Page 111 of Her Hidden Smile

A stunning brunette wiggled past Christos and blasted a hundred-watt smile at me. “Millie! You’re here! I can’t wait to hear all about your orchard.” She pulled me in for a tight hug, and it didn’t bother me. I knew she was Angelica, but there was not one thing about her brash manner that bothered me. She was just kind down to her bones, and I soaked in all of her goodness.

“I can’t wait for you to see my orchard too,” I grinned into her cleavage.

“Angel, step back. You’re suffocating her,” Renzo laughed. He pulled me back from Angelica and turned me toward another handsome man.

“Millie, I want to introduce you to my brother, Bruno. He’s the guy who got me on the plane to get back to you so fast.”

“The one with the country music stars?” I asked.

“Yep, that’s him.”

I held out my hand. Bruno gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s nice to meet you, Millie. I’m glad to see you’re doing so well. You handled yourself really well during that hostage situation.”

I blushed.

“Hey!” a man yelled from another room. “There’s no way to squeeze in, and since I have the bride beside me, I think she gets priority. Renzo, get your scraggly ass out here, and introduce us to the woman who is obviously too good for you.”

I laughed. “That’s Jase, I presume?” I asked Renzo.

“You’d be right.”

“Oooooh, scraggly ass. That’s a good one,” a high little voice said. “Justin is going to be so peeved when I call him a scraggly ass.”

Another high voice, this time a girl, said. “Jase didn’t call him a scraggly ass. He said he had a scraggly ass. Lachlan, you need to get your insults right, otherwise they aren’t effective.”

I looked up at Renzo and he was actually biting his lower lip to stop him from laughing. I looked around at the others in the kitchen. They were all doing the same. Bruno and Christos moved out of the way, and Renzo ushered me forward. Then I saw the most beautiful family on earth. A large dark man, with his arm around a small shapely strawberry blonde, with a boy and a girl standing in front of them, locked in a debate about what the best insults were.

I want that.

Renzo bent down and whispered in my ear. “What? I couldn’t hear you.”

I hadn’t said that out loud, had I?

I shook my head and smiled. “Hi everyone,” I said.

“Hi Millie,” Jase said as he stepped forward. “I’d love to introduce you to my family.”

“We’re not your family yet, Jase. We’re only your engaged family. After the wedding, we’ll be your real family,” the little girl said.

Bonnie squatted down in front of her daughter. “Amber. Do you love Jase?”

“Of course,” the little girl said. She was clearly outraged.

“Does Jase love you?” Bonnie persisted.

“Yes.”

“Are we here for one another, no matter what?”

“Yes.” Both Amber and Lachlan said at the same time.

“Then we’re a family already. Saturday is just icing on the cake.”

“Will there be pie at the wedding, or only cake?” Lachlan asked.

“There has to be cake, so mom can smoosh it at Jase,” Amber said knowingly.

“Millie, you have now officially met, my soon to be wife Bonnie, and our travelling side-show, Amber and Lachlan.”