“You make Taylor ring the bell?” Brett asked.
Curt sent his brother a dirty look as he walked by him. “It’s probably Aaron.”
“Aaron?”
“You know, Aaron Wright, as in Juliette’s boyfriend. You met him at Allison’s wedding. Either your old age is catching up, or all the time you spend with politicians these days is causing serious memory loss.”
Even after nearly a year, Curt still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact his older brother was a United States Senator, a position he’d expected either of his cousins Trent or Sara to maybe one day hold but not Brett. And he loved to give his brother a hard time about it every chance he got.
“Although that might be a good thing. If I had to spend time with Senators Beck and Marshall, I want to forget things too,” Curt added, referring to two current senators who also happened to be their dad and uncles' longtime friends.
“I know who Aaron is. But why is he here? Isn’t Avon over two hours away?” Brett walked with Curt down the hall toward the main foyer.
“He called yesterday and asked if he and Juliette could use my place in Newport this weekend. Since he was working in Boston today, he’d said he’d stop by and pick up the key on his way back home.”
He’d been one of the first in the family to meet Aaron in the spring, and since then, he’d spent a fair amount of time around not only Aaron but also his mom, younger sister, and niece. Although not at all the type of man Curt had imagined his younger cousin ending up with, he really liked Aaron. More importantly, Juliette appeared happier than he’d seen her in a long time. Curt suspected it was only a matter of time before Aaron proposed.
“Hey, Aaron, come on in,” Curt greeted after opening the door.
“It’s a good thing Tiegan is not with me. When the Halloween decorations were out, she begged me to get a giant inflatable pumpkin for the front yard. Now she’s asking for a Santa Claus one like her friend has. If she saw that, she’d bug me about it even more. I’ll put up lights, but I’m not getting one of those.” Aaron gestured toward the snowman before entering the house.
“Maybe I should write that down so I can pull it out and remind you when I see big Cupid outside your house in February,” Curt said as he started back toward the kitchen.
“Ignore my brother, Aaron. He’s jealous that you can withstand an attack by a little girl and he can’t.”
Curt acted as though he hadn’t heard his brother’s comment and retrieved his beer from the counter when they entered the kitchen. “When are you and Juliette planning to leave for Newport?”
“I’m hoping I can convince her to go Thursday night. Her last dance class ends at six. She doesn’t teach on Fridays, but she usually spends the day at the studio in the office.”
“For some reason, I thought going to Newport was her idea. Good luck keeping her out of the studio on Friday.” He’d never seen his cousin as driven as she’d been since opening a dance school in the fall.
“No, she has no idea of what I have planned.”
As tempting as it was to ask what Aaron had planned, Curt kept his mouth shut, although he suspected he knew what the answer would be. “Use the place as long as you want,” he said, tossing the extra set of keys he’d shoved in his pocket earlier to Aaron. “Do you want anything to drink?”
Aaron pointed toward the bottle in Brett’s hand. “One of those would—”
“Curt, we’re home. Who’s here?” Reese’s voice reached them from down the hallway, announcing she and Taylor were there.
Since she’d find out soon enough, he didn’t bother to call out a reply. Instead, he grabbed a beer for Aaron while he waited for Taylor and Reese to join them.
Reese entered the room, a pastry box in her hands. When she spotted his brother and Aaron, she immediately smiled. “Hi, Brett.” Without any hesitation, she hugged his brother. Over the past year and a half, she had developed a loving relationship not only with his parents but also with his older brother and younger sister.
“Are those for me?” Brett asked, pretending to reach for the box when Reese released him.
“Nope. We got some cannoli, cookies, and tiramisu for Curt.” She held on to the box while she went over to hug Aaron. “Is Tiegan here?”
The very first time Reese and Aaron’s niece met, they hit it off. Now, they regularly sent each other text messages, and often when he and Taylor went up to visit his cousin and her boyfriend, Reese came along so she could hang out with Tiegan.
“Not today,” Aaron answered, returning Reese’s embrace.
“Next time you come, please bring her too. I want to show her my new room. Curt let me pick out the color for the walls and help him paint. And last week, my new furniture came. It’s all ready for me to move into after Curt and Auntie’s wedding.”
“I’ll do my best,” Aaron promised.
“Here, Curt. Aunt Taylor and I went to Ambrosia after our appointment. These are for you.” Reese handed him the box and made a beeline for the refrigerator.
“Thanks, short stuff.”
“I think he should share. What do you think, Reese?” Brett asked.
Reese poured a large glass of milk while she considered the question. “We did get everything for him, but I share stuff with my friends. Maybe he should give you and Aaron a tiny piece.”
“There’s enough in there for us all to have more than a tiny piece,” Taylor said.
“If everyone has some, can I have something too?” Reese asked, looking at him instead of Taylor.
Taylor didn’t give him a chance to reply. “You already had an enormous cupcake, my friend. You don’t need any more sweets right now. And while you wait for dinner, go start your homework.”
“Fine,” she grumbled before glancing at him again. “Please save me a cookie.”
“I’ll save you two cookies.” Curt ruffled her hair and set the box on the table.
While he waited for Reese to leave the room, he got some plates and forks. He’d never get his brother to leave without sharing some of the pastry. “How did everything go today?”
“Okay. The appointment didn’t take long. We would’ve been home sooner, but we stopped at the café and then hit traffic.” As he’d known she would, Taylor selected a slice of tiramisu from the sweets on display. Rather than sit down and eat, though, she added water to the French press. “And Reese asked questions about why we were going to the lab.”
He’d known she would. “What did you tell her?”
“The truth.”
“Was she upset?” Put in Reese’s shoes, he had no idea how he’d respond.
“Upset? No, I wouldn’t say that. But she wasn’t happy either. She told me she doesn’t need a dad because she has you.”
Curt never doubted how much Reese cared about him. Still, happiness expanded in his chest, and he swallowed down the emotion choking him. “Did you hear back from Jordan?”
“I got a message from him before I picked Reese up at school. The lab in Concord has an opening tomorrow morning, so he’s going before work.”
The lab assured them results within three to six days, so they’d at least have the truth soon. Curt just hoped it was the news he wanted.