you,” Eric grinned. “I have no sisters or brothers at all — except for these two bucket-heads. Millie and I think of them as the brothers we never had. She’s only got one sister.”
Millie Harville stepped forward then. “Hi, it’s so good to meet you. Any friends of James, you know, and all that. I’ll be glad to have a couple of women to talk to finally! I can only stand computer and sports talk for so long before I just wig out!” She was the classic California girl: blonde hair, perfectly straight teeth, bubbly personality, and a cute figure.
“Are you the ones with the baby?” Virginia asked, suddenly interested. “Is he with you?”
“Oh no, we got a babysitter for today.” Millie shook her head. “We couldn’t bring him out here. All this hot sun and deep water — that life jacket would have just made him miserable. And you know if he’s miserable, we’re all miserable!” She giggled. “I heard you’re expecting your first.”
“Yes.” Virginia beamed.
Millie took her arm, already forming the alliance of two women sharing the experience of new motherhood. “Have you been feeling well? Oh my gosh, I was so sick at first, but then it got better later on . . . ”
Laurel, having nothing to contribute to that conversation, turned to the last member of the party.
Of the three men, John Benwick was the most stereotypically ‘nerdy.’ Thin and pale, he wore retro-looking, horn-rimmed glasses and stood at the edge of the crowd. His hairline was starting to recede slightly, but he was far from unattractive. He was very pleasant-looking in that gentle, beta-male sort of way. He gave Laurel a cautious smile. “So you’re Laurel Elliot. James hoped we’d get to meet you while we were here.”
“He did?” Laurel was genuinely surprised. She thought James would have done his best to avoid her and make sure his friends did the same.
“He said you were an artist — a potter.”
Laurel nodded. “Guilty as charged.”
“My fiancée was an artist too. She worked in graphic design, but she painted china as a hobby.”
“Yes, I read that she passed away recently. I’m so sorry.”
A sad smile crossed his face. “Thank you. It’s not been an easy time. Fiona was a wonderful woman. The world lost an incredible person when she left it. She was Eric’s cousin; did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, I guess it’s one of the reasons the three of us have stayed close, even after the buyout.”
“I can imagine. It’s good to have friends to lean on in times like that.”
“I have a book that Fiona published: a coffee table book of her work. Would you like to see it sometime?”
“Yes, of course I would. Did she have a certain style that she preferred?”
“Her favorites were Asian designs. There’s so much Asian influence in the art on the West Coast.”
Laurel felt a prickle on her neck and turned around, only to see James eyeing her and John as they talked. When he caught her looking, he quirked his lips in a little smile and turned back to his conversation with Crosby.
“James has a lot of fond memories of this area from when he was a kid. He’s talked about it a lot over the years. That’s why Eric and I couldn’t say no when he invited us to join him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to settle down here someday.”
Laurel groaned inwardly. Watching James settle down with a wife and kids in her back pocket sounded like hell on earth to her. Unable to think of a fitting reply, she was relieved when Virginia called to her.
“Laurel, hey — come here a sec.”
“Excuse me.” Laurel smiled apologetically at John, and then went to join her sister and Millie, who had been chatting with their heads together for several minutes.
“Millie has invited all of us for supper tonight. Isn’t that nice?”
“That’s all right with you, isn’t it James?” Millie called over her shoulder.
“Is what all right with me?” he called back.
“If we all descend on your place for supper,” Virginia answered.
“I don’t know what you’ll find there to eat, but it’s fine with me otherwise,” he replied.
Millie rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. “We’ll stop and get something on the way home — maybe spaghetti and salad? Oh, can you do spaghetti, Virginia? Will your stomach take it?”
“It sounds great. What time?”
“About 7:30 or so?”
“We’ll be there. Laurel, can you stop at Dad’s and pick up a couple bottles of Chianti?”
“You can get