The Cousins(61)

“Thank you. I appreciate that. I didn’t mean to interrupt—”

“It’s fine,” I promise, glad for the escape. I like Hazel, but there are more than enough rumors swirling around Uncle Archer without me adding to them. I probably shouldn’t have said as much as I did, so now seems like a good time to cut my losses and run. “I need to find my cousins, anyway. I’m sure I’ll see you both later.”

I scoot away, nearly bumping into a server holding a bottle of champagne. He tips it toward my almost-empty glass. “Can I top that off for you?” he asks. I don’t answer right away, trying to count how many I’ve had already, and he does it anyway.

Well. When in Rome. I gulp the fizzing bubbles and keep moving, my eyes roving across the well-dressed crowd. Directly ahead of me, I see a familiar blond head: Reid Chilton, fellow Towhee and senator’s son. I have zero desire to talk to him, so I spin on my heel and almost collide with the person behind me.

A hand reaches out to steady me. “Whoa. Sorry. I was just trying to…” It’s Jonah, handsome in a tuxedo, and his eyes widen as he takes me in. He doesn’t say anything for a beat, his Adam’s apple rising and falling a few times before he finally adds, “I forget what I was trying to do, because—all the blood left my head just now.” He swallows again. “You look incredible, Milly.”



Something warm and fluttery nips at my chest. “Thanks. So do you.” It’s true. Maybe it’s because the best tailors on Gull Cove Island were at his beck and call this week, but Jonah looks born to wear a tux. His dark hair is smoothed off his forehead for once, and while I kind of like his usual tousled look, I can’t argue with how the current style accentuates the angles of his face. I hold up my glass before taking another sip. “Have you tried the champagne?”

“No. I had cocoa.” I raise a brow, and he shrugs. “It was, like, made from chocolate they flew in from France and hand-ground with a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg. And also a little bit of chili, I guess? That’s what Carson says anyway.”

“Was it good?”

“The best cocoa I’ve ever had in my life,” Jonah says, so fervently that I smile.

“Mildred knows how to throw a party. You have to give her that.” I feel myself relaxing for the first time all night, and press my fingertips against his sleeve with a sudden rush of affection. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He grins, looking both pleased and confused. “Well, I had to be, right? Mildred’s orders.”

“I know, but I don’t mean just here here. I mean in general. On the island.” Jonah still looks a little uncertain, and I can’t blame him. My thoughts aren’t as organized as I would like right now. “What I’m trying to say is—I’m glad I met you.”

As soon as the words slip out, my face heats with embarrassment. That’s not the kind of thing I usually say, and while I’m not sorry, exactly, because I mean it…it’s possible that the third glass of champagne was a mistake.

Jonah’s deep-brown eyes get soft. “I’m glad I met you, too. Really glad.” He licks his lips, and I have the sudden urge to trace the movement with my finger. Okay, the third glass of champagne was definitely a mistake. That realization does not, however, stop me from grabbing a fourth when a server passes by. Jonah’s gaze shifts to my glass, and he tugs at his cuffs as he adds, “The thing is—”



“There you are!” A voice interrupts from behind us. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Milly. Hello, Jonah.” It’s Reid Chilton, wearing an extra-large bow tie and a smarmy grin. The bigger, butterfly bow tie is in this year, according to GQ, and I kind of hate myself for knowing that. It’s the sort of useless information I’ve been accumulating for years, just waiting for the opportunity to dazzle my neglectful society grandmother. Joke’s on me.

“What?” Reid asks, frowning. Jonah is also looking at me strangely, and I realize I said that last part out loud.

“I said, I like your tie.”

I very obviously did not say that, but they’re both too polite to contradict me. “Thank you,” Reid says smoothly. “But nobody in this room can hold a candle to you.”

Oh, barf, I think. Then I freeze. Did I say that out loud, too? But Reid is still smiling at me, so probably not. “I think we’re at the same dinner table tonight,” he continues. “My mother is here as a guest of your grandmother. Perhaps you’ve heard of her. Senator Genevieve Chilton? Democrat from Massachusetts.”

“My mother is a Democrat from New York,” I say. “But not a senator. And not here.”

Jonah mumbles something under his breath that sounds like This is going well as Reid’s smile gets a little strained. “Your family history is fascinating,” he says.



I didn’t intend to drink any more champagne, but somehow the glass in my hand emptied itself while Reid was talking. I blame him for being long-winded. “That’s one word for it,” I say. I mean to accompany the words with a sophisticated light laugh, but it comes out as a snort. Which makes me laugh even harder. Reid stares, brow furrowed, as Jonah grips my elbow.

“My cousin and I were just going to get some air,” Jonah says. I’m still laughing. Who knew Reid was this funny? “It’s getting really hot in here. You ready, Milly?”