Something to Talk About (35 page)

“That would be me, I’m Andrew Cochran,” he said. “Renee, I can’t believe you didn’t introduce us. We can behave in front of company, you know.”

“I’m so sorry, “
Renee said hastily. “Please don’t think we’re savages, I was just so happy to see another pair of willing hands I forgot myself. Guys, come and meet John’s friend Nina.”

In seconds Nina was shaking hands with Donnie, Alan, and Andre and trying not to gape as a tumble of children surged out of the house. Renee gamely tried to put a name to each child, but they were moving so fast it was all a blur.

“My goodness, are there any more of you?” Nina murmured as the backyard filled with Cochrans, many of whom seemed to look just alike.

“There’s one more son, Adam, and he should be here any minute with his
fiancee
,” Renee told her. “Oh, wait, here he is now.”

Adam and Alicia came around the corner of the house with two big bags. A roar went up as nieces and nephews surrounded the couple. Alicia took the bags from Adam and came over to Renee.

“These are empanadas, right out of the freezer. They just need to be heated up for about twenty minutes. Are there some big trays we can use?”

Renee said of course and they were about to go to the kitchen when Alicia no
ti
ced Nina and smiled.

“Hello, I’m Alicia Fuentes, Adam’s
fiancee
. Nice to see you,” she said. Nina nodded and was about to speak when Adam joined them. She stared up at the tall man and was struck by his resemblance to John. All of the men favored John to some degree, but there was something about this man that was unmistakably similar to the man she’d come to know over the past few months. A
tiny
weird tremor passed through Nina as she stared at Adam, but she tried to cover it up.

“I’m Nina Whitney. Nice to meet you,” she said casually, hoping that her face didn’t betray her. She watched closely as Adam retrieved the bags from Alicia and took them into the house. This was the reason she’d c
ome, and it looked like her insti
ncts were right.
This could be the one,
she thought
.

***

Adam watched his sisters-in-law and stepmother with affection and admiration; no one could top them when it came to pulling something together at short notice. Alicia was putting the little meat-filled turnovers on a large baking pan before putting them into the oven.

“Where are th
e aunts?” he asked of no one in particular.

“They’re upstairs getting ready,” Tina told him. “They should be down any time.”

Martha turned to him and asked for his assistance. “Adam, honey, I think I left a serving tray by the front door. Can you go see if it’s in there? It should be in a big
Macy’s
bag leaning on the umbrella stand in the foyer,” she told him.

Adam went off in search of the missing tray.
He located it quickly and was about to pick it up when the doors to the study opened. Adam turned in that direction and felt his blood congeal in his veins. There in the doorway stood his father with the man he now claimed as his son, John Flores. Adam could hear his heartbeat resonating in his ears, but nothing else. For the first time he completely understood the meaning of time standing still as an eternity seemed to pass while he looked into the face of the man he would never call brother.

Chapter Twenty-two

Everyone was on his or her best behavior and the gathering wasn’t nearly as awkward as it could have been. After being sequestered in the study, Big Benny and John joined the family in the spacious backyard. John was formally introduced to everyone from the youngest, Lily Rose, to the oldest, Aunt
Emmaline
, and received genuinely sincere greetings from all. The Cochrans managed to be welcoming without being overwhelming, no mean feat for a family as close and demonstrative as they were. It was a warm and celebratory evening and Adam seemed to be tolerating it, even to Roxy’s observant eye. She commented on this to Alicia when they were alone in the kitchen.

“Adam seems to be handling this pretty well. From the way you were talking I thought he’d be sweating bullets and swinging from the chandelier right about now. He seems fine,” she said.

Alicia made a small face. “He’s doing okay, Roxy, but he’s shutting down, I can feel it. You should have seen him about an hour ago when Angelique introduced Lily Rose to John. She’d just awakened from a nap an
d you know how cranky babies can be
when they wake up. She was fussy and when Adam reached for her she screamed and wanted to go to John.” She sighed unhappily at the memory. “She saw his ponytail and thought for a second he was Adam. As soon as he took her she realized he wasn’t Adam and started crying again, but, honey, that hurt Adam to his heart
.
” She made a sad face, remembering how Lily had gladly turned to her
uncle
Adam’s arms but kept looking from John to Adam with puzzled and teary eyes.

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Roxy said sympathetically. “He’s a big softie, isn’t he?”

“When it comes to his nieces and nephews he’s a total marshmallow, but he’d never admit it
.
I hope he’s able to laugh about it one day, but this ain’t the day,
Rox
. We’ll be cutting out of here pretty soon.”

“Not too soon, I hope. I barely got a chance to say hello to you,” a deep voice said.

Alicia turned around and gave an exclamation of joy. “Bryant it’s so good to see you! When did you get here?”

“Not too long ago. I’ve been outside talking to Benita and Clay and checking out the kids. They have some beautiful children,” he said admiringly. The admiration turned toward Alicia as he
beheld
her new look. “Alicia, I just saw you a month ago and now look at you! I didn’t think it was possible for you to be any more gorgeous, but this new look just floors me. You are one incredible woman and Adam is the luckiest man on this earth,” he said sincerely. He walked all
the way around the blushing Alicia, making a low sound of approval. “It’s a good thing I never saw you in a skirt before this, I’d have fought Adam for you.”

Alicia was pink with pleasure and laughing at Bryant’s nonsense when she remembered that Roxy was in the room.

“Bryant, please stop being silly and meet my best friend, Roxy Fairchild. Roxy, this is Bryant Porter.” As the two of them said hello and shook hands, Alicia’s eyes brightened. “Hey, you two are
homies
! Bryant, Roxy is from Chicago, too.”

Bryant’s eyes lit up and he turned his sexy smile on Roxy. It was evident that he liked what he saw because the smile lingered. Roxy was looking exceptionally pretty in a pair of gauzy deep rose palazzo pants and a matching long-sleeved formfitting top that came down to her hips and showed off her trim waist and luscious curves. The top had a deep scoop neckline and was worn off the shoulder so the sexy line of her neck was on generous display without being vulgarly exposed. Her shining hair was styled to perfection and the glow of her warm brown skin was accentuated by the soft makeup she was wearing, especially the glistening watermelon-pink shade on her generous lips. And she smelled wonderful, something else that wasn’t lost on Bryant

He immediately moved in to get acquainted with Roxy, something that was made easier by Alicia excusing herself and leaving the room. She wanted to make sure that Adam was okay. Roxy gave Bryant a cool and slightly disinterested look, even when he asked what part of Chicago she was from.

“The North Side,” was all she said in response.

“Hmm.
You know, Fairchild Cosmetics is based in Chicago. You wouldn’t be related to those
Fairchilds
, would you?” he said teasingly.

“Unfortunately, yes, I am,” she said tersely. Adding a very insincere “Nice to meet you,” she turned and left him alone in the kitchen.

***

Alicia rejoined the outdoor party, her eyes scanning the cro
wd for Adam. She was only slightl
y relieved when she saw him; he was sitting
with Daphne and Dahlia and wrestl
ing with Malcolm and Marty, who were showing off for the aunts. To anyone else he looked relaxed and at ease, but Alicia could tell he was wound as tightly as a coiled spring. Big Benny, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. He was sitting at a table with Andre and Angelique while holding Lily Rose, who looked like she was about to fall asleep. Alicia knew she’d have to get Adam out of there soon and started looking for a tactful way to do it
.
Her
eyes suddenly fell on Clay, who nodded in her direction. He walked over to her casually but he seemed to know what was on her mind.

“I think he’s had about all he can take tonight I’ll go get my hellions and you can tell him Benita’s looking for him. Then you two run for your lives,” he said drolly.

Grateful for his perception, she did just that. Adam looked relieved for about a second,
then
his normal neutral expression returned. He rose and went with Alicia into the house, taking refuge in the large butler’s pantry off the kitchen. Alicia put her arms around his waist and almost had the breath knocked out of her when he hugge
d her so tightl
y she couldn’t move.

“Are you ready to leave, baby? Because we can, we’ve been here long enough.”
She assured him.

Adam leaned into Alicia’s loving warmth and agreed it was time to go. They left the pantry and said their goodbyes as they made their way to the Range Rover. Once inside Adam took a deep breath and leaned forward, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. Alicia reached over to take his hand, which he gripped
like a lifeline
. She brought their joined hands up to her lips and kissed the back of his hand before rubbing it against her cheek.

Adam smiled at her and started the engine. “Let’s get out of here, Allie. Let’s go home.”

***

John could have echoed Adam’s sentiments; he was being swallowed up by sensory overload. He had taken refuge in the living room to get away from the sea of oddly familiar faces. His solitude didn’t last long, however, as two
small
girls joined him, one on either side of the armchair in which he was sitting. He looked from one face to the other and had to smile. They were completely identical.

“Hello,” he said softly. “What’s your name?” he asked the one on his right.

“Benita,” she answered shyly.

“And what’s your name?”

“Ceylon,” she said. They stared at John with the unrepentant curiosity of children. One
dainty  hand
patted his knee as Benita asked him a question.

“Are you ours?”

John raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What do you mean, sweetheart?”

“My daddy said you
was
our uncle. Are you
really ours?” she asked innocentl
y.

John’s surprise showed on his face, but it went unnoticed by the girls. “Yes, I guess I am. Is that okay with you?”

Ceylon assured him it was. “Yes, we like our uncles. We like you, too.”

Nina entered the living room in time to overhear this exchange. “Well, well, look at this, another set of twins,” she said briskly.

“No, we’re not,” they said in unison.

Oh, great, the whole family is psycho, not just the old ladies.
Nina had already encountered Daphne and Dahlia and heard their version of why they were merely sisters. She gave them a tight
-lipped
fake smile and went along with it, figuring it was the easiest way.

“I’m sorry, I thought you
were twins, since you look exactl
y alike,” she said in a saccharine voice. Whatever else she was about to say was forever lost as Stephanie entered the room and joined her sisters.

Ceylon turned a kindly eye on Nina. “See?” All three of them burst into giggles, joined, unfortunately, by John.

Nina raised an eyebrow and shot him a look that would have caused fear in a lesser man. “I’d cut that out if I were you, Ann Arbor is a long walk from here.”

For some reason, that amused John even more and as it was with most small children, the sight of a laughing adult made them laugh even harder. Even Nina flashed her amazing dimples at the sight of the four of them collapsed in giggles.

“Don’t test me, John. This could have a detrimental effect on my normally sunny disposition. Remember, I have the car keys,” she added.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said meekly, only to have the girls echo him.

“That’s it;
I’m taking you home now before you giggle these three to death. Tell your uncle good night ladies.”

They surrounded the chair and crawled up on its arms to give John wet, noisy kisses and lots of good-byes. As they ran out of the room to find their mother, Nina looked at John, who was slumped back in the chair looking totally wiped out

“How do you feel?”