It was almost dusk before the horde of Kowalskis got themselves settled on a patchwork island of old quilts. Cat staked her claim on one corner by setting down her bag and the straw hat she’d worn earlier to keep the sun off her face. Then she wandered away to see who she could run into.
She stopped here and there, saying hello to a few friends, but when she saw Russell Walker sitting on one of the park benches, she was forced to admit to herself she’d been looking for him. He was alone, so she took a deep breath to steady her ridiculous school-girl nerves and walked over.
“Is this seat taken?”
His face brightened when he saw her and he patted the empty bench next to him. “I was sitting on a blanket with Dani and her husband, but I’m a little old for that.”
“Emma and I are with Sean’s family, but I thought I’d go for a walk and put off sitting on the ground for as long as possible.”
“Would they be upset at all if you stayed here with me?”
With the amount of people on the Kowalskis’ acre of blankets, they probably wouldn’t even notice she was gone. “Probably not.”
“Do you care if they are?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Not really, no.”
And speaking of Emma, there she came, obviously looking for her. She waved her hand to get her attention and didn’t miss the surprise that crossed Emma’s face.
“Hi, Mr. Walker. We were starting to think Gram got lost.”
“I think I’m going to watch the fireworks with Russell.”
“Oh.” Cat watched Emma try to wrap her mind around that. “Okay.”
“You look lovely tonight,” Russell said. “Clearly love agrees with you.”
Because she was looking for it, Cat saw the flash of guilt in Emma’s eyes before she smiled and couldn’t resist poking at her. “Russell tells me he hasn’t met Sean yet.”
“No. He…uh…Sean’s not much of a shopper. And he goes down to the stores in the city when he needs stuff so he can visit his aunt and uncle at the same time.”
At least the girl was consistent. Cat wondered if she’d made up cue cards. “You’ll have to bring him over after the fireworks.”
“Yeah. Maybe. So…have fun.”
She walked away, but Cat caught her looking back with a frown, as if trying to puzzle out why her Gram was choosing to watch the fireworks with the guy who owned the hardware store instead of her family.
Then they fired a test shot and Cat put Emma out of her mind as the burst lit up the darkening sky.
They oohed and aahed along with the rest of the crowd and, as the show built toward the grand finale, Russell’s hand bumped hers. It rested there for a moment and then he threaded his fingers through hers.
“Where’s Cat?”
Emma sighed and looked toward where she’d found Gram and Russell Walker, even though it was too dark to see them. “She ran into a friend. She’s sitting on the bench with him, over by the trees.”
“Him?”
“Yeah. Russell Walker, who owns the hardware store.”
Sean shrugged. “Probably beats sitting on the ground.”
With her grandmother watching the fireworks with Russell, Emma was free to put a little space between her and Sean on their part of an old gaily colored quilt. Not too much space, of course, because there were a lot of Kowalskis and they had to keep the kids spread farther apart than jabbing elbows could reach.
“Need a Valium?” Sean leaned over to ask in a low voice.
“No. Why?”
“You spin that engagement ring around on your finger when you’re stressed and, right now, it looks like you’re trying to generate electricity with it.”
Emma locked her fingers together and hooked her clasped hands over her drawn-up knees. Stressed? Why would she be stressed? Her body was still humming from that caveman kiss during the football game, her grandmother had ditched her for Mr. Walker from the hardware store, and she couldn’t make sense of either event.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. Her mind raced, trying to sort it all out, as colors burst above her in the dark sky. Maybe Sean was right and Gram had simply taken a seat on the bench next to Mr. Walker because she didn’t want to sit on the ground. And maybe Sean had only kissed her because he thought that’s what a man in love would do when his older brother was flirting with his fiancée. All very innocent.
But she’d been watching Sean pretend to be in love with her for two weeks and, while he didn’t do too badly, she didn’t think he had the acting chops to fake the primal, possessive gleam in his eye right before he’d claimed her mouth.
Sean scooted a little closer, probably so his mouth could be near her ear. The discretion, she appreciated. His warm breath against her skin, not so much. “You’re not even trying to enjoy this, are you?”