Evening Stars (31 page)

Bertie picked up the bucket filled with weeds and carried it to the yard waste container. Nina trailed after her.

“I suppose whining that I don’t want to talk to her doesn’t make me look like the mature sister.”

“Not really.” Bertie smiled at her. “Tell you what. I’ll invite your young man to join us tonight. How’s that?”

“Nice. Thank you.”

“Good. Now I’ll put the tools away. You go shower. We have a lot to do to get ready.”

Nina headed for the house. It was only after she stepped into the shower that she had the sudden thought to ask which young man Bertie had meant.

* * *

Averil dumped the cooked potatoes into a colander, then turned on the cold water. She’d already diced the eggs and celery for the potato salad. The chocolate cake she’d baked earlier was cooling on a rack and she and her mom had already coated the chicken pieces in marinade.

It was nearly four in the afternoon. Averil couldn’t remember the last time she’d spent a few hours cooking. Somehow she and Kevin had gotten into the take-out habit. Or she just threw something together. When they were first married, she’d planned out menus, and they’d gone shopping together. They’d even tried new recipes on the weekends. Like most men, Kevin enjoyed grilling, but he was also pretty decent with a regular stove.

She dropped the celery in the bowl and tried to remember when the cooking afternoons had come to an end. Had she had a deadline? Had he? Then the activity had been lost?

Somehow they’d gone from happy to distant, and she couldn’t retrace the journey. She liked Kevin’s company. She liked spending time with him—so, what was the problem? Why had she resisted connecting with him?

Bonnie walked into the kitchen. She had on a tunic top over white shorts. Her long, wavy blond hair was loose, and big hoops hung from her ears. “I’m so excited about our party tonight,” she said, a bottle of wine tucked under each arm. “I’ve decided to make my famous sangria.”

“Good. Then we won’t have hangovers like we did with the margaritas.”

Her mother smiled and set down the bottles, then crossed over to hug her. “I’m so glad you’re home. I’ve missed seeing you.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Mom.”

“You’re so much fun, and we don’t have to talk about all those rules.”

A slam at Nina, Averil thought, a little uncomfortable with the statement. It was fine when she was fighting with her sister, but Bonnie was the parent—should she really resent the daughter she’d pretty much abandoned to manage on her own?

Now, still pissed about their recent fight, Averil found herself in the annoying place of having to defend her sister.

“Nina takes really good care of things around here,” Averil began. “If she wasn’t here, you’d have to take on a lot more of the responsibility.”

Bonnie sighed. She dug out the wine opener and went to work on the bottles. “I suppose. I’m not really mad at her. I just wish she wasn’t such a stick in the mud.” She gave Averil a quick smile. “And to prove that, I invited Kyle to join us for dinner.”

“Kyle? I thought Bertie said she’d asked Dylan. She mentioned it when she told me about the party and asked me to make the cake.”

Bonnie put down the corkscrew. “Not Dylan. Kyle’s the fighter pilot. He’s so handsome, with those big blue eyes.” She sighed. “If I was fifteen years younger...and still having sex with men.”

A fascinating factoid, Averil thought, trying to pull it all together.

“You called Kyle?” she asked.

“Yes. I used Nina’s cell phone while she was in the garden.”

Averil felt both humor and horror bubbling up inside her belly. She walked to the hall. “Bertie?” she yelled.

Bertie walked in from the living room. “What?”

“You invited Dylan to come over for dinner?”

Bertie’s eyebrows drew together. “Yes. I told you before. Did he call? Can’t he make it?”

Bonnie covered her mouth with her hand, as if to hold in laughter. Her eyes were bright with amusement. “This is too delicious,” she managed to say.

Averil was less sure.

“What’s wrong?” Bertie asked.

“I invited Kyle,” Bonnie told her.

Bertie’s mouth twisted. “But Dylan was with Nina when she was sick. He stayed here two nights. He looked after her.”

“Kyle’s sexier. He’s adventurous. The last thing Nina needs is a man just as responsible as her. She’s sanctimonious enough as it is.”

“Bonnie!” Bertie’s voice was sharp.

Bonnie’s humor faded. “Sorry.”

Bertie turned to Averil. “We have a problem. Should I call Dylan and tell him the party’s canceled?”

“He’ll want to know why,” Averil pointed out, unable to believe what had happened. Nina was going to be furious. “So will Kyle. We can’t say she’s sick again. Kyle won’t believe it and Dylan will come over anyway.”

“We need a distraction,” Bonnie said.

“We’re
not
setting the house on fire.”

“No. Nothing like that. More people. We should start calling everyone we know. If there are enough people around, Dylan and Kyle won’t notice each other.”

Averil figured the odds of that happening were slim, but she wasn’t sure what else to do. “I need to tell Nina,” she said, and wiped her hands on a towel.

Bonnie held up both her hands, then backed up, as if physically afraid of her daughter’s reaction. Bertie shook her head. “I don’t see this having a good outcome. Why would you invite Kyle?”

“Because she’s sleeping with him,” Bonnie said. “She and Dylan are just friends.”

“He’s more than her friend,” Bertie said firmly.

They were still arguing when Averil headed toward her sister’s room. Nina had showered and dressed in capris and a T-shirt. She’d blown out her blond hair straight and was slipping dangling gold earrings into place.

“Hey,” she said when she saw Averil. “I’m clean and prepared to help with tonight. Do you need me to run to the store or do we have everything?”

Averil had been doing her best to avoid Nina and had a feeling her sister had been doing the same. Their last fight had been uglier than most, with accusations flying around. It had also been a lot about telling the truth, she thought. Nina was too proud to ask for help, and she liked being a martyr. Averil didn’t want to have to worry about her family, so she didn’t bother to ask how things were.

While they were both at fault, she realized she should have been better about keeping track of what was going on. Of course Nina would support her mother. She always had. Bertie helped where she could, but she wasn’t rich. Kevin would have been happy for her to send money every month, Averil thought, fighting guilt.

She opened her mouth to say that, then reminded herself they had a bigger problem.

“We probably will need a few more things from the store,” she began. “The party’s getting bigger.”

Nina slipped on sandals. “Okay. It’s kind of last minute to be inviting a lot of people.”

“Yes, well, they’re here to be a distraction. You know you have a date coming tonight, right?”

“Bertie mentioned she’d invited...” Nina paused. “Bertie invited Dylan, right?”

“Oh, she invited Dylan,” Averil told her. “And Mom asked Kyle.”

* * *

Nina felt the room spinning. It wasn’t like when she had the flu and couldn’t focus. Her head wasn’t foggy. Far from it—she saw everything happening with perfect clarity. Or everything that would happen. Her chest tightened until she found it impossible to breathe.

“Dylan and Kyle?”

Averil bit her lower lip. “I know. Crazy, right? I guess when Bertie and Mom talked about tonight, they discussed inviting your guy over, but they each had a different idea about who that is. I thought you were only sleeping with Kyle.”

“I am. Dylan and I are...” She wasn’t sure what they were but knew it was about to get uncomfortable on several fronts. This couldn’t happen. She had to stop it. “I have to make sure Kyle doesn’t show up. I’m going to call him and tell him there’s been a change of plans.”

“You don’t want to try that with Dylan?”

“Kyle’s more likely to do what he’s told.”

She lunged for her phone and pushed the button to dial Kyle. The phone rang several times, then went to voice mail.

She swore softly, then sucked in a breath and dialed Dylan.

“Hey,” he said, answering after the first ring. “I’m stopping by the winery now. Your mom just called and said she needs a couple more bottles for her sangria. Then I’ll be over.”

Nina sank onto the bed. “Mom just called?”

“Yeah. Didn’t she tell you?”

“No. She didn’t mention it.”

He chuckled. “So neither of us is surprised by that. See you soon.”

Nina pushed the end button, then dropped the phone onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. “She’s doing this on purpose.”

“What did he say?”

Nina looked at her sister. “That Mom just called and said to pick up more wine for the sangria. He’s on his way. And I can’t get Kyle.”

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. Both of them here? She had no idea how the evening was going to play out. Kyle would be his usually friendly self.

“I have no idea how Dylan is going to react,” she admitted, pressing her hand to her belly. There had to be a solution, she thought frantically.

“Do you care?” Averil asked. “I don’t mean that in a harsh way. Just you’re sleeping with Kyle.”

“I know, but Dylan has been really nice. He took care of me.” She stared at Averil. “There was kissing. He doesn’t know about Kyle, and he sure doesn’t think I’m having sex with anyone else.”

Why? That was the question of the moment. Why had this happened?

“He’s assuming there isn’t anyone else,” Averil told her. “It’s not like he asked.”

“I haven’t asked, either.”

“So maybe he’ll bring a girlfriend and solve the problem.”

Nina ignored the jab those words sent into her stomach. “My luck isn’t that good,” she told her sister.

Bertie walked into the bedroom. “I’m so sorry,” she told Nina, her eyes dark with regret. “It never occurred to me that I would ask Dylan and your mother would invite Kyle. It’s farcical, but without the British humor.” She paused. “How angry are you?”

“Bertie, I love you,” Nina said. “But, please, stop inviting my friends over.”

“It will never happen again.”

Before either of them could say anything else, someone knocked on the front door.

“Already?” Nina moaned.

“I’ll get it,” Bertie said.

“That doesn’t buy us much time,” Averil said. “I’m going to call Cindy and see if she and her husband can stop by. If there’s enough of a crowd, it should be fine.”

Nina stared at her sister. “Do you really believe that?”

“No, but maybe faking it will help.”

Unlikely, Nina thought, standing and walking out of her bedroom. As she entered the living room, she saw Kyle handing her mother what looked like a huge box of strawberries. Behind him was Deanna with her husband and five daughters, plus her oldest’s best friend, Carrie.

“Hey, you,” Kyle said, walking toward her. He took her in his arms and spun her around. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” He leaned in and kissed her.

They were in public, so it wasn’t as if there was tongue or anything, but it was still a kiss between a man and a woman, and Nina didn’t think she’d ever felt that self-conscious in her life. She drew back as quickly as she could, but it wasn’t fast enough. As she turned, she saw Dylan in the doorway. He had a bottle of wine in each hand and the startled expression of a man who’d just been thumped with a two-by-four.

* * *

Averil had never been a huge Dylan fan. When her sister had first dated him, Averil hadn’t been all that interested in their relationship. She’d had her own life to deal with. But she did remember when he’d dumped Nina. Her older sister—her emotional rock—had crumbled, and Averil had been both indignant on her behalf and scared of so much raw emotion. All these years later, she figured Dylan had blown his chance, and whatever happened now, he deserved.

But that changed in the second it took him to register that Nina had been kissing some other guy. She saw the emotions pass through his eyes and how his hands tightened on the wine. Kyle was a fighter pilot, the guy with the swagger. Dylan might have bested him in a fair fight, but it was pretty obvious by the easy way Kyle kept his hand on Nina’s hip that they were more than just friends.

Bonnie hurried over. “Dylan. You came!” She kissed his cheek and took the wine from him. “Do you know everyone here?” She started naming people and casually mentioned “Nina’s friend Kyle” in a list of those attending.

Averil found herself moving toward her sister’s old boyfriend and linking arms with him.

“Hey, Dylan,” she said with a smile. “Settling in to island life?” she asked.

“I am.”

He gave Nina one more glance before walking with Averil into the kitchen.

When they were there, he leaned against the counter and faced her.

“Who’s the new guy?”

She thought about pretending not to know who he was talking about, only that was stupid. It wasn’t as if he would be fooled and change the subject.

This was just like a situation one of her readers would write about, she thought. Or imagine, briefly wondering if she would use a scene like this in her book. She was only sixty pages in and still hadn’t worked out all the—

“Averil!”

She stiffened. “What? Oh, sorry. He’s, um, Kyle. Nina’s known him forever. She used to babysit him years ago. Well, not him. His baby sister. Funny thing. He remembered her. He’s a fighter pilot now and up at Everett. He stopped by to look her up. Small world, huh?”

Dylan looked past her to the living room beyond. Averil could only hope everyone had moved outside. The afternoon was warm, and Bertie had already set up folding tables on the lawn.

She walked toward her still unfrosted cake. “The party just sort of happened. This morning it was going to be the four of us and now it’s everyone we know. That’s fun.”

She hoped she didn’t sound as lame as she felt. Dylan folded his arms across his chest.

“Is she sleeping with that boy?”

Averil swallowed. “Dylan, I—”