“What are you two whispering about?” Brittany’s voice slurred, and she pointed with her glass, nearly spilling the contents on the kitchen floor. “Hey, if those square thingies don’t taste good, do I blame you? Or Will?”
Great question. Not that she particularly cared, though Brittany seemed legitimately confused about the potential dilemma. Right now, Charlotte just wanted to finish arranging the stupid things and get back to the van before she saw him. Wanted to pick up Zoe, go home, make popcorn, and watch some mindless show on the Disney Channel while snuggling her little girl and reminding herself of all the reasons why they were better off this way.
She opened her mouth, then closed it, unsure how to answer Brittany, or if she even should.
Didn’t matter.
Brittany tilted her head back and bellowed toward the backyard. “WILL!”
No. No, no, no. Charlotte drew a sharp intake of breath. Julie shot her a questioning look.
Brittany pouted, her glossy red lips exaggerated. “He can’t hear me.”
Julie smirked, muttering under her breath as she secured another petit four on the stand. “Can’t everyone? Like, on every planet in the solar system?”
Charlotte bit back a laugh and nudged her friend in warning, but Brittany appeared to not have heard. Before she could decide how to change the subject, Brittany grabbed her wrist and began to tug. “Come outside. We’ll ask him.”
“No, really. That’s not necessary.” Charlotte struggled to free her wrist as politely as possible, but Brittany was on a mission. She really didn’t want to cause a scene at the party, so all she could do was shoot Julie a pleading glance as Brittany propelled them out the backdoor.
“I’ll just finish up in here!” Julie called before the door swung shut behind them.
Great. Always the model employee.
Charlotte caught a glance of her friend in the picture window, giving her a wide grin and a thumbs-up. Why hadn’t she filled Julie in on Will before the party? Then maybe she could have had a little backup. Now Julie was probably thinking this was a great matchmaking opportunity.
Not that Charlotte would have ever expected this to happen. She squinted as a sudden gust of wind raked her hair off her shoulders and shook the tree branches overhead. Maybe she could just blow away.
“Hey, Will!” Brittany’s voice screeched across a wide expanse of manicured lawn, lit with various-sized tiki torches. Groups of twenty-somethings, sipping from polished glasses and wearing everything from jeans to cocktail dresses, stopped and stared as Brittany dragged Charlotte around a flower bed and a gurgling birdbath.
She stopped short near a table laden with wrapped gifts. “Oh, look. Bed Bath & Beyond.” She let go to check the name tag dangling from the silver package. “I hope it’s that blender I registered for.”
Charlotte sidestepped away from the crazy bride, rubbing her wrist. Who’d have thought a baker would need to incorporate hazard pay into her billing? Now, if she could just sneak back into the house, maybe Brittany would keep ogling gifts and forget the whole thing.
“I’m so sorry.” Adam appeared at Charlotte’s side, holding a plate full of cheese, crackers, and mini sausages and grinned even as he shook his head. “Brittany gets a little . . . aggressive when she’s had alcohol.”
Then why in the world would you give it to her? Charlotte forced a smile as Brittany began picking up packages and shaking them. “No problem. She must have forgotten what she’d wanted. I’ll just head back—”
“Oh, right. Will. She had been calling for Will.” Adam turned and cupped his hand beside his mouth as he shouted across the torchlit yard. “Hey, Will!”
“No, really, it’s fine.” Her panicked heart drifted toward her toes as she realized she was fighting a losing battle. She felt heat run up her neck and across her ears. Could this get any worse?
Charlotte reluctantly followed Adam’s gaze and finally saw Will standing near the back fence, surrounded literally on all sides by giggling blondes—well, and one brunette. One had her arm linked through his, head tilted back, laughing as Will gestured dramatically with his can of Coke. The other flipped her hair back flirtatiously and leaned in, putting her hand on his arm and saying something softly that made Will laugh.
All of them were tall, leggy, and gorgeous—and definitely did not look as if they baked or taste tested very many sweets.
Not that Charlotte had a reason to be jealous. Will wasn’t hers. He was Melissa’s. And speaking of—was one of them Melissa?
She had to know. For no logical reason—or at least, no reason she was willing to admit to herself—she had to find out. She turned to Adam and offered what she hoped came across as a casual smile. “I was hoping Melissa would get to try one of the petit fours. Where is she?”
“Oh, she’s not here.” Adam shoved a cracker topped with cheese in his mouth and kept talking. “She doesn’t ever come to this kind of stuff with Will.”