Annalise and Sheridan were going to love each other. Annalise had become very special to me since Ben’s death. I hadn’t thought I was good with kids before, but she made me feel like maybe I was okay with them after all.
“So it’s Wes and Hadley, right?” Sheridan asked as I drove. “And Annalise and Benny?”
“Yes.” I glanced, once again, at the container in her lap. “What’s in there?”
“Broccoli salad. You know, the one with the bacon and sunflower seeds? It’s one of my favorites.”
“That sounds good. Did you make it?”
She grinned. “I did. It’s my mom’s recipe.”
“I brought pasta salad.”
Sheridan arched her brows, looking impressed. “Did you make it?”
I smiled. “No. I am not good with that. My housekeeper Rosalina made it. I hope it is good. She wouldn’t let me have a taste.”
“I’m sure it’s fantastic. You can’t go wrong with anything pasta.”
“If you are nervous, just stay with me,” I told Sheridan as we pulled up to Wes and Hadley’s sprawling home.
She gave me another megawatt grin. “Don’t worry about me, Lars. I’ll be just fine.”
We walked around to the back, where a group of around twenty people had already gathered.
“Thor! Thor! Thor!” Annalise cried as she raced toward me, her arms open.
I bent down as she jumped. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I picked her up.
“My playhouse is done!” she cried. “It’s over there! Come see!”
“Hey, man,” Wes said, approaching us. “Glad you guys could make it. You must be Sheridan.”
“I am.” She held out a hand and Wes shook it.
“Hi, I’m Wes Kirby.” He gave Annalise an admonishing look. “And what did we say about today, peanut? There are lots of kids here to play with. I want you to let Lars talk to the grown-ups. He brought a friend today.”
I took his cue and said, “Annalise, this is Sheridan. Sheridan, my good friend Annalise.”
“Best friend,” Annalise said, tightening her hold on my neck.
Sheridan smiled at her. “Wow, it’s a real pleasure to meet Lars’s best friend.”
“Why are you here?” Annalise asked her in an accusatory tone.
“Annalise,” Wes said sharply. “That’s rude.”
Sheridan waved a hand and said, “It’s okay, really.”
Wes gave her a grateful look and said, “It’s not, but we’ll address it later in private.”
He looked over his shoulder as Hadley approached. “And this is my wife Hadley. I can sense her presence now. It’s a little creepy.”
“You’re creepy,” Hadley said, grinning and rolling her eyes. “Hi, Sheridan. We’re so glad you could join us today. And hey to you, too, Lars.”
“Hello.”
“Where should I put these?” Sheridan asked, holding the containers of food we’d brought.
She’d grabbed mine when she saw Annalise running toward me. Hadley gestured toward a large table set up on a nearby paved patio.
“Over here. I’ll go with you and then we can get a drink.”
“Oh, hey!” Nash called as he walked over to Sheridan and Hadley as they left. “You must be Sheridan. Are you wondering how to get a refund on that money you paid for a date with Lars?”
I rolled my eyes, aggravated, but Sheridan just laughed.
“Hey,” Wes said to me. “We need to have a little chat with Annalise.”
“No, I want to play,” she said, wiggling in my arms in an effort to get down.
Wes crossed his arms and shook his head. “You were rude to Sheridan, and I expect you to apologize. That’s not how we treat guests in our home.”
Annalise looked at me. “Do I have to apologize to her?”
My lips parted with surprise. I still couldn’t believe Annalise had said what she did to Sheridan. It wasn’t like her. Usually she was a bubbly, happy girl who got along with everyone.
Wes sighed heavily. “It’s not up to him, Annalise. And you have to apologize unless you want to watch the other kids play from the time-out corner.”
“How long of a time-out?” Annalise asked.
I forced myself not to smile. Wes wouldn’t like it if I undercut his parenting strategy.
“Really long,” he said. “And you’d still have to apologize at the end of the time-out.”
“Don’t you want to play with me?” Annalise asked me.
“Yes, I’ll still play with you. Sheridan probably will, too. But we also want to spend some time with the grown-ups.”
“I don’t want to play with her.” Annalise scowled. “She’s ugly.”
Wes gasped and I set Annalise down.
“I’m disappointed,” I told her. “That was mean.”
Her expression was crushed as she looked up at me and said, “I’m sorry.”
“I will see your new playhouse when you are ready to show it to me and Sheridan,” I said.
“Okay.”
“But first, you’ll be telling Aunt Hadley about the mean things you said,” Wes said, reaching for her hand.
“No!” Annalise protested.
“Yes.”
Nash and Boone approached me as Wes and Annalise walked off, and Nash handed me a bottle of Heineken.
“Is someone jealous of Sheridan?” he asked.
“That must be it.”