, huh?” Ash could picture him as a little kid, ordering his brothers around.
“To be fair, Adam was the serious, responsible brother, and that let Daniel be the fun, carefree brother. The younger ones, Tristan and Elias were constantly getting into mischief, which made Adam crazy.”
“I bet your mother-in-law had her hands full.” As usual, hearing about a normal healthy family stirred up a swirl of jealousy along with bad memories.
“Donna can tell you stories that will have you busting a gut laughing. The whole family eats dinner together once a week, usually on Sunday nights.”
Ash felt sweat beading on her forehead, knowing how awkward she would be at a family dinner. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t be intruding at all. The Walkers always have one or two guests at dinner. I went tons of times, long before I was dating Daniel. They have a nice place in the country. I know you’ll love it, and Donna insisted you come.”
“Me? Why?”
“I saw her at church this morning and mentioned meeting you. I think she’s excited about your restaurant idea because she loves to cook. I promised to invite you and then realized I didn’t have your number. Since Adam was going to his shop, I talked him into dropping by your house.”
“Yeah, about Adam.” Her chest constricted. “Will he be at the dinner?”
“Sure. The boys always come.”
“Then I probably shouldn’t go. I don’t think Adam likes me very much.”
“Why? Was he scowling at you?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
Erin chuckled. “Don’t worry about Adam—he scowls at everyone. He’s got that brooding look all the girls love.”
“Oh, so he has a lot of girlfriends?” For some reason, that idea irritated Ash like a piece of popcorn shell stuck under her gum.
“Every single girl in Romance would love to date Adam... or any of the Walker boys, for that matter. They’re all tall, dark and handsome—though I married the hottest one.” Erin let out a contagious laugh, and Ash joined in, trying to picture a guy who was better looking than Adam.
“I see.”