Liz had been under the mistaken impression that Steve's father's birthday party was going to be a small family affair. Apparently, the man who'd coaxed her into coming to the celebration had failed to mention the fifty or so friends and relatives who'd been invited as well.
Sitting at a round table shaded by a large tree, Liz took a drink of her lemonade, completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of guests milling about in the Wildes' large backyard, which had been festively decorated for the occasion in a country-western theme. A live band belted out all the latest country-tunes as party-goers two-stepped on the patio. A catered barbecue buffet, the selections of which had been absolutely delicious, had been set up to feed everyone, and an open bar flowed with unlimited beer and drinks. Adding to the gaiety, the sun shone bright and warm, though a light breeze made the afternoon bearable.
The atmosphere was casual and fun, and while her appearance definitely drummed up interest and glances of speculation, especially with Steve insisting on holding her hand whenever he was by her side, his immediate family was just as accepting and genuine as he'd promised. She'd been introduced to his mother and father, whom she immediately liked. The only brother she'd yet to meet was Adrian, who, according to Steve's mother, Angela, was running late on a rock-climbing expedition he'd taken a client on earlier that morning. Adrian was expected to be there soon, and Liz was undeniably curious about the sibling both Steve and Eric referred to as the Wilde One.
A round of jovial laughter brought Liz's attention back to the occupants seated at the table. With herself, Jill, and Steve's good friend and partner, Cameron, as an audience, Eric and Steve were sharing humorous tales about years gone by, and their power of persuasion with the female gender at a very-young age.
'Remember when you coaxed Tess Callen into our clubhouse and convinced her to play doctor with you, Eric?' Steve drawled, and took a drink from his cold bottle of beer. 'The two of you were only seven, but even then she had a crush on you and willingly played as your patient.'
Eric ducked his head and chuckled. 'Yeah, I remember.'
Jill slanted him a curious look, tempered with amusement, from her seat beside him, obviously wanting to hear more. 'I can't wait to find out how you took advantage of that situation.'
'Me?' Eric feigned innocence, though the naughty sparkle in his eyes gave him away. 'I'd never do such a thing.'
'Uh-huh, sure. I know better.' Jill motioned for Steve to continue the story.
'Mom thought the kids might like some fresh-baked cookies, and when she peeked into the window of the clubhouse, she caught Tess with her pants down around her knees, and Eric giving her a pretend shot on her bare rump.'
Laughter erupted around the table, and Liz joined in. She could easily imagine Eric as that precocious, mischievous little boy, flirting with girls to get his way.
Cameron saluted Eric with his beer and scooped up a handful of party mix out of the bowl on the table. 'What a charmer you were.'
'Still am,' Eric replied with that trademark Wilde grin that had no doubt set plenty of pulses aflutter, but which now only belonged to one woman. 'I've always been a sucker for a nice butt, even then. Lucky for me, Jill's is world-class.'
Jill rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushing a becoming shade of pink. 'Flattery will get you everywhere.'
Eric nuzzled her neck, not bothering to hide his affection in front of friends and family. 'God, I'm hoping,' he growled playfully.
She jabbed him in the side with her elbow, a halfhearted attempt to make him stop. 'You are so incorrigible. Try and behave yourself in public.'
'Now, what's the fun in that?' He waggled his brows at her. 'You know, if I remember correctly, I still have that doctor's kit packed away at the house-'
Jill pressed a hand over his mouth, cutting him off.
'Here's a bit of brotherly advice for you,' Steve said as he reclined back in his padded folding chair. 'You'd better stop while you're still ahead, or you're going to end up sleeping in the clubhouse tonight. Alone.' He grinned.
'You're the one who started this,' Eric groused good-naturedly. 'In fact, you're not so innocent of wrongdoing, either, big brother.'
'This I definitely want to hear.' Jill perked up now that the spotlight was off her. 'How about you, Liz?'
Liz warmed to the female comaraderie, though she was certain that Steve had been just as much of a rogue in the female department as his brother. 'Oh, absolutely.'
Eric smirked. 'What about the time Dad took all three of us fishing at the lake for a weekend, and you spent the majority of the time ogling all the girls in their skimpy bathing suits.'
Steve shrugged unrepentantly. 'I was thirteen years old and my hormones were raging. Of course I was going to look.'
'The problem was, you were also trying to impress them by looking like you knew how to handle your rod and reel.'
Cameron snickered at Eric's play on words. 'Oh, that was a good one.'
Steve shot his friend a quelling look. 'I knew exactly what I was doing with my rod and reel.'
'Really?' Eric arched a brow, letting everyone know that there was much more to the story. 'Then how do you explain the fact that when you tried to cast there was so much slack in your line that your hook got caught on the bikini top of the sixteen-year-old girl who was standing behind you?'
'That was an accident,' Steve insisted, and draped an arm along the back of Liz's chair.
'One you took full advantage of.' Eric munched on a few peanuts. 'As soon as she squealed, you dropped your fishing pole and jumped right in to help her remove the hook from her itty-bitty bikini. Except from my vantage point, you ended up groping her breasts more than anything.'
Steve grinned roguishly, his fingers absently grazing along Liz's arm. 'She didn't seem to mind my attempts to unhook her.'
'Until Dad stepped in to help your adolescent fumbling, and she found out you were only thirteen and still wet behind the ears.'
'It was an easy mistake for her to make.' Steve finished off his beer and set his bottle on the table. 'I was
'There you go again, exaggerating about size,' Eric countered right back, his sibling banter filled with masculine innuendo.
The entertaining tales continued, with each brother trying to top the other with a more outrageous story. As the party went on around them amid loud music, great food, and hearty celebrating, Liz had to admit that she was enjoying herself. Immensely. For a few wonderful hours, and before she had to go to work tonight, she pretended that everything was right in her world.
Guests and relatives stopped by their table to say hello to Eric and Steve and introduce themselves to the faces they didn't recognize. There wasn't a person that Liz met that she didn't instantly like. A few had even been to her cafe and recognized her as the owner.
'Uh-oh, here comes trouble,' Cameron muttered beneath his breath.
Liz followed his line of vision, along with everyone else's, to find a petite woman with silky black hair and silver eyes sauntering up to their table. She was wearing white jeans that rode low on her slender hips, and an off-the- shoulder top that bared her toned midriff and plenty of cleavage. Cameron, Liz noticed, was watching the other woman with a bland expression on his face that contradicted the hot look of interest in his eyes, while the other two men at the table welcomed her with a fond smile.
'I heard we had a new face in the crowd, and thought I'd come over and introduce myself,' the pretty young woman said as she came up beside Liz and held out her hand in greeting. 'I'm Mia Wilde, Steve's cousin.'
Liz slipped her hand into Mia's for a warm and friendly shake. 'It's nice to meet you.'
'Mia, also known as the Wilde child,' Cameron drawled, his tone deliberately taunting. 'And the name certainly fits, now, doesn't it, sweetheart?'
Mia merely smiled at Cameron, taking no offense at his comment. 'Being the only girl in a family of all boys does tend to spark a certain… wildness.' She smiled, the gesture as seductive and daring as the awareness crackling between her and Cameron. 'Care to try and tame me, sugar?'
'Not in this lifetime.' Cameron tipped the beer bottle to his lips and took a long, thirsty drink.
'Aww, come on, Cam,' Mia teased, and trailed her fingers along his shoulders as she came to stand by his
