If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(2)

"We should go inside," Mia said.

Before they could move, Sara, Chloe, and Emma came down the sidewalk with bags of presents in their hands.

Emma, a petite blonde with bright blue eyes, was a fire investigator and another one of her cousins.

Sara, a dark-eyed brunette, was married to Emma's brother Aiden. With Sara was her adorable, almost two-year-old toddler Chloe, who had a mass of brown curls to match her mother and a rebellious personality that was all Aiden. Even now, Chloe was tugging at her mother's hand, eager to get to the party.

"One minute, Chloe," Sara said firmly, as she and Emma exchanged hugs with Mia and Annie. "How are you doing, Mia? I heard you might be looking for a new job."

"News travels fast in this family."

"I have a friend who works at the Palace of Fine Arts. Let me know if you want me to make a call," Sara said.

"Thanks. I'm going to take a few weeks off before I decide my next move."

"Lucky you," Emma said. "I can't remember the last time I had weeks off in the summer."

"That's because you adore your job and never want to leave it," Sara teased Emma.

Emma grinned. "Actually, my adoration is now more focused on my husband, but between him and my job, I get even less time to myself."

Mia knew that Emma wasn't really complaining, not with the glowing smile on her face.

"Go now," Chloe demanded with another tug on Sara's hand.

"She saw the balloons and got excited," Sara said with an apologetic smile.

"I'm excited, too," Mia said. "Let's go to the party."

When they stepped onto the porch, Nicole threw open the door to greet them.

Like her sister Emma, Nicole had blonde hair and blue eyes, but she was also enormously pregnant, carrying all her baby weight in the front of her slender frame.

"Welcome," Nicole said, giving them each a hug.

"How are you, Nic?" Mia asked, lingering behind as the others made their way into the house.

"As big as a house and happy as can be, but I must admit that I am a little tired." Nicole rubbed her baby bump with an affectionate hand. "My miracle child has been kicking a lot lately. I think she's eager to meet everyone."

"We're eager to meet her, too. Where's her older brother Brandon?"

"Ryan and Sean took Brandon and Kyle to the park," Nicole explained, referring to her husband Ryan and her brother Sean, and the twin boys who were now eight years old.

"How is Brandon handling the idea of a new sibling?" she asked. Brandon had been diagnosed with autism when he was two, but he had recently improved in some areas of language and communication, which was not only due to intensive therapy, but also the reunion with his twin brother—another miracle that had been bestowed on Nicole.

"I don't think Brandon gets it yet, but Kyle is over the moon. And whenever Kyle is happy, Brandon is happy. That's the way with twins, I guess. You would know that better than me."

"Kate and I were never quite as tightly linked as Kyle and Brandon, but we do sense when one of us is in trouble and needs a call, a hug, or a kick in the ass."

"I have a feeling Kate would usually be the one to deliver that kick," Nicole said with a laugh. "Anyway, come in. I'm sorry your mom couldn't come. I heard she fell down some stairs."

"Yes. She was carrying some boxes down from the attic, and she tripped. She's all right, but she fractured a bone in her foot, sprained her ankle, and has to stay off her feet for a while. She's not happy about it. Where's your mom?"

"In the living room." Nicole waved her hand toward the crowded room off to the right of the entry. "Make yourself at home. There's food in the dining room, drinks in the kitchen, and plenty of people everywhere."

Mia was used to large gatherings. Growing up in the Callaway family meant every party involved at least twenty to thirty immediate family members, and this joint shower was no exception.

She'd always liked being a Callaway, having a solid family around her, although being a Callaway also came with responsibility. Her father had been a firefighter like her Uncle Jack and several other relatives. And while not every Callaway saved lives, a lot of them did something to better the community or the world, setting the bar quite high. She'd fallen quite a ways under that bar in recent weeks, but she wasn't going to think about that today.

As she moved toward the living room, she ran into the bride-to-be coming down the hall. Maddie Heller was another beautiful blonde with a happy glow, obviously looking forward to her upcoming wedding. Maddie reminded her of her Aunt Carly. Like Carly, Maddie had been a free spirit, traveling the world before falling for Burke and choosing to marry and settle down.

Maybe it was about time Mia joined the free-spirit crowd. Certainly trying to do everything exactly right and meet everyone's expectations had not worked out well.

"So glad you could come," Maddie said, giving her a hug.

"Are you getting nervous about the wedding?"

"Not even a little bit. Burke is not perfect, but he's the perfect man for me."

"I'm so glad you found each other. I can't wait to see you two walk down the aisle."

"You're still coming, right?" Maddie asked. "Did I hear something about you going to Angel's Bay for a while?"