Heads turned, and soon everyone else stood too. Alexis paused inside the room, hands twisted at her stomach. “Hi,” she breathed.
“So glad you could make it,” Candi said, moving in for another easy embrace.
Candi pulled back with a deliberate expression. “You remember Cayden, right?”
The room quieted as Cayden stepped forward. His face was as tight as Lauren’s. He was obviously being forced into this little display of family togetherness.
He extended a hand to Noah. “Cayden Vanderpool.”
Noah squeezed tighter than was necessary. “Nice to meet you.”
Elliott introduced Cayden’s wife, Jenny, and their two children. Then the room held its breath as Cayden finally turned his attention to Alexis. “How did the tests go?”
Alexis blinked. “Good. Fine.”
Cayden’s wife whispered something in the toddler’s ear, and the little girl crawled off her lap. “She made something for you,” Jenny said.
The child walked around the table and handed Alexis a crumpled piece of paper.
Alexis smiled. “What’s this?”
“She made you a picture,” Jenny said. Cayden, meanwhile, looked like he was trying to crack open walnuts with his teeth.
Alexis crouched low so she was eye level with the child. “This is beautiful. Thank you.”
Noah looked over her shoulder at the scribbles of blue and white.
“She told me it was a snowman,” Jenny explained.
Alexis laughed. “I can definitely see that.”
The tension deflated as if someone had stuck a pin in it. Shoulders relaxed and smiles loosened. Alexis stood again, and Noah led her to a pair of open chairs at the table.
“So,” Candi said, sitting down. “You should all be warned that I’m starving, so I plan to eat off everyone’s plates.”
A collective of groans went up as everyone returned to their seats. “She’s horrible about stealing food,” Elliott said. “Protect yourself accordingly.”
“Have you ever eaten here before?” Candi asked, opening the menu.
“No,” Alexis said. “I rarely have time to eat out anymore.”
Elliott beamed. “You have your own restaurant to worry about, right?”
“Right.”
“She prefers restaurants that locally source their products,” Noah said. Alexis shot him a look that he couldn’t decipher.
“We’ve celebrated so many special family milestones here,” Elliott said. “Candi’s high school graduation, Cayden’s rehearsal dinner. It’s our special place.”
Tense silence reigned again as everyone buried their faces in their menus. Candi alone seemed oblivious, because her next question made everyone squirm. “Did you and your mom have a favorite restaurant where you celebrated things?”
Across from him, Lauren stiffened. Once again, Noah couldn’t blame her.
“We had quite a few favorite places that we liked,” Alexis said, which was a total lie. She and her mom had rarely eaten out. They were too poor. She had every right to tell Elliott that, but she seemed intent on protecting everyone’s feelings but her own.
“You guys have to try Alexis’s food,” Candi boasted. “She makes the most amazing scones.” Candi suddenly sat up straight, as if the solution to world poverty had just come to her. “You should totally make them Christmas morning! We always do a big breakfast Christmas morning. Wouldn’t that be fun? You guys could spend the night and. . .”
Candi’s voice trailed off as the reality of what she was suggesting fell across the table. All eyes swept to Lauren, who was literally trembling. “That . . . would be . . . lovely,” Lauren said. “We can certainly discuss it.”
“I mean, if you don’t have plans already,” Candi said in a more hushed tone.
Once again, Alexis sacrificed herself to save everyone else from discomfort. “I can barely plan a week from now.”
“Right?” Candi said on a relieved breath. “Life gets so busy.”
Then the waitress saved everyone when she showed up to take drink orders.
“Well, I know I’m starving,” Elliott said. “And the food here is amazing. The lasagna is my favorite, if you want to try that.”
“Lexa’s a vegetarian,” Noah said.
“I’ll probably have the eggplant Parmesan,” Alexis said smoothly. “That’s usually my favorite.”
“That’s really good too,” Candi said. “I’ve had that before.”
Things went like that for a while as they waited for their drinks. Stilted conversation pockmarked by nervous laughter and occasional oohs and aahs at how cute the kids were.
Then Cayden leaned forward. “So, Noah. What do you do for a living?”
* * *
Alexis tensed as soon as Cayden turned his attention to Noah. She knew evil intent when she saw it, and Cayden’s question was far too casual. “He owns a computer security business,” she answered quickly.
Noah’s gaze fell to hers with a quizzical tug of his eyebrows. “I work with businesses and individuals to secure their systems,” he said to Cayden.
“You own the company?”
Alexis bristled at Cayden’s tone. She knew that Noah didn’t give off the traditional businessman vibes with his long hair and casual clothes, but Cayden’s comment was heavy with arrogance. “He’s extremely successful,” Alexis said. “A lot of his clients are celebrities.”
“Really?” Elliott said. “Anyone we would know?”
Noah took his time answering again. “Colton Wheeler?”
Candi made a no way noise. “Holy crap, are you serious?”
“He’s also a good friend of ours,” Alexis said. “We’re all in a wedding together next month.”
“Next month?” Elliott said. “That’s cutting it kind of close with the surgery. Will you be okay by then?”
“I talked to Jasmine about it, and she said I should be fine. I still won’t be able to do any heavy lifting, and I probably won’t have as much energy as I might normally have, but nothing that will keep me from being a bridesmaid.”
Alexis hoped the shift into wedding talk would redirect Cayden, but no such luck. He was on a mission.
“How did you get into that line of work?” he asked Noah.
Alexis held her breath as she looked up at Noah. Some people were fascinated to find out what Noah had done in his rebellious teenage
