The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,157

it is.”

“Lemonade does sound good on a hot day like today,” Aunt Debra said, chewing on her lower lip. “Maybe I should change my order.”

Blair’s eyes widened slightly, but not enough that anyone would notice unless they were watching her closely. Like he was now. A blind man could see the two women didn’t get along. This would be one more log tossed onto a fire that Blair now seemed eager to put out. “Maybe I should change—”

“Don’t be silly,” Garrett said. “Neil just gave you his blessing to spend another dollar or two. But Aunt Debra,” he turned to his aunt. “I’m not sure you’d like their lemonade. I hear it’s really bitter.” He shot the waiter a pointed glance, letting him know not to counter him.

The older woman shook her head and pursed her lips. “I’ll get whatever I want, Garrett Michael Lowry.” She turned to the server. “Why are you still standing there? Go get our drinks.” Then she made a shooing motion.

Garrett tried to keep from laughing. “On second thought, I think a glass of hard lemonade is exactly what you need, Aunt Debra.”

Neil shot Blair a look of dismay, then turned his attention to Aunt Debra. “Mother, I think you should get something else.”

She gave him a pointed glare. “Why?”

Neil shook his head. “Never mind.”

While they waited for their drinks, they all sat stewing in uncomfortable silence. Aunt Debra was fuming, and Uncle Gene was sneaking sips of his second bottle of beer behind his menu. Neil was outright surly, his shoulders tense as he tried to decide whom to shoot angry looks at, Garrett or Blair. Even the always-in-control Blair seemed slightly off kilter now that the dust had settled. Garrett didn’t regret throwing down the gauntlet with the ring, but in hindsight, he should have waited until later to do it. He didn’t want to cause Blair any additional stress. Since he was the one who’d stirred up this round of conflict, it was on him to make it more bearable.

The waiter brought their drinks and took their food orders, then hurried away. Not that Garrett could blame him after the way Aunt Debra had quizzed him about the various barbeque sauces, wanting to know which ingredients were in each. Thank God she hadn’t been so inquisitive about her lemonade.

Blair had started to drink in earnest while Debra gave the waiter the third degree, and her hard lemonade was half gone by the time he scurried off. His aunt eyed her with disapproval. “Really, Blair. That’s so unladylike.” But she then took a sip of her own drink.

Neil’s attention was glued to his mother, and Garrett waited for her reaction. Blair bit her lower lip.

“This is delicious.” Aunt Debra took another sip, then glared at Garrett. “Why did you tell me it was bitter? It’s actually very sweet and quite refreshing on a hot day.”

“My mistake,” Garrett murmured, lifting his beer bottle to his lips. “I must have confused this place with another one.”

His aunt took another long drink and turned to his uncle. “We should see about having some of this at the rehearsal dinner barbeque.”

“Rehearsal dinner barbeque?” Garrett asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Blair’s brow lowered. “It’s a western theme.”

Garrett fought to keep from laughing. Blair was hosting a western-themed dinner? “Will there be square dancing?”

Blair’s eyes narrowed. “No.”

His aunt’s mouth pinched with irritation. “As you can see, Blair put her foot down.”

“Come on, Blair,” Garrett teased. “Everyone loves a good do-si-do or an allemande, right?”

Blair’s eyes lit up with challenge. “You know how to square dance, Garrett?”

“Oh, you know me. I like to see the skirts flying.”

Neil pounced on his words. “How would she know that, Garrett?”

Something in his tone caught Garrett off guard. It was almost as if he knew about their past together and was challenging Garrett to admit to it. And he wanted to. But Blair’s eyes were wild with panic, so he vowed to himself that he would keep quiet about it, at least for now. He’d stirred up enough trouble for the moment. “Oh, just something from the deposition, right, Blair?”

She looked torn. It was a lie, and she hated lies, preferring omission as her word-weapon of choice. So she gave him a haughty look and took another drink of her lemonade.

Garrett needed to steer the conversation away from Blair. “Neil, Mom tells me that you’re a doctor here in town.”

Neil studied him for several seconds as if gauging whether he was serious. “I