arm around her shoulders and affectionately pressing kisses to her temples every time her dad looked, Julia found herself hiding her own amusement.
Lisa stared harder than usual, though.
In a brief moment when Zach had taken off to help Sasha and Emma capture a mama cat, her sister took the opportunity to bump their shoulders together. “You and Zach are looking pretty cozy.”
A warm sensation bloomed inside. “He’s running interference,” Julia confessed. “He’s a good friend.”
“Friend. Well, that’s good. I guess.” Lisa nodded sagely then vanished before Julia could poke her for being mysterious.
After lunch, the Whiskey Creek clan made their way to the main gathering, which turned out to be split between the two houses on the original homestead. The men disappeared into what was called the Peter’s house, while the women gathered in what was currently Jaxi and Blake’s home. Children were divvied up like packages between the two groups.
Julia instantly felt the loss of Zach by her side. She was certain the Colemans were good people, but there were just so many of them.
She stuck close to Lisa and let her sister run interference.
After a while, though, a few members of the massive crowd slipped over, pulling her into conversations in a way that Julia appreciated very much. Beth and Becky especially, one older and one younger. Becky was just noticeably pregnant, one hand resting on the soft swell of her belly as she spoke to Julia. Both women wore a quiet dignity that made it easy to relax in their company.
The ringleaders of the current generation were clearly Jaxi and Dare. Although…
Julia glanced at Lisa and the way she almost invisibly guided the conversation when necessary. Her sister, Julia decided, was a dangerous force of nature, and she was very glad to have her on her side.
For the rest, it was a little like dropping in on season seven of a TV show. The hours she spent with them offered hints of people’s characters and made Julia wonder what the individual stories were that had brought them to this place.
But they were good people, and in spite of not knowing more than that, Julia enjoyed herself.
That lingering sensation remained. The one Julia couldn’t put a name to. Which meant when Zach came to get her to take her home, she took the quick escape eagerly.
20
Zach had to catch Julia by the hand and tug her in the right direction to keep her feet moving. “Walk and gawk,” he teased.
“There are palm trees in the parking lot,” she said excitedly. She took a deep breath and nearly squealed. “The air tastes tropical.”
He herded her toward their rental car. “It doesn’t suck.”
When he stopped beside the vehicle waiting in the preferred customer pickup area, he got an appreciative grin and then a smirk out of her. “A Jeep. I totally would’ve expected you to book us a convertible.”
“And cheat on Delilah? Never.” He lifted their suitcases into the back then opened the door for her. “Besides, some of my favourite beaches require a little off-roading to access.”
The half-hour drive to his parents’ house north of the airport passed quickly with Julia all but hanging out the window as she commented nonstop on the passing scenery.
Zach poked her in the arm with a water bottle. “Rehydrate. You’re going to fall over if you don’t take a breath soon.”
She leaned forward far enough to catch his eye, delight dancing over her features. “Thank you for bringing me to Hawaii for Christmas. I’m very excited.”
“You’re welcome. And I hadn’t noticed,” he deadpanned.
The final approach to the house included a pause at the large security gate.
Julia whistled as the massive wrought-iron feature slowly swung back. “That is beautiful. It’s an entire underwater scene. Fish and coral and dolphins. Wow.”
“This is walking distance from the house. We can come back and take a closer look. It really is spectacular—there’s a ton of things hidden in the details.”
“I definitely want to do that. And I want to walk on the beach. And I want to explore tidal pools.” Her jaw dropped. “Zach. These are really big houses.”
“It’s not the size that counts, remember?”
Her snicker seemed to knock her back into balance. She pulled one foot onto the seat and wrapped an arm around her knee. “I’m just a tiny bit impressed—holy shit.”
Yeah. That was pretty much what he’d said the first time he’d seen the place. “Come on. I’ll show you around, and then we’ll come back for suitcases.”
He’d parked in the middle of the