Not Planning on You (Danvers #2)(32)
Ella blushed furiously, and Claire and Beth looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Was she the only one here who remembered how Ella looked just a few weeks ago? “Your sister helped me, um…make some changes.” Then blinking as if tears weren’t far behind, she asked, “You don’t like it?”
At that moment she saw Ella for maybe the first time. She tried so hard to be helpful because she wanted everyone to like her and she’d bet that there had been very few times in her life that she’d fit in. Whereas she’d dismissed her at first glance, Beth had obviously bonded with her and the result of the make-over was nothing short of astounding. Her teased beehive hairdo was gone and in its place, her brown hair had been straightened and now hung past her shoulders in waves. Blond hi-lights had been added to accent the color. Wow, who knew she had all of that hair under the bad hair-do? Her eyebrows had been waxed and instead of looking like one big eyebrow, now she actually had two well defined ones.
Suzy noticed that Ella actually had beautiful skin and the only thing that had been added there was a light blusher on her cheeks and a glossy pink lipstick on her lips. Her hair and face were not the only changes though. She actually had a figure. She was wearing a sleeveless, silk sundress in a light turquoise color that ended several inches above her knees and a low heeled pair of beige strappy sandals. She looked pretty, fresh and about ten years younger.
As her sister poked an elbow in her side, Suzy realized she’d been staring at Ella for several minutes without saying a word. Ella looked as if she were ready to bolt, obviously taking her silence for disapproval. Suzy reached out and took one of Ella’s hands between her own. “You look beautiful Ella and you know I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. Now come on in and let’s get a drink. I want to hear all about your make-over.”
A smile broke out on Ella’s face as they all started towards the living room. The doorbell chiming once again stopped them. Suzy rolled her eyes, saying, “Geez who is that?”
Claire stepped forward and walked towards the door saying, “That’s probably Declan; I hope you don’t mind but Jason invited him. He thought it would be good for him to meet a few people from Danvers since he’s new in town.” As she finished her sentence, Claire opened the door and Suzy could see a huge figure filling the door-way.
As Declan walked inside, Suzy couldn’t help the murmur of appreciation that escaped her lips. Beth and Ella both looked at her when the Mmmm, escaped her lips. She arched an eyebrow and said under her breath, “Oh come on, you were both thinking the same thing. There is nothing wrong with appreciating a good piece of art work.”
Claire led Declan over to them and took care of making the introductions. As Claire kept the conversation flowing smoothly with small talk, Suzy took a moment to study the new addition to Danvers. He was another prime piece of eye-candy, there was no denying that. He was similar to Nick, Gray and Jason with dark hair and tanned skin. You could not be a woman and not appreciate the masculine beauty of Declan Stone. There was also almost a darkness about him that both pulled you in and made you want to run. Suzy had a feeling that there was a lot more to him than any of them knew. If there was one thing she was sure of, Declan would bring variety to their little group because she just knew that he’d never conformed to normal a day in his life.
They all made their way out onto the back deck where Jason and Nick were drinking a beer and arguing over who could grill the best steak. Beth had made a pitcher of daiquiris for the women and a virgin daiquiri for Claire. Suzy hobbled over to a seat and Beth helped her put her foot up onto a stool. Declan walked over to join the men and Claire motioned Ella to join the ladies at the table.
Claire smiled at her saying, “You must be glad that Gray will be home tomorrow. I know he’s been giving Jason hell about being gone so long. I’m glad we have Declan now to spread some of the travel to. Jason said he’s flying out tomorrow to take Gray’s place.”
Suzy leaned over and took her friends hand. “You don’t worry about us. I’ve had two babysitters with me the whole time. Jason needs to stick close to you. I’m afraid you might pop at any second.” Wrinkling her nose in confusion, she continued, “You don’t think it’s getting like over-done in there, do you?”
Claire burst out laughing. She’d so missed seeing her friend at the office every day. Suzy could make her laugh when nothing else in the world could. From the expression on her friend’s face, she could tell that she was dead serious as well. “No, you can’t overcook them, Suz, I think they have a self-timer or something that lets you know when they’re ready. It’s pretty normal for a first baby to go past its due date so it could still be quite some time yet.” As she moved around trying to get comfortable in the chair, Jason walked up behind her and helped her put a pillow behind her back. He reached down and dropped a kiss on her lips, caressing her cheek with his hand before returning to talk with the men. Suzy was certain there wasn’t a dry eye at the table at the obvious love that sparkled between Claire and Jason.
Suzy cleared her throat and steered the conversation to Danvers. She got caught up on the latest gossip just as the steaks were finished, and Beth went to get the roasted potatoes and the salad from the refrigerator. Ella went to help her and soon they had the table set and everyone settled into a chair. Suzy sat between Claire and Beth with Nick on Beth’s other side, and Jason on Claire’s other side. Ella somehow ended up sitting between Nick and Declan. She looked like she hoped the deck would open up and swallow her whole. She saw that Beth had also noticed the same thing and neither of them could figure out a way to save Ella from the seating arrangement without embarrassing her.