Always the Last to Know(67)

Oh, crap. Noah. And (not crap) Mickey and their baby. Little Marcus was being cooed over by my mother at the moment.

That could’ve been her grandchild. The thought came unbidden. But yeah. Once, I thought I’d be the mother of Noah’s children, long before I’d asked myself if I wanted to be a mother at all.

Shit. Where was Alexander?

I turned, then froze. Sweet baby Jesus. Though I hadn’t ever seen her in person, I knew her right away. Gillian Epstein. Noah’s ex-fiancée.

What the what?

She looked up at me, and she obviously recognized me, too, because she flinched the teeniest bit. “Hi,” she said after a beat. “I’m Gillian Epstein.” Ah. A hard G, not the J sound. I hadn’t expected that.

“I’m Sadie. Barb’s daughter.”

“Believe me, I know who you are.” She forced a smile. “I was engaged to Noah a few years back.”

“Right. I knew that. From Facebook, that is. You know. We have mutual friends, I mean, of course we do, we grew up together, Noah and I that is, not you and me”—stop yourself, Sadie—“and I guess one of my friends commented on your picture, and you’d tagged Noah, so I . . . well. I knew he was engaged.”

She looked to the left, hoping for someone to save her, no doubt. I, too, cast about for a savior. Where had Carter gone? And why, why did Alexander have to be late today?

Gillian—I kind of hated the hard G—was even prettier in person. Olive skin, green eyes, really good lashes (natural, damn her). Perfect body, nice clothes. She even smelled nice, like oranges.

“So you and Noah stayed friends, I guess?” I said.

“No. It’s kind of hard to stay friends with the person who broke your heart and embarrassed you by calling off your wedding.”

Youch. “Yeah, that would be . . . tricky.” I felt sweat prickling in my armpits. “You’re very honest.”

“Are you and Noah still friends?” she asked.

“Oh, uh . . . yes? Sort of? Not really, no. I mean, it’s different, since he and I have known each other since kindergarten. Maybe before that. And we were never, um, engaged.”

She cocked a well-groomed eyebrow, as if doubting me.

“Gillian, uh . . . you mind if I ask why you’re here?”

“Your mother invited me. I’m an event planner, and I’m handling the town’s three hundred and fiftieth anniversary weekend. I wasn’t aware Noah and his . . . partner . . . would be here.”

“Mickey.” I lowered my voice. “She’s gay. They’re just coparents. It’s not romantic.”

“I know that.”

“Cool. Great. Information is good to have. That’s great.” I needed a drink. Gillian probably needed more to drink. Or a Xanax.

Ah. My mother was handing the baby off to Mickey. “Mom! Let me help you with dinner!” I said. “Excuse me, Gillian. So nice to meet you.”

I dragged my mom into the kitchen. “What are you doing?” I hissed.

“As usual, Sadie, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Gillian Epstein and Noah used to be engaged.”

“Oh. Oh, dear. I didn’t think of that.” She blinked at me. She looked tired, I suddenly noticed. Of course she did, living with Dad, doing her part in his care.

“Also . . . I used to date Noah, remember? It’s awkward to have to schmooze with his ex. And it might be awkward for him, too, don’t you think? And, not to put too fine a point on it, awkward for me to be with both of them.”

“I just told you, Sadie, I forgot! I invited her because she’d mentioned how hard it was to meet a nice man, and I thought maybe your friend and she would hit it off.”

“My friend is gay. And thirty years older than Gillian.”

“Do you have to jump down my throat with a houseful of guests here? Hm? Do you? Noah’s been very kind to your father. And you, missy. Didn’t he fix your furnace?”

“Yes. But—”

“Gillian is handling the town’s anniversary, and who knows? Maybe Noah will realize he made a big mistake.”

I blinked. “I don’t think you should try to get them back together.”

“You have a boyfriend, Sadie. It’s not really your business, is it?”

Ouch. “I don’t. I mean . . . I just think it’s weird to try to fix up your daughter’s ex-boyfriend with his ex-fiancée.”

Caro popped her head in. “Need help, Barb? Hi, Sadie, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Caro. You look beautiful, as always.”

“I know, and thank you, angel. Barb, what can I do?”

“We’ll be eating in a few minutes, so if you could start herding everyone in here, that’d be great.”

Caro flashed her dimples at me and popped back out.

“So. You won’t try to push Gillian and Noah together,” I said, just to be clear.

“Whatever happens with them happens, Sadie. She does a lot of events in town and she knows everyone. Maybe she can help you find a job while you’re here, who knows? You could run errands for her.”

Nice. “I have a job,” I said.

“Is that right.”

“I paint.”

“Of course. Now, would you mind getting your father so we can eat?” She went back into the family room, all smiles for everyone but me.