Grace (The Family Simon #5)- Juliana Stone Page 0,62

swung his way, but the only person he saw was Grace. She stood in the middle of them all, eyes sparkling, her face split wide in a huge grin. In her hand, she waved a sparkly pink ribbon.

“I made it in time to pick our team,” she said excitedly. “We’re pink!”

Someone snorted. And a few male chuckles joined in.

Betty Jo and a dark haired woman who looked an awful lot like the little girl who still held onto his hand, joined them. Betty thrust her fist into the air and the other girls made a similar action. “Go pink!” Betty shouted.

Matt dropped his bag. He didn’t know what was worse. Periwinkle or pink or the fact that he didn’t know what Betty or Grace was talking about.

Grace beamed at him, her laughing eyes infectious. Go pink, she mouthed. He was guessing he was going to find out.

25

The Simon family, in all its extended glory, enjoyed a late buffet-style dinner. Everything from Chinese and Mexican, to good old hamburgers and hotdogs. There was something for everyone’s palette and by the time the food was cleared and dishes done, it was nearly ten.

Grace gave her nephew Fitz a big hug and kiss before surrendering him to his mother, Betty Jo. It was well past the little guy’s bedtime and with sleep-heavy eyes, he waved to her as she watched her sister-in-law head upstairs. Her brother Teague and his wife Sabrina had already left—Teague outside to join his brother, Tucker, and Matt. And Sabrina to their cottage next door. With Sabrina’s twins gone, the noise level had dropped dramatically.

Gracce smiled. Teague was now father to Sabrina’s twins, and she’d given birth to their son Axel less than a year after they were married. Funny how things worked out. She’d thought Teague would be a bachelor forever—married to a dangerous job—but he’d gone and surprised the heck out of everyone when he’d fallen in love with Sabrina.

She couldn’t remember seeing her brother happier than he was right now, and right now felt pretty damn good.

Humming to herself, Grace turned off the light in the kitchen and wandered into the large, open family room. The entire wall was glass and gave her a spectacular view of the lake at night.

She had the place to herself, which was a miracle considering everyone had made it to Gravenhurst except Jack and Donovan. Her parents had retired to bed and so had Tucker’s wife Abby.

She frowned. Something was up with her sister-in-law.

“What’s with the face?” Her cousin Cooper came in from outside where all the guys were. Cigars were the likely culprit, and Matt had been all over it.

“I could ask the same.”

Cooper flashed a smile, wincing a bit on account of the black eye he sported. The guy could pass as her brother Beau’s twin. Both of them were good looking Charlie Hunnam or Brad Pitt-types, and Cooper could have made a fortune in Hollywood. Instead he… Actually, Grace wasn’t exactly sure what Cooper did to pass the time. Other than the obvious—women.

“I asked first.”

She leaned against the sofa and pulled no punches. “What’s going on with Abby?”

The smile on Cooper’s face slowly faded and his blue eyes slid away from hers. All sorts of alarm bells went off inside Grace and she tugged at his arm. She knew Cooper and Abby were good friends. Hell, it had been a bone of contention between her brother, Tucker, and her cousin Coop from the moment they’d met.

“Cooper. What the hell is going on?”

Cooper shoved his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know anything.” At her sharp intake of breath, he continued. “I don’t. But something’s up. I’m sure of it. She’s not herself.” He shrugged. “I guess they’ll tell us when the time’s right.”

Grace thought about that for a few moments. “I guess so. I just hope it’s nothing serious.” She shoved her elbow into her cousin’s side. “So? The black eye? That’s gotta be a good story.”

“Oh, it’s a story all right.”

“Spill.”

Cooper exhaled and ran a hand through his thick blond hair. “It’s a long, drawn-out tale that involves a married woman, a cheating husband and, well…” He flashed that million-dollar smile again. “Me.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised.”

Her cousin Cooper had a long history of getting involved with unattainable women. As in women who were either spoken for, engaged, or already married. The world saw him as a celebrated scoundrel—a guy with Hollywood looks, no ambition and no morals. Grace found it interesting that Coop perpetuated the myth