“That’s nice to hear. Now go play with Waldo.”

“I just thought…maybe…if you were dating someone yourself, you’d be a little more…you know, relaxed about things.”

Jacqui nearly sighed in response to the muttered remark. So it all came back to Alice’s new crush on Milo Lemon. So much for the sweet motives Jacqui had just attributed to the wily teen.

She glanced at her watch. “You have half an hour to play with your dog before bedtime. Keep procrastinating and you’ll find out just how unrelaxed I can be.”

Alice sighed gustily and snatched up the empty teacups. “Fine. Be all grouchy. Just because I wanted you to be happy and stuff.”

Torn between exasperation and wry amusement, Jacqui merely motioned her out of the room.

Chapter Five

Jacqui found herself preparing dinner Tuesday evening for Mitch’s family. It had

all begun with a call from LaDonna early that morning. LaDonna had said that her sisters-in-law wanted to come see Meagan’s house sometime that day. They were disappointed, LaDonna said, that Meagan was out of town during their visit, but that was their own fault.

“I told them when they called to arrange this visit that Meagan would be out of town on her belated honeymoon trip during this time, but they said it was the best week for them to come,” she said into the phone, her voice low so as not to carry to her guests in another room. “They really have no reason to complain about missing Meagan.”

“I’m sure she would have loved to see them, too.”

“They would like to come see her house. Don’t know why, when she’s not even there, but they’ve got it in their heads they want to come by. And to be honest, I’m running out of things to do to entertain them. Do you mind a visit sometime later today, Jacqui?”

“Of course not. It’s your daughter’s home—you’re certainly welcome here.”

“Thank you. All we’ve done the past few days is drive around and dine out or eat here and I just don’t know what else to do with them. They seem to only enjoy eating and chatting and riding in the car,” LaDonna added with a wry laugh.

Jacqui spoke impulsively, “Why don’t you plan to bring them here for dinner? I’m sure Alice would love playing hostess at a dinner party for her aunts.”

LaDonna had jumped on that offer eagerly, despite her token protests that it would be too much trouble for Jacqui to put a dinner party together that quickly. Reminding LaDonna that she would be making dinner for herself and Alice and Mitch anyway, Jacqui assured her it would be no trouble to add a few guests. They might as well invite Madison, too, and make it a family gathering.

Jacqui knew it was a little strange that there would be a dinner party in Meagan’s home when Meagan wasn’t even there, but she was confident Meagan and Seth would be more amused than annoyed. Both were well accustomed to Meagan’s aunt’s eccentricities. And both would do anything to assist LaDonna with anything she needed.

Doreen O’Connor and Kathleen Baker were twins in their mid-sixties. Jacqui had met them only once, at Meagan and Seth’s wedding, and that had been only a fleeting encounter. Although they looked very much alike, Jacqui didn’t think they were identical twins. She saw a few differences in them that helped her tell them apart when LaDonna reintroduced them that evening. LaDonna did not refer to Jacqui as her daughter’s housekeeper but as a friend of the family. Jacqui didn’t bother to correct her, even though she certainly wasn’t embarrassed by her job title. She figured the aunts knew her role in the family.

“And here,” LaDonna added with a warm smile, “is my new granddaughter, Alice.”

The sisters greeted Alice pleasantly, urging her to call them Aunt Doreen and Aunt Kathleen. With her usual ebullience, Alice was soon chattering away to them as if she’d known them for years rather than having met them only once before. She led them off on a tour of the house before dinner. It didn’t take her long to charm them with her excellent company manners.

Mitch’s sister Madison arrived shortly after LaDonna and the twins. She made a little face at Jacqui, who had opened the door for her. “Sorry Mom roped you into this,” she murmured. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“It’s no trouble,” Jacqui assured her honestly. “I always enjoy cooking for a dinner party. Everyone is gathered in the living room. I have everything under control in the kitchen, so why don’t you join your family?”

“Is Mitch here yet?”

“Not yet. He just called to say he’s running a little late and for us to start dinner without him if we need to.”

Smoothing her breeze-ruffled blond hair, Madison chuckled. “The surgeon’s life. That’s why I chose psychiatry. Shorter hours.”

Madison always teased about that, but Jacqui didn’t believe it any more than Madison’s family did. During the one-year-plus that she’d known Meagan’s younger sister, it had become clear to Jacqui that Madison was the most empathetic of the Baker siblings. Meagan and Mitch had both chosen surgery because they enjoyed the challenge of fixing something physical that was broken. Madison was more interested in soothing mental and emotional pain, whether triggered by chemical imbalances or life experiences.

Jacqui was just putting the finishing touches on individual Caprese salads when LaDonna wandered into the kitchen. “Can I help you with anything, dear?”

“No, thank you, LaDonna. Everything is almost ready.”

The other woman had insisted from the beginning of their acquaintance that Jacqui should call her by her first name rather than the more formal Mrs. Baker. Fifty-nine and widowed for several years, LaDonna Baker eschewed stuffiness and formality, treating everyone with the same easy warmth. A CPA, she had gone back to work four days a week as a bookkeeper after the death of her mother last year. Like her three offspring, LaDonna didn’t seem to be content unless she was gainfully employed. She had taken a week’s vacation from her job to entertain her sisters-in-law.

“If you think everyone is ready to eat, I can start serving. Mitch should be here soon, but he didn’t want anyone to have to wait for him.”

Tags: Gina Wilkins Billionaire Romance
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