The Wife Stalker(69)

It was nearly three by the time they got home, just enough time for Evie to change before everyone arrived. Piper had laid out Stelli’s clothes but saw when he came downstairs that he’d chosen a different pair of pants and shirt. A silent act of defiance? she wondered. Evie, who was old enough to choose her own clothes, had picked a cranberry-colored sweater dress.

“Evie, you look so pretty. Would you like to come help me in the kitchen?”

“Sure,” Evie said, following Piper.

“Here you are,” Piper said, putting two boxes of crackers on the kitchen table. “Will you put these crackers on this cheese board?”

The dessert pies were cooling, and the spinach pie would soon be ready to come out of the oven. Piper opened the oven door to check on it. It needed a few more minutes to brown on the top, so while Evie was busy with the crackers, Piper pulled the shrimp platter out of the refrigerator. As she turned around, she almost bumped into Leo.

“Boy, you’ve been busy. The house smells amazing.”

She smiled. “I’ve loved every minute of it. I hope everyone has a big appetite.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” he said, and grabbed a shrimp from the platter. “My family loves to eat.” He popped it into his mouth just as the doorbell rang. “Speaking of which . . . I’ll get it.”

Piper wiped her hands on the apron before taking it off, turning to Evie, and motioning her toward the foyer. “Let’s go see who’s here.”

They must have come as a convoy, Piper thought as the entire family came trooping through the door.

“Leo, agape mou,” Evangelia said, hugging her son to her.

His father moved in for a bear hug as soon as Leo’s mother let go. They stood together looking at Piper. Evangelia gave her a forced smile. “Peeper,” she said. “Very nice to see you.”

“It’s Piper, Ma,” Leo said, and Piper heard Stelli snicker behind her. “What have you got?” Leo pointed to the three shopping bags they’d brought with them.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Piper,” Stelios said as he enfolded her in his strong arms. At least one of Leo’s parents was nice to her.

“You know, Ma never goes anywhere empty-handed,” Gus said.

Piper looked at the bags in alarm. Had the woman brought food?

“Take, take. Into the kitchen,” Evangelia ordered them.

With a sinking heart, Piper picked up one of the bags, which was quite heavy, while Leo picked up the other two. His mother and father followed them into the kitchen, where Piper and Leo set the bags on the counter. Piper’s heart sank as the others unpacked the contents from two large insulated bags—a huge platter of sliced lamb, a pan of roasted potatoes, a deep tray of rice. It was the entire dinner. She was too upset even to look as they started on the second bag. What was Piper supposed to do with everything she’d cooked? What kind of crazy people brought an entire meal to a home where they’d been invited to dinner? As they unloaded the last bag, Piper saw a tray of baklava and another of something they called koulouraki, some kind of braided cookie. She wanted to cry—or scream.

She looked pleadingly at Leo, but he seemed completely oblivious, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. As her kitchen was taken over, she grew impatient and asserted herself. “This is so generous of you, Evangelia. Thank you so much, but I’ve already cooked our dinner.” She gestured toward the large turkey on top of the stove, where it was waiting to be carved. “We’re having turkey. It’s traditional on Thanksgiving. And I’ve made potatoes, both white and sweet, and lots of vegetables. I don’t think we really need all the food you’ve brought, but I could wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator for you to take with you later.”

Evangelia turned to Leo and began to speak rapidly in Greek.

“What?” Piper said. “What is she saying?”

“You’ve hurt her feelings. She was only trying to help you, so you wouldn’t have so much to do with the whole family coming.”

Great, Piper thought. Now the woman would hate her even more. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” Piper said to her. “I just wish I’d known before I did all the cooking.” She noticed Leo’s jaw tick just a touch, and she plastered on a smile. “But, of course, we’ll have lamb and turkey. Thanksgiving dinner is supposed to be a feast, right?” She tried to make it sound like she meant it.

“Kala. Good. Turkey is for the Americans. Lamb is tradition.”

Toula and Angela, her new sisters-in-law, helped Evangelia take the food into the dining room, and Piper grabbed Leo by the arm, holding him back. “Why didn’t you tell me she’d be bringing all the food? Why the hell did I spend two days cooking?”

“I’m sorry. She always brings something, but not the whole meal. I don’t know why she did that this time.” He seemed sheepish but nowhere close to bothered, which made her anger flare. It was just like when Matthew would shrug at Mia’s antics or tell her to relax about Ava’s behavior—it seemed unbelievable that men had so little idea of how manipulative and cruel women could be.

“She did it because she hates me.”

“Piper. That’s not true.”

“She doesn’t even say my name right. She doesn’t like me, Leo.”