“Dad.” Dylan invested that word with a boatload of irritation. Her soon-to-be stepbrother was not a happy camper, but he was going to learn that speaking out loud about his negative feelings would not endear him to Mom. Mom was giving him the frown-of-death, which suggested that the scene was about to get ugly if Ella didn’t head Dylan off at the pass.
“What kind of party do you want? Where were you thinking of getting married? How many people? Sit-down dinner or buffet? Music? Mom, I need details,” she said in a rush.
Mom’s frown evaporated like dew on a summer’s day. Whew. “We talked to Ashley Scott about getting married in her garden in May.”
“We actually booked a date,” Jim added. “May twenty-second.”
“And we wanted to keep the wedding to the family only, but since Jim is such a prominent member of the community—”
“We thought maybe an engagement party would be in order,” Jim said, finishing Mom’s sentence.
It was cute. And she was warming to the idea, sort of. But one glance in Dylan’s direction told her she was the only one. Her soon-to-be stepbrother was not down with the program.
Whoa. That was a thought. Did she want a brother?
Not really.
“You know,” Dylan finally said, “it might be best if you kept things small. I mean it’s not as if…” His voice faded out the minute Jim turned his intense blue eyes in his son’s direction. Wow. Who knew Jim could silence Dylan with a mere look. Jim’s cred went up by a factor of ten.
Ella jumped in, continuing in her gung ho tone. “So, um, did you have an idea of how big you wanted your party to be?”
“We need to put together a guest list,” Jim said. “Maybe a hundred people.”
“Wow. I guess with a big guest list like that, we’ll have some trouble finding a venue,” she said.
Dylan slumped back in his chair and might have rolled his somewhat attractive blue eyes. Oh boy, it was her lucky day. She could just see the fun times ahead planning this party with him.
“We were thinking maybe the reception hall at Grace Church,” Jim said.
“We were?” Mom’s tone suggested that Jim had been thinking about the church and had failed to communicate with his bride-to-be. Not good.
“It’s a big room, Brenda,” Jim said.
“Right. But that’s its main attraction. It’s big and empty and kind of boring.”
“Well, maybe we could rent out Rafferty’s for an evening.”
Dylan sat up in his chair. “Dad, have you any idea how much that would cost?”
“Some. But, you know, you only get married twice.” Jim lifted a half-full glass of green beer.
Dylan glowered.
Just then, Jason waved in Ella’s direction, signaling the start of the second set. She’d never been so happy for the end of a break. “Look, I gotta go to work. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”
“Of course. We wanted to tell you two tonight since we’re all together,” Mom said. “And, honey, the violin sounds wonderful.”
Something warm spilled into Ella’s core. Mom hadn’t failed to notice all the hard work she’d done over the last few weeks. She might even have enjoyed the unusual praise were it not for the grumpy stare Dylan Killough aimed in her direction.
Chapter Two
Magnolia Harbor Primary Care Physicians were located on Palmetto Street in a squat brick building. The bottom floor housed the Jonquil Island free clinic, and the family practice was located in the suite above.
Ella opted not to wait for the slow elevator and climbed the stairs, her heart pounding more from trepidation than exertion. Last night, Dylan Killough had made it clear that he wasn’t thrilled by Mom and Jim’s engagement. This morning, he’d surprised her by leaving a message on her phone at 8:30 a.m. suggesting that they meet today at 2:00.
She hadn’t expected that. She’d expected him to duck the responsibility. So she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was okay after all.
She pushed through the office doors on the second floor and walked up to the reception desk. “Oh, hey, Ella,” the lady said as if she’d known Ella all her life. Ella had no idea who this woman was. Probably one of the ladies Mom knew from A Stitch in Time, the yarn store where Ella’s mother worked.
“Hi,” she said, forcing a smile.
“I’ll let Doctor D know that you’re here. He was asking about you five minutes ago.” The woman glanced at the clock.
It was officially five minutes after two in the afternoon. Ella was late. She would have been on time, but the traffic on the beach road had been horrible. Some idiot college kid, here for spring break, had crossed the center line and hit a car coming in the opposite direction. Based on the wreckage, people had gotten hurt.
But obviously any injured folks hadn’t been brought here to the local family practice. She clamped down on the urge to say the words “I’m sorry.” Instead, she waited without another word until the receptionist picked up her telephone handset and paged the good doctor.
A minute later, she was ushered down a long hallway with exam rooms on either side. Dylan’s office was at the end, and it wasn’t large but it did have a window with a view down Palmetto Street.
“You’re late,” Dylan grumbled. His eyes were a dark shade of blue flecked with amber that should have made them warmer than his father’s. But the cool distance in his regard set her on edge. What did he want from her?
Had he called her here so he could foist the party planning off on her? Which would be fine because Dylan didn’t look like a guy who had a clue about anything fun or joyous. His button-down was buttoned up, and his bow tie—a red one this time—was perfectly knotted
