If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(69)
"That's great news," Jeremy said. "I'm very happy for both of you."
"She's doing the hard part," Joe said with a laugh, putting an arm around Charlotte. "But thanks for including me."
"You had a lot to do with the fun part," Charlotte told Joe with a mischievous smile.
Mia found them both delightfully charming. Like Kara and Colin, Charlotte and Joe seemed madly in love and also quite respectful, admiring and caring about the other person in their partnership. Theirs was the kind of relationship she wanted for herself, and she found her gaze moving to the strong, handsome man by her side.
Summer fling, she told herself again.
She stepped back as Kara and Colin joined the group with their four kids in tow. As Kara set down a plate of cookies on the picnic table, she said, "Remind me never to have any more children. Four is crazy."
"How long will your nieces be here?" Charlotte asked with a laugh.
"Three more days. I love them to death, but it's a lot of work. I don't know how my mother did it."
"I've often wondered that about my mom," Mia said. "I'm the youngest of six, and my mother worked as a nurse, too."
"Did the older ones help?" Charlotte asked.
"My sister Annie watched me a lot, but the boys were usually gone." She paused as another couple joined their group—Kent and a pretty blonde.
"This is Dr. Eva Westcott," Kent said. "I think you know most everyone, Eva."
"Except probably me," Mia said, giving Eva a friendly smile. "I'm Mia Callaway."
"I've heard a lot about you from Ashlyn," Eva said, giving the little girl a smile. "How are you today, Ashlyn?"
"Good," Ashlyn said, then wandered over to join Kara's crew of girls, who were lining up some dolls for the upcoming movie.
"She's doing so much better," Jeremy told Eva. "I wanted to thank you for your help."
"I don't think I had a lot to do with it." Eva paused. "Both Ashlyn and Kent told me that his police vehicle triggered her breakthrough. We never know what will make the wall crack."
"I'm just glad she turned to me," Jeremy said.
"You're her father. That's going to happen more and more." Eva nodded to a couple waving at her from across the path. "If you'll excuse me for a minute."
"Of course," Mia said as Eva walked over to her friends.
"So you finally got her to go on a date with you," Jeremy said to Kent.
"I wore her down," Kent said with a proud smile. "It's nice to see you all out here. Any other problems at the house, Mia?"
"No," she said, not wanting to get into the discovery of the painting in front of everyone. She glanced over at Jeremy and he gave her a nod, silently telling her he would follow her lead. "However, I have cleaned out the studio. I think I've found all the paintings. Let me know if you want to come by and see if yours is there. I'd be happy to give it back to you." She'd decided that was the easiest thing to do rather than get into a battle with any of the artists.
"That sounds good. I'll come by and take a look tomorrow."
"Perfect."
"I'm going to catch up with Eva. See you around."
As Kent left, she smiled at Jeremy. "Kent seems smitten by Ashlyn's therapist."
"It's taken her a year to decide if she wants to date him, so we'll see."
"He doesn't give up, does he?"
"No, but it usually doesn't take him this long to convince a woman he's the perfect man for her."
She had a feeling that neither Jeremy nor his friends had ever had trouble finding women. They were good-looking alpha warriors. Who could resist that?
"Ashlyn is having a good time," Jeremy commented, tipping his head toward his daughter, who was in the middle of the group of girls. "I can't believe the change that has occurred in the past few days." He turned back to her. "It started with you, Mia. Once you climbed onto that roof and yelled for help, everything changed."
She made a face at his teasing smile. "You need to forget about that."
"Impossible. I can't forget anything about you."
"You should try, and we should set up our chairs. It's getting close to eight."
"I think Ashlyn has already chosen her seat," he said. "Why don't you and I sit behind everyone else? Then we can make out during the boring parts."
"There are no boring parts in the Sound of Music. Making out will have to wait."
"But it will eventually happen, right?"
She liked the hopeful gleam in his eyes. "If you play your cards right, there's a good possibility of that."
"You just made this movie we're about to sit through even longer."
She laughed, loving how easy it was to joke around with Jeremy. When she'd first met him, she hadn't imagined he'd have such a good sense of humor, that he could not only be serious but also playful. She also loved the way he looked at her. Even in a crowd, she could feel his admiration, his desire, and it was a heady feeling. She'd never felt so wanted before. She was just afraid that it wouldn't and couldn't last.