Aidan loped over to join them, nabbing the leash Archie had yanked from his hand. “Sorry,” he apologized, then shook his head as the dog unabashedly moved on to seek attention from both Danielle and Mrs. Benson. “Apparently he has a real thing for the women in your family.”
“He’s fickle,” Liz said. “No question about it. Cordelia would be mortified. She thought she’d trained him better than that before she turned him over to me.”
Her mother regarded her with surprise. “He was yours?”
“Just a houseguest,” Liz explained. “Then he adopted Aidan.”
Her mother’s lips quirked. “I imagine you had no say in the matter?” she asked Aidan.
“Not much,” he agreed. “Between Archie and your daughter, I was pretty much doomed. They were very persuasive.”
Her mother smiled. “Liz was the same way with every stray that came to the door back home. We’d have been overrun with them if she hadn’t had a way of persuading all the neighbors to take them in. I doubt there was a home in the area that didn’t have a pet she’d talked the owners into adopting.”
“So it’s not a recent development,” he concluded.
“Heavens, no. Though I wasn’t happy that she gave up teaching, it’s little surprise to me that she’s doing something related to animals.”
Aidan noted that Liz seemed as surprised as he was by the accepting tone of her mother’s comments. He also noted that she seemed uncomfortable with the sudden shift.
To change the subject, he asked her, “Are you on your way to breakfast? I noticed when I left for my run that Sally’s is filling up fast.”
Liz nodded. “I persuaded them not to take off at the crack of dawn and stay for breakfast. It didn’t require much persuasion once I told them about Sally’s waffles and French toast.”
“Outrageously delicious,” he assured them.
To his shock, it was Liz’s mother who said, “Would you care to join us? I’d like to make amends for treating you so badly.”
Aidan regarded her with shock. “You never mistreated me,” he said. Oh, she’d made her displeasure with his presence in Liz’s life clear, but she’d never been outright rude to him. Good Southern manners—or Liz’s immediate defense of him—had kept her from crossing that line.
“Maybe not overtly, but my behavior was deplorable and you didn’t deserve my suspicions,” she said. “If it’s not too late, I’d like to get to know you better. Mick O’Brien said some very nice things about you last night. So did everyone else I met.”
Still startled by the attitude adjustment, he turned to Liz, who merely shrugged. LeeAnn and Danielle were clearly amused.
“Then I’d be happy to join you,” he said. “Just let me take Archie upstairs and change out of my running clothes. I’ve tried leaving the dog outside Sally’s, but he looks so sad when he watches me through the glass that everybody thinks I’m heartless.”
“Well, it’s obvious to me that he adores you,” Mrs. Benson said, that rare note of approval still in her voice.
“I won’t be long, but go ahead and order without me,” he suggested.
“We don’t mind waiting,” Mrs. Benson said, clearly determined to be cheerful and accommodating. “Take your time.”
As Aidan headed upstairs, he couldn’t help wondering what the heck had gone on among these women after he’d said good-night at the party. The atmosphere had gone from frosty to warm overnight. Maybe it didn’t really matter. Whatever had changed finally seemed to be working in his favor.
* * *
“Boy, when you decide to be more open-minded, you throw yourself right into it, don’t you, Mom?” Liz said, regarding her mother with astonishment.
“Well, there’s not much time left, and Aidan seems to be important to you, so I figured I’d better not waste a minute.”
“And we’re always happy for a little eye candy,” LeeAnn chimed in.
“Amen to that,” Danielle added.
Liz laughed when their mother regarded them with disapproval.
“Girls! Behave yourselves,” she scolded. “You’re grown women with husbands and children.”
Danielle, for once, didn’t look even slightly intimidated. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that you haven’t noticed what a hunk Aidan is?”
A guilty flush stained their mother’s cheeks. “Whether I have or I haven’t, I’m not so indiscreet that I’d blab about it.”
“She’s noticed,” LeeAnn said triumphantly. “I mean, Dad’s a good-looking guy for his age, but Aidan is swoon-worthy, right, Mom?”
Their mother shook her head. “I sometimes think you must have been raised by a pack of wolves. Daughters of mine would never say such inappropriate things about their own parents.”
LeeAnn nudged her with an elbow. “Just admit it, Mom. You finally see what we see in Aidan, don’t you?”
“He’s an attractive man,” she conceded grudgingly. “But it’s character that really counts.”
“Amen to that,” Liz said in heartfelt agreement as she led the way into Sally’s and claimed the last available booth in the crowded café.
Fortunately they were several tables away from the various O’Briens, who were already eating, though no place would be far enough away from their prying eyes and smirking gazes once Aidan arrived.
When he walked in the door, she noticed him looking around for an extra chair, but there were none to be had. Her mother obviously noticed that, too. She waved him over.
“Just squeeze right in beside Liz and LeeAnn. They don’t take up much space.”
Grinning, he glanced at Liz. “Is that okay with you?”
Before she could reply, LeeAnn was already sliding over toward the wall.
“Come on, big sis. Make room for the man.” A huge grin spread across her face. “Or you could let him sit in the middle. That would be cozy.”
Liz slid closer to her sister. “This is fine, thanks.”
“Darn! I was hoping to have a real story for my husband about getting up close and personal with his football hero.”
“I doubt he’d have been overjoyed about that,” Liz said.
“Oh, he’d have been no more upset than you,” LeeAnn taunted. “I notice it only took you about two seconds to make sure I didn’t get that close
