Kevin watched Holly walk into the house, feeling like he’d just been run over by a steamroller. What was she doing here? Was she one of Megan’s friends? Was that why his sister was so ticked earlier?
He started after her, but Megan grabbed his arm and pushed him back. “We have to clean this up, Kevin.”
“But Holly—”
“You know Holly?” his mother asked in surprise. “Did you come to the office this week while I was out with a client?”
“Your office?” he asked, his synapses still misfiring in his brain.
“Holly is an event planner,” Megan said slowly, enunciating each word so it sank in. “She works with Mom at her office.”
“Why are you talking like that?” his mother demanded.
“Because the bottle obviously landed on his head and addled his brain,” his sister said, fury in her eyes.
His mother’s assistant…the wedding photos…
How could he have been so stupid? “I have to talk to her.”
Megan pushed him into a squat. “No, you have to clean up.”
“Why would you want to talk to Holly?” his mother asked, shaking her head. “Oh.” Understanding filled the word. “She set up the bar. What did she get wrong?”
Her demanding boss…biding her time…It all made sense now. Oh, shit.
“I have to talk to her.”
Megan gave him a look of understanding as she squatted next to him, picking up the shards of glass, then whispered, “Not now. She needs some space.”
“Will someone tell me what is going on here?” his mother demanded, her hands on her hips. “Why would you hold a champagne bottle over your head? Is this your childish way of getting back at me because of your dinner with Bethany last night?”
He took a breath, pulling himself together. His mother had it out for her employee, and, just as he’d presumed earlier, most likely out of jealousy and not the ineptitude she continually insinuated. If his mother caught wind that he’d slept with Holly, she might fire her. He couldn’t let that happen.
He forced a grin. “Megan dared me.”
His mother turned her disapproval to her daughter. “Megan Nicole, I thought pregnancy would make you more mature.”
His sister tried to hold back a grin as she stood. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mother.”
“This is your way of getting back at me for not including Libby in a dual shower, isn’t it?”
“For God’s sake, Mother.” Megan groaned. “It’s not always about you. Sometimes Kevin and I do things without giving one thought to what you will think.”
Their mother gasped and took a step backward.
“How long has it been since you’ve been with a woman?” his grandmother asked. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet during the exchange. Of all his grandparents she had always been his favorite, never giving a shit what other people thought of her. Her outfit today was proof enough of that. The septuagenarian was wearing a glittery pink track suit that looked like it was made out of shiny polyester, and she sported a pink stripe of hair that stood out in the snow-white mop on top of her head. She’d become even more bold after the death of his grandfather several years back, much to the aggravation of his mother. Last November, she’d married a yoga instructor twenty years her junior. “Going too long without sex can make a man clumsy. You should have seen Geraldo before we hooked up.”
“Gram!” Kevin grinned, his irritation with his mother fading. “I’m not discussing my sex life with you.”
“Why not? Later I can tell you all about the orgasmic meditation yoga class Geraldo and I teach.” She winked. “We demonstrate it, too.”
Kevin could live without the visual, and Megan shuddered.
“Mother!” Nicole shouted. “There are children present!”
Gram looked around. “Where?”
“My children.”
For once, Kevin was happy for his mother’s interference.
Megan jumped in. “Gram, I didn’t think you were coming. After the incident with Mom and Geraldo at Christmas, you said you wouldn’t be home for a while.”
She shot Nicole a glare. “I decided I needed to be here for my granddaughter’s baby shower. Even if I had to leave a seminar in Milwaukee to do it.”
“How’s Geraldo? I was hoping to see him.” Kevin felt a little guilty asking, since he knew his mother did not approve of her mother’s quickie wedding in Little Heaven Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. But he was pissed at his mother and it was an extra dig. Granted, he was acting like an eight-year-old, but the fact that his sister was, too, gave him all the encouragement he needed.
Nicole groaned. “I cannot believe you are bringing that…man into the conversation.”
Megan turned back to look at her. “You mean her husband?”
His mother shuddered, then lifted her chin. “Your grandmother has yet to produce a marriage license, so I still choose to believe this is simply an act of rebellion.”
Gram looked her daughter up and down. “Just as uptight as ever. Geraldo would be willing to give you and Bart a private session.” She curled her upper lip. “I couldn’t teach you, of course. That would be too weird.”
“And it’s okay for your new husband—a man younger than me—to teach me how to have an orgasm?”
“Oh, my God!” Megan screeched, stuffing her fingers in her ears. “Stop!’
Kevin was shocked that his mother actually said the word. He’d never even heard her say the word sex in reference to the act.
Gram shrugged. “Since Bart can’t seem to get the job done, then…sure.”
The back gate opened and the voices caught his mother’s attention. A panicked look washed over her face, and she pointed her finger at her mother. “No talk about orgasms during Megan’s baby shower!”
Gram looked offended. “But it’s been proven that pregnant women who have regular orgasms have safer deliveries.” Gram turned to Megan. “Now, this is important. Are your orgasms mostly clitoral or G-spot?”
“Gram!” Megan gasped.
“Mother! That’s quite enough.” His mother did not look pleased.
Kevin popped off the top of another champagne bottle, poured it into a glass, then chugged it down like a shot.
“That is so not fair,” Megan grumbled. “I can’t rely on alcohol to get through this shower.”
He lifted the glass in salute and grinned before taking another drink.
“Megan, you didn’t answer my question,” Gram said. “Do you know where your G-spot is?”
Megan gave her grandmother a solemn look. “Josh has his own personal map to my G-spot. I’m sure he’ll be happy to show me.” She glanced toward the guests. “But let’s pick this up later, okay?”
“And make sure you’re about five miles out of my hearing range first,” Kevin said, pouring another glass. He did not want to hear about his sister’s G-spot.
“Kevin!” his mother chastised. “Save some of that for the guests!” Then she looked around. “Where’s Holly?”
The snotty way she said her name made his jaw set. He started to defend her, but Megan jabbed an elbow into his side. “Libby wasn’t feeling well, so Holly offered to help her inside.”
Nicole placed a hand on her chest. “Oh, dear. I hope she’s not going to leave early. I need her for a game later.”
“Un-fucking-believable,” Kevin muttered under his breath before he finished off the rest of his drink. “Not is she okay, but she needs her for a game.”
Megan gave their mother a tight smile. “Libby’s fine. I think she was just overwhelmed by how amazing everything looks.”
Nicole beamed. “Of course it does.” She smoothed her skirt. “Now I need to go greet our guests.”
She strutted away and Gram moved closer. “Give me a scotch on the rocks.”
“All I have is mimosas, Gram.”
“What kind of bar is that?”
“A lame-ass one, obviously.” He turned his attention to his sister as he poured his grandmother a drink. “I have to talk to her, Megan.”
“Not now—just trust me on this.” Her eyes narrowed. “When I figured out what happened, I asked Mom to let Holly go, but she won’t let her leave.”
Gram looked between the two of them. “What secret are we keeping from your mother?”
“Uh…” Megan gave Kevin a questioning look.
He shook his head in irritation. “Might as well tell her. Half the fucking world knows.”
“And Holly is horrified beyond belief at that.”
He slammed the bottle down on the table. “Goddammit.”
His sister put her hands on her hips, then pushed out a breath. “I’m still pissed as hell at you right now for jumping to conclusions, but we’ll fix this. One way or the other. You go walk around the block or something, take a few minutes to calm down, then come back. After everyone’s left, you can talk to her.”
He wasn’t sure he should wait, but he decided to trust his sister on this one. “Okay.”
She gave him a little push toward the house. “Use the side gate.”
He nodded, bolting for the exit just as his worst nightmare came true.
“Kevin!”
He turned, horror washing through him when he saw Bethany coming out the kitchen door—headed straight for him.
“There you are, cupcake!” She gave him a pageant wave as she hurried toward him.
“What in God’s name is she doing here?” he grumbled.
His mother moved to his side. “I invited her, of course. I know you think you’re not interested in her, but you really should give her another chance. She might grow on you.”
Like a fungus. But he wisely kept that to himself.
Bethany draped herself around him in a lingering hug, then kissed his cheek as she pulled back and looped her arm through his. “Nicole, I know you complain about your assistant, but I found her to be very sweet.”
Kevin’s heart seized. “You talked to Holly?”
Bethany winked. “I suggested she might be helping plan a special celebration for the two of us…if you know what I mean.”
He was so screwed.