“Just come early, grab some food, and head out. Grandpa will make you a to-go bag.”
“You know that your grandparents aren’t going to let me just slip in and out without sitting down to eat.”
“Grandpa’s insisting, really. Actually, they’re right here, and if you say you’re not coming, they’re going to grab this phone, and you know they will not take no for an answer.”
“Oh, lord.”
“Listen. It starts at five. Come by, maybe, four thirty? The food will be ready, people might arrive a little after five.”
In the background, Grandma Thompson called out, “Pie!”
Brandy laughed. “Yes, Grandma. She’s making you your own pie, Preeti.”
“How can I say no to that?” I asked.
What was the worst that could happen, anyway?
Chapter Three
The party was not at Grandpa Thompson’s house, but at Brandy’s parents’ house. Which meant that despite my leaving early for the anticipated twenty-minute drive, it took forty minutes to get there, and Brandy sending out the address last-minute didn’t help.
Brandy and Daniel’s childhood home was a large house on a massive lot, pushed back from the street for added privacy and space for more than a dozen cars along the wide and generous driveway. There were plenty of cars here already, and I didn’t want to get trapped between any, since my plan was to get in and get out. I parked farther down the winding drive in exchange for a longer walk.
The gravel walkway crunched beneath my steps and a slight breeze swept through. Japanese maple trees with the most gorgeous shade of maroon-purple-tinted leaves mixed dramatically with oaks on a manicured lawn.
I texted Brandy to let her know I’d arrived, just now seeing her earlier text telling me to let myself in. I took a few breaths to steel myself in preparation for seeing her parents and Daniel.
I opened the opaque-window-paned front door to a hum of conversations, light classical music, and a banquet of scents, some delicately floral, some luxurious perfumes, some decadent food.
The living room appeared to the right, speckled with oil paintings and a floor vase of silk flowers.
I maneuvered through chattering groups, feeling more and more out of place. Women in cocktail dresses and pearls and men in suits and watches that caught every glint of light like diamonds made me feel plain and simple in my blouse and slacks. But this was the norm for the Thompson family. They were Southern royalty, and I had no idea what was going on, nor an ounce of belonging, as I searched for Brandy and her grandparents.
“So good to have Daniel back,” I heard someone say.
“Wonder if he’s taking over the business now?” another asked.
Others chuckled. “Think his dad is going to hand things over like that?”
“What are we thinking? He’s much too possessive to let go of control.”
“This’ll all be…so interesting.”
Was Daniel back for good? Not just for a few weeks while we shared an apartment? Had Brandy lured me into a homecoming dinner for the brother I’d dumped?
The hairs on my arms stood up, warning me it was best to hurry.
Daniel’s family didn’t play it small and quiet. The backyard, visible through large windows covering the entire back side of the house, was set up with tables underneath blue and gold tablecloths for catered appetizers. A bartender was making all sorts of drinks. The living room and yard were decorated with vases of flowers and ribbons wrapped around pillars.
“Everything is an opportunity for the future,” a man said.
I would have recognized Daniel’s father’s voice anywhere. It was deep, like Daniel’s, but stern and level, whereas Daniel’s was more soothing. Mr. Thompson was an intimidating man, to say the least. Tall, handsome, commanding, poised, intelligent, and capable of speaking his mind with just a glance.
Could I slip by without his noticing? Should I say hello? No. Of course not. He wouldn’t want to see me after having told me to leave Daniel alone all those years ago.
“Right. Because a quiet meal with the family was too much to ask for,” Daniel replied.
My heart fluttered. My chest filled with rampaging zombie butterflies gnashing around. Daniel had his back to me, but there was no denying exactly who he was from the mere sound of his voice, throaty and sexy.
I couldn’t help but eavesdrop from the other side of these tall plants, drinking in his voice. My legs wouldn’t move.
Mr. Thompson was decked out in a finely tailored tan suit while Mrs. Thompson stood nearby with another woman.
“It’s time to work hard, Daniel,” his father said.
“Harder, you mean?” Daniel retorted. Then he eased out of the conversation with an “Excuse me, Dad.”
“Trying to make a quick getaway?” a tall, beautiful woman asked as he walked off. “Welcome home, Daniel,” she said with a bright smile.
As I watched her lean in to kiss his cheek, I felt a nasty stab in my guts, like someone had prodded my insides with a red-hot poker.
After all this time, of course Daniel would’ve moved on.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone tapped my shoulder. I spun around to face Jackson, Daniel’s best friend and Brandy’s boyfriend. He grinned. “Preeti! You made it!” He gave me a side hug that lasted the entire two seconds he was allotted by my touch aversion.
“Jackson! You scared me.” I put a hand to my chest.
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“Uh, oh,” I stuttered. “I didn’t mean to. Seeing Mr. Thompson is usually cause for freezing up.”
“I’m just joking with ya.”
“Who are they?” I cocked my head toward the small crowd around Daniel.
“Frank Peterson. Best friends with Daniel’s dad. Future business partner. Owner of a real estate empire. Alisha Peterson, his daughter, following in her mother’s footsteps. Part of the next generation of board members of local charities and the organization founded by Daniel’s grandmother. Powerhouse businesswoman. Set to take over the Peterson legacy.”
So she was even more formidable than she appeared.
“Let me introduce you around. Brandy is taking care of some things out back.” He led me to a few small groups, making introductions and joking and being his charming self. All the while, Daniel moved from Alisha to others and passed us from behind. I could detect him the way bees detected flowers, alluring and delectable. I called it the Daniel Effect.
Jackson led me down the hall. “Grandma’s in the kitchen. I’ll be back. Just need to check on a few things. You okay?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
I turned from him and emerged into a room with a kitchen big enough to feed a school to the left and a dining table for eight to the right. I sidestepped to stand behind a dining chair as I searched past the small group of caterers in black-and-navy uniforms.
Grandma Thompson spotted! Her perfect crown of salt-and-pepper hair was twisted into a bun and locked in place with a subdued purple hair pin. She tossed her head back and laughed, her cheeks dotted plum with joy as she nudged Daniel with an elbow.
He chuckled and reached around her, hugging her as he rocked back and forth.
Oh. My. Lord.
I knew I’d have to face him sooner or later, but being in front of Daniel was always a jolt to my system. As if I’d been walking around half-dead and his closeness was the lightning bolt that brought me back to life. Exhilarating. Dangerous.