all sounded so normal. Tyler decided not to mention that her parents didn’t have a retirement plan. They just lived in the moment, taking life as it came. It drove her nuts. She’d already started an IRA.
Alex brushed his knuckle over her cheek. “You look nice.”
“You, too.”
He sighed. “We need to go. Mary Lou’s probably keeping our food warm.”
“So we’ll go.” She caught his hand and pressed it to her cheek before stepping away from him.
“Right. We’ll go.” But he didn’t move, just continued to look at her.
With a shake of her head, she turned and started down the hallway. “Come on, Alex. They’re expecting us.”
“Yeah, they are.” He fell into step beside her. “This is strange. I want to hold your hand, and yet I’d better not. I don’t want to be all that obvious, like it’s a done deal.”
“I know.” When they reached the large empty dining room where the midday meal was served, she could hear the buzz of conversation from the family dining area at the far end and through a set of open double doors. “I intended to get there ahead of you so we wouldn’t look quite so much like a couple.”
“So we won’t sit together unless that’s how it’s set up and we have no choice. You should probably try to sit next to Morgan. That’s who you’re here to see, after all.”
“And I plan to spend plenty of time with her. But she’s the one who wants me to sleep at the ranch house.”
He caught her arm, halting her progress. “And don’t think I don’t appreciate my good luck.”
His touch was warm, seductive. She wanted to nestle into his arms and savor the feeling of belonging that she always felt there. “See?” She gazed up at him. “Gabe was right. You’re an honorary Chance and that means you get some of the Chance luck.”
He smiled and stroked her arm. “It seems to be working for me so far. I checked my condom supply and found an unopened box.”
The question was out before she gave herself time to think. “And when was the last time you checked your condom supply?” Then she realized how jealous and possessive that sounded. “Don’t answer that. It’s none of my business.”
His gaze was steady. “It’s been a few months.”
And she shouldn’t be so damn happy about that, but she was. Whoever he’d been involved with hadn’t turned into a serious girlfriend. She didn’t want him to have a serious girlfriend, either, which was completely unfair, but the thought of him falling for someone made her miserable. How twisted was that?
He gave her arm a squeeze. “I’ll be counting the minutes until we can open that box. Now, let’s go face the family.”
Tyler wasn’t worried about that part. If she could handle a cruise ship full of passengers, she could deal with the Chances. In fact, she was looking forward to seeing them all together again and taking note of the changes that two more weddings had brought to the family dynamics.
As they walked into the dining room, all conversation stopped. Tyler glanced around quickly to make sure she recognized everybody. Sarah was at the far end of the linen-draped table, and on her right sat green-eyed Nick Chance and his bride, Dominique, a brunette with a pixie cut. The chair between Dominique and Alex’s sister, Josie, was empty, probably waiting for Alex. Jack was next to Josie.
Gabe and Morgan sat on the far side of the table, and Morgan also had an empty chair beside her, no doubt reserved for Tyler. A pretty blonde woman who looked to be in her fifties occupied the next chair, and a ruggedly handsome man of about the same age sat next to her.
Tyler finally remembered who they were. The woman, Pam Mulholland, owned the Bunk and Grub B and B down the road and was somehow related to the Chance family. The man next to her was Emmett Sterling, the ranch foreman, and he was dating Pam. Coupling up seemed to be the norm around here.
“There you are!” Sarah was the first to speak. “You both clean up real good.”
“Thanks.” Tyler smiled. “It’s great to see everybody again. And I sure hope you all have your thinking caps on, because Alex and I have been trying to figure out how to keep tomorrow’s guests out of the rain. The barn is one option, but we need some more.”
Nick glanced over at them. “I could have sworn you ordered some event canopies, Alex. I remember talking about it.”
“I ordered three,” Alex said. “But only one made it here. I’ve exhausted all the options for getting any more by tomorrow.”
Jack set down his empty beer bottle. “The tractor barn. We’ll move the equipment to a back pasture, temporarily cover it with tarps to protect it from the weather, do some cleanup, and use that space.”
“That’s a great idea,” Alex said. “I didn’t know that was possible, but—”
“Hold it.” Mary Lou bustled in, carrying a steaming plate in each hand. “No more talk of the open house until these two eat. Tyler, I want you over there between your sister and Pam. Alex, you can sit next to Josie.” She deposited the plates at the designated places. “Who needs coffee?”
A chorus of requests went up.
“I’d love some, too,” Tyler said as she walked around the table toward her chair. Before she made it there, Gabe came to his feet and pulled the chair out for her. She thanked him and glanced down the table, noting Sarah’s pleased smile. “I’ll bet you drilled manners into these guys when you raised them.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Tyler, you have no idea.”
“Remember those Sunday dinners?” Gabe said.
Nick and Jack both groaned.
“Pure torture,” Jack said. “She would use every blessed piece of silverware in the drawer and we couldn’t eat until we’d correctly identified all of them. The forks were the worst. I was the only guy my age who could tell you what a seafood fork looked like.”
“I was not about to raise a bunch of country bumpkins,” Sarah said.
“Sounds like a great idea to me,” Morgan said. “Between Sarah covering manners and Jonathan showing them the finer points of country swing, I’d say the Chance boys got the perfect education.” She patted her tummy. “I want the same for this little...kid.”
“Ah, you almost slipped, Morgan!” Sarah’s face was alight with anticipation. “You’ll tell us the sex of that baby, yet.”
Gabe looked fondly at his wife. “Nope. It’s going to be our secret until July 2.”
“But I’m really serious about the manners and the dancing, Sarah,” Morgan said. “I want this kid to be able to handle a fancy meal and navigate a two-step.”
Tyler put her napkin in her lap. “It’s not a bad idea to know those things. I had to learn on the job.”
“You must have,” Morgan said.
