be a good way to stay off of it.“I don’t think I can get them as high as you do.”
“It’s okay,” he said, giving her arm a squeeze. “They just want to be bounced. Hop up.”
Before she could answer, a voice behind Rori called out, “Luke?”
Turning to see who was calling out to her fiancé, Rori grew very still when she spotted an all-American blonde setting down a tray of cookies and a bag of Cheetos.
“Kris?” Luke called out, and the two ran—literally ran—at each other, meeting in the middle of the grass before she jumped up, wrapped her arms around Luke and let him spin her around as they hugged.
Stunned, Rori looked around to see if anyone else found their behavior particularly odd. No one blinked. And only one of them even stopped what they were doing to acknowledge the her arrival. It was Mike.
“Hey, Kris,” he said from the tramp.
Kris ignored her brother as she pulled away to give Luke a once over. “You’re so tan!”
“Me?” Luke scoffed, checking her out as well. “Look at you? Where have you been? A tropical island?”
“Uh-uh,” Kris shot back. “You go first. I want stories. Tons of them. You didn’t even write me once this time!”
They bantered as if they were the only two people in the world and no one else even existed. Especially Rori. Didn’t Luke think it strange at all to fawn over a hot blonde while his brunette fiancée stood ten feet away? Rori had never been engaged before, so she wasn’t quite sure of the protocol. She was fairly certain, however, that it included at least introducing her to hot girls he talked to, and keeping his hands on her and not the other woman.
And Luke most definitely should not wait until the other woman acknowledged his fiancée before making introductions. But that’s what happened.
“I’m sorry. I’m being so rude,” Kris said, moving over to Rori and sticking out her hand. “You must be the friend who came home with Luke.”
Rori’s jealousy eased a bit when Luke shot her a huge smile and moved to put his arm possessively around her shoulders. Not Kris’s.
“Well, ‘friend’ isn’t exactly accurate,” he said, earning a curious look from Kris before addressing the group collectively. “Everyone! I need your attention!”
Like magic, ten adults and eight children grew still and regarded Luke with a cautious curiosity that told Rori he’d done announcements like this before. Several eyes flickered to her as Luke continued.
“First off, thank you so much for this party and making me remember all the reasons this will always be home to me.” Mrs. Cannon blushed in pleasure while everyone else visibly grew more tense. Not that Luke noticed. “I wanted to wait until everyone was here to officially introduce the most amazing woman I’ve met in my life. Her name is Rori, and I’m proud to let you all be the first to know that we are engaged to be married.”
As far as announcements went, that was fairly abrupt, which was pretty true to Luke’s usual style. Rori didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until Mr. Cannon broke the ensuing silence with a hearty laugh, and moved to congratulate them.
“I never thought I’d see the day someone could tie this one down,” he boomed, crossing over to wrap Luke in a fatherly hug. Then suddenly everyone was moving in, offering their congratulations and welcoming Rori into the family.
Chapter 8
For the second time that day, time stopped for Mike Cannon. Then, in slow motion, his family swarmed Luke and Rori, showering them with congratulations. Yet Mike couldn’t move to do the same. He couldn’t even breathe.
In his stupor, Mike noticed he wasn’t the only one slack faced at the news that Luke was about to make a huge mistake. Kris stood stunned as well, looking quite pale despite her tan as she regarded the couple.
As if sensing his gaze, Kris looked up to catch Mike’s eye, and in that moment he knew that his mom had been right about her motives for dating Caleb while Luke was away. He jerked his head toward the house, indicating she should meet him inside.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kris turned and led the way while Mike jumped from the tramp and angled in to give Luke’s arm an obligatory punch as Luke juggled all the questions being thrown at him.
“I can’t believe you, man,” Mike said, keeping his voice light. “We’re so talking after all this.”