her again, so Layla directed her attention to the glossy pages, turning them one by one. Blythe would look beautiful in any number of dresses.
“Are you sure you’re okay about this?” the bride-to-be murmured for Layla’s ears only.
“Of course.” A smile tweaked the corners of her mouth. “Think about it. I’d rather you be planning your wedding to Vance’s brother than to Vance himself, right?”
“Oh, right.” Blythe laughed, her shoulders relaxing. “Absolutely right.”
The atmosphere in the kitchen loosened up considerably after that. Katie served up four glasses of a very cold and deliciously crisp chardonnay, along with a tray of chilled grilled asparagus and prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe on skewers. A half glass in, Layla found herself agreeing to provide white-iced champagne cupcakes for Blythe and Fitz’s upcoming engagement brunch. Vance’s aunt got a little teary about losing Baxter to France for a year...but she seemed sincerely pleased her beloved son had found true love.
Katie slanted Layla a look. “That seems to be going around the Smith family these days.”
Instead of answering, she pretended an avid interest in the magazine pages in front of her. She studied the two-page spread of a wedding party—an entire family gathered around a glowing bride and groom. It looked as foreign to her as the language of bridal gowns. Maybe she’d never daydreamed about a Big Day because she didn’t have a large family with whom to celebrate.
Now she didn’t even have a father to walk her down the aisle.
Oh, God, the tears were stinging again.
“Layla?” Vance’s mother patted her arm. “Are you okay, honey?”
Blinking rapidly, she held the back of her hand to her nose. “Just a tickly nose,” she said, aware her voice sounded scratchy, too.
“Everybody gets those sometimes,” Katie murmured. Then she placed her palm between Layla’s shoulder blades and rubbed a soothing circle.
The touch brought her back under control. She hauled in a steadying breath, then picked up her wine. “You’re very kind,” she said to the other woman, just as Vance’s dad came up behind his wife.
“And beautiful,” he added, grabbing Katie’s glass from her hand and taking a swallow.
“Moocher,” she said fondly. “You remember Layla.”
“It’s good to see you again,” she started—and then found herself at a loss for words when William Smith took her outstretched hand in both his big paws. He smiled, and it was devastating, just like his son’s.
“Welcome,” he said. Then he leaned close. “I appreciate what you shared with me about my son on Picnic Day. I’ve thought of it often.” Then he smiled again, and she realized that he was definitely a charmer when he wasn’t at odds with Vance. He stayed in the kitchen with the ladies, offering groan-worthy opinions on wedding regalia and teasing his wife about their wedding day until she whapped him with a dish towel.
His brother came into the kitchen next, and Layla met yet another handsome Smith male—though he was about three inches shorter than the quite tall William. Apparently the elder Smiths had been joined in a double wedding and Roy told them how his brother’s tuxedo had been delivered to him and vice versa, causing a four-alarm panic until they managed to get control of their groom jitters long enough to figure out what happened and swap clothes.
Then it was Fitz who wandered in. He made his way to Blythe and laid on her a lavish kiss that turned the pale blonde’s cheeks pink again. She made an embarrassed protest, which he ignored as he went on to enthusiastically buss the cheek of his aunt, then his mother. Finally, he grabbed Layla and squeezed her in a bear hug.
Vance had mentioned in a grumpy tone that Fitz could be impossible not to like, and she had to admit that was true.
Katie scolded him, though. “Son, are you sure Layla wants to be manhandled like that?”
Fitz met her gaze with laughing eyes. “She thinks I’m perfect. Just ask her.”
Pressing her lips together, she let her eyes laugh back. Fucking Perfect Fitz. Yep, impossible not to like.
Conversation continued in the crowded kitchen, topics rambling and circling while the last details of dinner were completed. Layla found herself smiling and laughing and feeling entirely comfortable as they included her in everything from a squabble about a recent movie to tossing the salad.
When it was nearing time to sit down, Katie wondered aloud about Vance’s whereabouts. Fitz said he’d gone up to his old room, so Layla was dispatched to retrieve him from “upstairs, first door on the left.”
On her