Chapter Eleven #2
Siobhan snorted, but she could feel the heat in her chest and cheeks. She was absolutely not going to confess there had been a kiss between them, and she could only hope nobody had seen them. “Trust me, there’s nothing at all going on there.”
“I’m pretty sure there are rules about maids of honor lying to brides. I’ve known him my whole life, obviously, and he’s into you.” She pointed at Siobhan. “And you’re into him back. How did I not see this coming?”
“Because there was nothing to see coming. Steph, he’s my sister’s ex-husband.” Talk about needing something written on a T-shirt. Maybe cross-stitched on a pillow. Written on her mirror in lipstick.
“That’s one way to look at it.” Steph’s hands went back to her hips. “But he’s also the father of your child.”
“That’s…not how that works.” She frowned. “Okay, technically that’s true—maybe, I mean, pending the paternity test results—but not even remotely in the way you’re insinuating.”
“Sure. Whatever you say.” She picked up the hand steamer and gave it a test blast. “But I’m not wrong.”
Since the steamer was ready and Siobhan would take any distraction she could get in that moment, she lifted the plastic off Steph’s dress.
It was a gorgeous pale yellow, with a fitted sleeveless bodice and a flared skirt that hit midshin.
It was summery and shimmery and she was definitely letting Steph do the actual steaming.
She’d hold the hanger and offer moral support.
“I can’t believe how perfectly your dress complements mine,” Steph said as she gingerly steamed the few wrinkles in the dress from traveling.
“Right?” Hers was similar, though not quite as fitted in the bodice, and the skirt was knee-length. The pastel floral pattern included yellows that matched the bride’s dress perfectly. “You’d almost think they were bought together.”
Steph stood back to give the dress a final looking over, and then glanced sideways at Siobhan. “I should tell Rob to get a photo of Brian’s face when he lays eyes on you.”
“Stop!” Her cheeks were so hot, it felt as though Steph had given her a shot of steam in the face. “My former brother-in-law does not have a thing for me. He’s barely come around to even liking me.”
“Oh, he came all the way around to liking you and then kept right on going.”
“And don’t you dare say anything to Rob. Or anybody else, for that matter. The last thing I need is to be the center of more drama.”
Steph rolled her eyes. “Of course I won’t. But people will notice on their own because it’s like a miracle to see him like this again. He’s been so…flat.”
“Flat?” Siobhan finished smoothing the plastic over the freshly steamed dress and hung it back up. Then she grabbed the groom’s pants.
“Emotionally, I mean. He was pretty wrecked when Kelly left him. He never saw it coming.”
Siobhan was silent, focusing all of her attention on the pants. Not only because there was nothing she could say to defend her sister, but because she wanted to hear Brian’s side of the story, even if she didn’t get it from him.
“I mean, I didn’t see it myself. He’s not great at letting people see how he’s feeling, but he’s super close with his brothers and word filters around the family, you know?
” Steph sighed, running the steamer over one of the legs.
“Brian loved her so much and he didn’t see it coming.
One day he came home and she told him she was in love with somebody else and was leaving him. ”
“He didn’t fight for her,” Siobhan said quietly. “He just let her go. When I went to pick up her stuff, he just opened the door and ignored me. He didn’t ask about her or anything.”
“If it had just been her being unhappy, he would have. He would have done anything for her. But she’d been cheating and was in love with somebody else, and there’s no coming back from that, so he just…
shut down. Everybody was relieved when they bought this place, even though it was stressful, because they were afraid he was turning into some kind of angry hermit guy.
Except for Stella, of course. I think getting her kept his heart from totally shriveling up. ”
“She’s a great dog.” Siobhan wasn’t sure what else she could say.
“So Brian lighting up when he sees you? Yeah, we’re going to notice, but I’m probably the only one who’s going to say anything to you. I’m the bride and you’re my maid of honor, so I get to be nosy.”
Siobhan laughed, even though the idea of his entire family watching them made her mildly uncomfortable. “Was there a wedding etiquette book I missed? I don’t remember that chapter.”
“Maybe you’ll start dating. That would be perfect, wouldn’t it?”
On the surface, Steph sounded like a woman who thought her cousin dating her friend would be fun, but Siobhan didn’t think that’s what she meant. Oliver was probably the reason she thought them dating would be a good idea, because them being a couple would make things easier for everybody.
Right up until it didn’t work out and then it was ten times worse. She snorted. “Like I’d date a guy who’s still hung up on my sister.”
“I don’t think he’s still hung up on her so much as he was grieving the life he thought he’d made for himself.”
And having Siobhan and Oliver would be an insta-family to fix that? She didn’t want any part of that. On a conscious level, anyway. Clearly on some subconscious level, she was attracted to Brian because she’d kissed him under the fairy lights.
But they’d both known that was a bad idea and they’d been right. They didn’t need anybody else’s opinion on it.
“Getting this campground ready to open and then running it snapped him out of it, really,” Steph continued. “He’s been a lot more like himself all summer, and Rob said he’s actually seemed happy.”
She felt a pang of guilt over having been a part of what Kelly did to Brian, but she forced herself to acknowledge it and then dismiss it.
Yes, she’d had Kelly’s back through the divorce and been cold to Brian because they were sisters.
That’s what was expected of her. But she hadn’t had all of the facts—and the few she did have had been outright lies—so it wasn’t really her fault.
What she could do, though, was make sure that another Lowe sister didn’t put him through the emotional wringer again. No more lingering looks. No more small yet sizzling touches.
And definitely no more kissing.
* * *
Brian was alone in the store, pretending he needed to deal with a vendor issue while actually just hiding from his family, when his brother Danny arrived.
He was towing a trailer with stuff for the wedding, so he pulled alongside the pool.
Even though Brian knew he probably wanted to know where they wanted the stuff before heading into narrow campground roads with the trailer, he’d hoped he’d keep going.
While he might be good at hiding his feelings from most people, he wasn’t sure he could hide I kissed the mother of the child I didn’t know I had last night feelings from his brothers.
He wasn’t even sure what they were himself, so he certainly couldn’t explain them to anybody else.
“Hey, Danny,” he said when his brother walked in. Brian knew from the way he looked at him—concerned and with a dash of amusement—that he’d been filled in on the news already. “I guess you’ve heard.”
“This is one of the few times I don’t even need to ask you to be more specific. How are you holding up?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. Nobody’s avoiding me or, on the flip side, fussing over me, so I must look like I’m doing okay.”
“I’d say you didn’t answer the question, but I feel like you did. How are things between you and Siobhan?”
“I knew her being here was going to be hard, but this? Didn’t see it coming.
” That was an understatement, and he had to actively concentrate on not spilling everything, either verbally or with his face.
“I guess we’re doing okay, all things considered.
I appreciate that she didn’t take Oliver and run home that day because being here can’t be easy. ”
Danny nodded. “Showing up to be your friend’s maid of honor and having your sister’s ex-husband and former in-laws lay claim to your kid? I would have run.”
“I’m laying claim to my kid,” Brian bit out. “Probably.”
His brother’s eyebrow shot up. “Are you going to try to have the adoption overturned?”
“Not if she doesn’t make me do it.” His shoulders dropped as he shook his head.
“No. That’s shock and fear and I don’t even know what talking.
Siobhan hasn’t given me any reason to think she’ll keep Oliver from me once the test makes it official, and I certainly don’t want to take him away from her. ”
“So you’ll share custody, basically, like if you were a divorced couple with a child.”
“Something like that.” He wasn’t sure why that made him sad.
It was the best he could hope for, really.
They both knew the kiss had been a mistake, and this was a big reason why.
Whatever was between them just made a messy situation messier.
“I try not to think about the future too much because there’s still the very, very slim possibility it’s just a coincidence and he’s a dark-haired kid with blue eyes. ”
“Mom and Gram both said it was like looking at one of us, and it’s not as if they were looking for it. It was just there and they couldn’t miss it.”
“We’re holding off on the hard discussions until after the paternity test, obviously, but that’s basically a formality as far as everybody’s concerned.” He sighed. “And then? We’ll take it one step at a time, I guess.”
Danny chuckled. “The easiest solution might be getting married and then adopting him as your stepson.”
“No.” If last night had taught him one thing, it was that he and Siobhan could definitely not live in the same house platonically, no matter what they might tell themselves and each other going into an arrangement.
“Why? Then you get divorced, but because you adopted him, you’ll do a standard custody agreement, which is essentially your end goal, anyway.”
“Again, no. There’s nothing easy about that.
One, we’d all have to live together for at least six months after the wedding before they’d do it, and then we’d have to turn Oliver’s life upside down all over again when we split.
” He paused and blew out a breath. “And two, there would be new paperwork, but that guy’s name would still be on the original and I want him erased. ”
“You’ve looked into it already, then.”
“Of course. Not a lot because we’re busy and I’m only using my phone because one of the things we do in the store when we’re bored is dig through the computer’s search history and give each other a hard time.”
“You need to accept that no matter how the paperwork gets accepted, that original will probably still exist. Maybe you just need to keep your eyes on the road ahead and not look in the rearview mirror.”
“That’s good advice,” he said grudgingly.
“I’m offended by how surprised you sound.” Danny sighed and looked out the window at the truck and trailer. “Where am I dropping this stuff, anyway?”
“You can drop the trailer in any empty site for now. Most of it isn’t getting set up until tomorrow, and we can move the trailer with the tractor when it’s time. Rob and Joey were able to do some mowing and trimming because we only got a quick shower and then the sun came out with a vengeance.”
“With Dad and Gramps supervising, I imagine.”
“Of course.” Brian closed the binder he’d been flipping through, and stowed it under the counter. There wasn’t any sense in even pretending to work anymore. “How’s the writing going?”
“I’d rather talk about the septic system. Or things you’ve skimmed out of the pool. Or almost anything else.”
Brian winced. That didn’t sound good. “You were really excited about this one.”
“They’re all exciting at first. Then the initial burst of inspiration fizzles out and there are still a lot of pages to fill, but you managed to write your way into a giant plot hole you can’t figure out how to get out of.”
“Maybe a couple of days away from your desk will do you good.”
“Maybe.” Danny shrugged. “Have you gone up to the restaurant lately?”
He asked the question casually enough, but Brian was pretty sure his older brother’s interest in Corinne’s Kitchen had more to do with Kenzie than the menu. “I was there with Siobhan and Oliver yesterday. For the popcorn chicken.”
“It is good popcorn chicken.”
Brian narrowed his eyes. “There’s no way you didn’t already know I went out to lunch with them.”
“Yeah, I guess somebody probably mentioned it. But there have been a lot of texts in the last few weeks, which you know.”
“Sure. I mean, not this week because mostly they’re just yelling things to each other across the campground. If you want to ask me about Kenzie, just ask.”
Danny crossed his arms, stubbornness setting into his jaw. “Or maybe I was looking for an opening to find out why you and a woman whose name you were cursing a week ago went on a lunch date together.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds without speaking.
Brian knew Danny wasn’t going to admit he was infatuated with Kenzie yet, and he didn’t want to talk about Siobhan more than he had to.
Especially with Danny, who sometimes seemed a lot more perceptive than his other two brothers.
If any of them were going to guess he and Siobhan had gotten up to no good by fairy light, it would be Danny.
“We should get that trailer dropped and the truck parked before the rest of the family decides to help and there’s an hour-long debate on where to put it,” he said finally.
Danny chuckled. “Excellent plan. And then I’m going to meet my maybe-nephew everybody’s been talking about.”