I arch a brow his way. “You think?”
He chuckles softly. “Yeah, that wasn’t ‘used to be friends’ tension.”
“Or ‘used to be enemies’ tension,” I agree. “They definitely were a thing at some point, but I have no idea when. I know I’ve joked about not remembering the names of all her boyfriends, but I would have remembered a name like Nash. And I have no idea what Daddy has to do with anything. He usually did his best not to interact with the guys Aria dated, at least not until it was clear she was going to keep one around for a while.”
“In denial,” Mason says with a smile.
“Totally in denial.” I laugh as I give the basting sauce one last stir before declaring it ready and turning off the heat. “He’s like that with Melody’s boyfriends, too. You were the only one he ever really liked.”
Mason comes closer, putting his arms around my waist. “Think he’ll be happy to see us back together when he gets home?”
I turn to him, unable to resist running my fingertips down his scruffy jaw. “Maybe not at first, but once he sees how happy I am, he’ll come around. Don’t worry about Daddy.”
“I’ll prove to him that I won’t screw up again. Just like I’ll prove it to you,” Mason says, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead that makes my entire body light up. “Now, what can I do to help? Chop the salad?”
“No, Melody did the sides this afternoon. I just need to get the steaks started. Why don’t you go rescue Nash from my sisters, talk manly stuff, and I’ll be out in a second.”
Mason nods and ambles toward the backdoor. “I’ll do my best, but I’ll never be as manly as Nash. He’s even bigger than he used to be. Enough to intimidate we lesser specimens.”
I shoot him an amused look. “As if.”
Mason grins. “I get intimidated.”
“You’re no ‘lesser specimen.’ You’re the best looking man I’ve ever seen,” I say, propping a hand on one hip. “If you were any better looking, I’d have to beat other women off of you with a stick. A big, heavy, spiky stick.”
“I’d like to watch that,” Mason says, making me laugh as I shoo him out the door.
“Get out,” I say. “Or we won’t be eating until eight o’clock.”
I bustle about the kitchen, taking the avocado sauce out to warm up to room temperature and getting everything ready to bring out to the grill, smiling to myself the entire time. I can’t help it. Even knowing Aria is going to unleash her crankiness upon me as soon as the boys leave tonight isn’t enough to dampen my spirits.
Ten minutes later, I join the party in progress in the backyard, shocked to see Nash down on the grass on his hands and knees with Felicity, playing with a big red ball, making the baby squeal with laughter. I shoot Aria a look as I cross to the grill, but she only shrugs and takes a long drink of her Chardonnay.
“They look like puppies,” Melody whispers as Nash crawls across the grass to fetch the ball and Felicity follows with an excited burble. “They’re so cute!”
“Shush,” Aria says beneath her breath.
“But they are, Ra,” Melody says. “I wish Brian had been able to come tonight. He thinks little babies are boring, but I’ve never seen—”
“All right, time for a diaper change,” Aria calls out brightly, setting her empty glass down and hurrying to scoop Felicity off the grass. The baby fusses for a minute, but then Aria lifts her up to blow onto her bare belly and Felicity begins to giggle and squeal once more.
She really is the happiest baby.
Too bad Aria is so miserable.
As the evening wears on and we all settle down to eat, things only get worse. I know no one else realizes what’s going on—not even Melody, who is clearly enjoying the food and company—but it’s obvious to me that Aria is dying a little inside every time Felicity reaches for Nash.
I’m worried a blood vessel in my sister’s brain is going to burst when Felicity finishes her baby food and chunks of banana and insists on sitting on Nash’s lap, gumming tiny pieces of steak he places on the edge of his plate for her.
“Are you sure that’s okay?” Aria asks. “I’m afraid she’s going to choke. She’s never eaten red meat before, only a little chicken I cut up in chunks.”
“Aw, she’ll be fine,” Nash drawls. “She’s nine months, right?”
Aria blinks in surprise. “Yes. Just about. Next week, actually.”
Nash nods and grins at the baby who gurgles happily and drools onto the big hand he has wrapped around her tummy, holding her safe on his knee. “Yeah, she’ll be all right. My mom always said that after six months babies could eat just about anything, as long as the pieces were small enough.”
“She should know,” Mason says. “Nash has, what, ten brothers and sisters?”
“Eleven of us total,” Nash confirms, his eyes still on the baby. “I’m the oldest, so I’ve got lots of practice feeding rugrats. My mama and daddy both worked nights growing up. Most days I was in charge of dinner for the whole tribe and whatever cousins decided to drop by.”
“Seems like you’d be sick of babies,” Aria says.
“How could anyone ever get sick of babies?” Nash jogs his knee and Felicity grins up at him, that gummy grin that always makes me want to scoop my sweet niece up and squeeze her tight.
“The waking up three times in the night part can get a little exhausting,” Aria says in a weary voice, making me feel terrible for not offering to get up with Felicity while I’ve been staying with them.
Felicity is a great baby, but she still wants a bottle two or three times a night, and Aria doesn’t get much uninterrupted rest. It’s really no wonder my sister is cranky. She’s probably severely sleep deprived.
“She should be sleepin’ through the night by now,” Nash says. “She’s just messing with you.”
“She’s a baby,” Aria says.
“Doesn’t mean she can’t mess with her mama.” Nash laughs softly. “They start young these days, don’t they, Skeeter?”
“Skeeter?” Melody asks.
“She kind of looks like a Skeeter, don’t you think?” Nash asks, summoning another happy burble from Felicity. He reaches for his water glass, smile slipping as he meets Aria’s eyes across the table. “I could give you some tips on how to get her trained to sleep better, if you want,” he says in a careful voice.
Aria falters, looking torn, before she finally shakes her head. “Thank you, but that’s all right. It’s just a stage. I’m sure she’ll grow out of it sooner or later.”
“She will.” Nash nods. “But you’d feel more rested, and be a better mama to her, if it was sooner.”
“I’m doing fine, thanks,” Aria says, anger creeping into her tone.
Nash shrugs and smiles his good-old-boy grin. “Just trying to help, Princess.”
Aria clenches her jaw and turns her attention back to her plate, not saying a word. Mason jumps in to cover the awkward moment by asking Melody what she’s been up to during her week off, and soon the table is alive with comfortable chatter again.