Chapter 9
Shannon put the dish of crab dip onto a cookie sheet and popped it into the countertop oven. She’d already toasted the sliced
baguette she’d picked up on her way home. She had plenty of cheese, two kinds of regular olives along with the stuffed ones
Aaron loved. Salami, prosciutto, grapes and strawberries. While the crab dip heated, she played around with the ingredients,
folding the salami into little roses and standing the thick slices of gouda on their sides.
For as long as she could remember, charcuterie boards had been a thing in her family. When she’d been little, her mom had
made a game out of using up whatever leftovers were around for their end of the week, day before payday dinner. She’d had
a big platter she’d used to put out things like leftover spaghetti and a random half sandwich. At the time Shannon had loved
the assortment and the novelty of eating spaghetti and cold cereal for dinner. She hadn’t realized that there wasn’t enough money for her mom to go shopping until she got paid
and that the food on their charcuterie board had been the last of what they had.
Later, after going to work for Luis and Gina, the money problems had eased, and the contents of their weekly charcuterie board
had gotten a little less eclectic. But the tradition had never gone away, and now Shannon put them together for the weekly
dinners with her, Aaron and Javiar.
When the timer dinged, both men wandered into the kitchen. Javiar took the heavy platter over to the kitchen table while Aaron collected two beers and a bottle of white wine from the refrigerator. Shannon retrieved the now-hot crab dip and carefully carried it to the table.
When her wine was poured and they were all seated, Javiar raised his beer.
“To good friends.” He winked at Shannon. “And to your mom who has lost her mind.”
Shannon groaned. “I know, right? What was she thinking?”
They touched glasses and bottles, then dug into the charcuterie board.
“It has to be about closure,” Aaron said. “I guess she wants to know about Ava’s life.”
“I doubt she wants to go have dinner with Ava and her family,” Shannon said, still stunned by her mother’s announcement. “I
think she feels guilty about what she did when she kept me, and this is her way of apologizing.”
She looked at Javiar. “You could have gotten out of going. I have a feeling the And bring your family part is only about me.”
“I want to go.” Javiar grinned. “It’ll be like dinner theater. I can’t wait.”
She turned to Aaron. “I know you offered, but it’s going to be really uncomfortable. I get it if you want to skip the evening.”
He shook his head. “I’ll be there. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
If she hadn’t already been wildly in love with him, that comment would have pushed her over the edge. Because that’s exactly
who Aaron was—he was the man who took care of her. Even when she was a careerless mess or the cause of some strange family
dinner.
“You’re going to be at the center of it,” he added. “You’re the baby Ava and her husband wanted. They’re going to have questions.”
“About my life?” she asked, then tried not to groan. “You’re probably right. I need you both to be prepared to jump in if
the grilling gets too intense.”
“I’ll distract them by offering to run comps on their house,” Javiar teased. “I can do a whole presentation.”
She laughed. “That would cause a shift in the conversation.”
Javiar asked Aaron about his latest landscaping project. Shannon scooped crab dip onto her plate as she listened. She appreciated
that her friend and her fiancé were both going to be there for her. She’d been surprised when her mom had mentioned the dinner
invitation and more startled when Cindy had asked her and Aaron to attend. Spending the evening with the couple whose child
you decided to keep had to be the definition of awkward. Yet her mom had been determined to be there.
Shannon would admit to a little curiosity about Ava and Milton. Under other circumstances, they could have been her parents.
There was no way to imagine what that would have been like or how she would have been different. Not that it mattered, she
reminded herself. She was who she was, and all the wondering in the world wasn’t going to change that.
The upscale neighborhood of nice houses quickly gave way to even nicer and bigger houses. Shannon stared out the window as
the lots got bigger and the gates got fancier. Aaron stared at the quarter-acre lawn of one house and whistled.
“I wouldn’t mind having the gardening contract on a few of these places.”
Javiar nodded. “Or the real estate contract. These people have money.”
Shannon’s general sense of nervousness morphed into uneasiness. “We sell houses like this,” she murmured. “We don’t live in
them.”
“And that’s not going to change,” Javiar said cheerfully. “We’re only the guests. Be grateful they’re letting us come in the front door.”
“I’m just glad we brought your car.”
Javiar drove a comfortable BMW X5. The roomy SUV had plenty of space for clients. Her Corolla, while sensible what with its
great gas mileage and dependability, would have looked out of place for sure. As would Aaron’s work truck.
“You coulda been a rich kid,” Javiar added. “I always wanted a really rich friend to invite me to his place on the French
Riviera.”
“Maybe they’re old-school and have a Swiss chalet instead,” Aaron said with a laugh.
“I could do a chalet.”
Shannon pressed a hand to her suddenly unhappy stomach. Despite telling her the basics of the whole Ava-Milton-adoption story,
Cindy had left out the fact that the other couple was wealthy. As in very wealthy. A reality confirmed when Javiar turned
into the circular drive and parked in front of a huge three-story house.
“Holy crap,” Aaron said, staring out the window. “We should have dressed better.”
“They won’t notice us,” Javiar told him. “All eyes will be on Shannon.”
“Ugh.” She got out of the back seat. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”
He put his arm around her. “In a situation like this, it’s every man for himself.”
“Hey, I thought you had my back.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot.”
Aaron moved close and took her hand. “I’m right here. You look beautiful, and everything is going to be fine.”
She briefly leaned against him. “Thanks.” She eyed Luis’s comfortable sedan. “Mom and Luis are here already. I’m glad they
got here first.”
“Me, too.” Javiar started toward the massive front door. “Shall we?”
Shannon’s first thought was to say no and bolt back to his SUV, but that was hardly the mature choice. Besides, her mom had
asked her to come to the dinner. The least she could do was be brave enough to walk inside.
Aaron squeezed her fingers. “You ready?”
She nodded, and they climbed the steps up to the wide front porch. Javiar rang the bell while she mentally ran over the names.
Ava, Milton and their daughter, Victoria. She could deal with them, she told herself. Hopefully there weren’t any other relatives
in attendance.
After several seconds, the front door opened, and Ava smiled at them. “Hello,” she said, stepping back to allow them to enter.
“How nice of you to come this evening.” She gestured them inside. “Please.”
Javiar went first, with Shannon and Aaron following. She found her mom and Luis with Victoria and a man she assumed was Ava’s
husband, Milton. Cindy hurried toward her.
“You made it,” she said, her voice a little tense. “Good.” She turned to Ava and offered a bright if slightly forced smile.
“You met my daughter the other day.” She turned to Milton. “This is Shannon.” She pointed to the two men with her.
“This is Javiar, Luis’s youngest. His older son is in Hawaii with his wife, so they couldn’t make it. And Aaron, Shannon’s
boyfriend.”
“So nice to meet you,” Ava told them. “You remember Victoria, and this is my husband, Milton.”
Everyone shook hands and then stared at each other.
“Let’s go sit in the living room before dinner,” Ava said. “We can catch up a little.”
Shannon fell into step with Victoria who was still on crutches.
“Your black eyes are much better,” she said. “They’re barely noticeable. How are you feeling?”
“Good. I’m getting around better. Still waiting for my walking cast.”
“Were you really thrown out of a truck?”
“I was. I’m a stuntwoman. I mean not this second, but that’s my job.” She lowered her voice. “This is like the third time
I’ve been injured. I’m starting to rethink my career choice, but don’t tell my mom I said that. She’d see it as a win.”
“She wants you to be something else?”
Victoria grinned. “Honestly, I doubt there’s a mother alive who wants their kid to get into the business. For most of us,
it’s all about doing what seems like the impossible and making it look easy. But accidents happen, and the longer you do the
work, the more the odds are against you.”
“I’ve never met anyone who is a stunt, ah, person before. It sounds both fun and dangerous.”
“Yes to both.”
They smiled at each other as they walked into the living room.
Shannon stared at the massive space with multiple seating areas, two-story high windows and a fireplace large enough to host
its own cocktail party. The draperies were probably silk, the furniture was no doubt custom, and the rugs they so casually
walked on were most likely pricey antiques.
Yes, of course she was used to elegant homes and upscale interiors. Since going to work for her mom at the real estate office,
she’d been in dozens of amazing rooms and met people with twelve- and thirteen-figure bank accounts. But they were clients,
not . . . Not . . . She mentally paused realizing she didn’t know what Ava was to her. No one, really, she supposed. And yet
being here felt incredibly significant.
She inched closer to Aaron, who grabbed her hand and shot her a look as if to ask if he really belonged here.
“Me, too,” she whispered in his ear.