Beautiful Mistakes

Aaron smiled a little reluctantly and shook his head. "And then you'll blame Poppy Seed?"

"Naturally," she said with a nod. "But I'm just paying it forward—Poppy Seed will blame me for everything someday; I'm the mother."

"Well, if you do that, I'll have to thank the kid when it comes out."

"I'll remind you," she said with a little nod.

Aaron opened the door for Julie, so she thanked him as she walked in. She walked slowly though, waiting for him to take the lead and show her which table they were going to.

"I don't know what your family looks like," she stated as she bit her lip, glancing around.

"Over here," he said, spotting the table they were sitting at and walking in that direction.

Taking a quick survey of the table, she didn't see Matt or Emma, so she felt a little stab of relief. But then her gaze landed on Shannon.

Aaron sighed, and she assumed he saw the same thing, but his expression never wavered.

"I didn't know she was going to be at the dinner," Julie whispered.

"Neither did I," he muttered. "Aren't you glad you came to this wedding?"

Determined to be Aaron's source of moral support, she said, "Yes."

He shot her a sideways glance, but she merely pasted a smile on her face and approached the table with him.

"Aaron, there you are," said a pretty young woman with chin-length dark brown hair and twinkling brown eyes.

"Hey, Becca," he said, leaning in and giving her a hug.

"I'm so glad you could make it to dinner. Too bad about you missing the rehearsal," she said with an exaggerated pout.

"Yep, too bad," Aaron said with a nod.

"And who is this?" Becca asked, grinning at Aaron pointedly and then looking at Julie.

"Julie," he said simply. "This is my sister Rebecca."

"Nice to meet you," Julie murmured with a painted on smile.

"Oh, you too. I didn't even know my brother was bringing someone. So glad you could make it to my wedding."

"Mom, I believe you briefly spoke to Julie on the phone," Aaron said as he leaned in to hug his mother.

"Oh, is this the girl that lives with you?" asked the woman she presumed was his mother, giving Julie a quick once-over.

"Lives with you?" questioned a new voice, sounding a little shocked.

Rebecca, Julie, Aaron and Aaron's mom all turned to look at Shannon.

Aaron was the one that got to offer her a smile and say, "Yep."

The satisfaction Julie got when Shannon shot her an indiscreet dirty look almost made the whole trip worth it.

Shannon looked down at her hands in her lap after that, and Aaron—just to be spiteful, Julie would bet—actually pulled out her chair for her to sit in. She lavished an adoring smile on him as she murmured a thank-you as she took her seat, then she continued to smile at him dotingly as he took a seat beside her.

Shannon stole another glance at Julie, then began fidgeting with the napkin in her lap.

"So, how's the café doing?" Aaron's mother asked.