Piece of My Heart (Under Suspicion #7) - Mary Higgins Clark Page 0,4
on their boat.
She nodded her assent. “Not too close to the water, though.”
She noticed Laurie smile as the girls kicked off their sandals at the edge of the deck and ran toward the boys.
“The twins are over the moon about being flower girls on Sunday,” Marcy said. “They’ve been practicing their steps, but be warned: for all I know, Chloe will go running down the aisle screaming like a maniac with Emily not far behind.”
“And all of that would be just fine,” Laurie said. “You know, it’s funny, I can’t believe I ever got them confused. They look completely different to me now that I know them.”
“That’s a sign you’re officially family now.” And Marcy meant it. She could see that Alex was serious about Laurie when he made a point of inviting them to New York to meet her. She was the first woman Alex had ever introduced to them who seemed to have other priorities besides landing one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. Over the past two years, it had become clear how much Laurie and Alex cared about each other.
“Laurie!”
Marcy turned to see a young woman—she looked like a teenager—behind them, heading to Laurie with her arms outstretched. Her long blond hair was pulled into a ponytail and she lugged a black backpack over her white sundress. Laurie gave the girl a warm hug.
“You must be Mrs. Buckley.” The girl held out her hand for a quick shake.
“Marcy,” she urged. “And you must be the famous Kara. Your chocolate-chip pancakes are legendary.”
Marcy knew that Kara was Timmy’s favorite babysitter and a mainstay at the Moran household until she had left for college last fall at SUNY Buffalo. Their introductions were interrupted by a sand-covered ten-year-old rushing to greet Kara. Before Marcy’s kids made it to the deck, Timmy was already telling Kara all about the new video game he wanted to play with her.
“Mom,” Emily whined, “Jonathan isn’t throwing the ball to us.”
“Jonathan?” Laurie inquired. “Since when?”
Marcy chuckled. “A new student in his school is named Bartholomew, and he insists on being called by his full name. Now all the kids think it’s cool to use proper names.”
“Small world,” Laurie replied. “Just last week Timmy told me he thought ‘Timmy’ is a little kid’s name. At his request I sometimes call him ‘Timothy.’ ”
“I’m sure for both it’s a passing fad,” Marcy said.
They were interrupted by the sound of male voices emerging from the breezeway. It was Alex, Andrew, and Ramon. Andrew dangled a set of hotel key cards over his head.
“We have the honeymoon suite,” he boasted. “Courtesy of my big brother.”
“Crossed signals with the reservations desk,” Alex explained. “My betrothed and I will be keeping everything on the up and up this week. The honeymoon suite was the only one big enough for your whole brood.”
“Lucky us,” Marcy said, accepting one of the keys.
“So…” Marcy could tell that her husband was eager to say whatever would come next. “How do you ladies feel about an afternoon of golf?”
“Seriously?” She gave a playful swat in his direction. “I thought you were going to announce a spa day.”
“These are Alex’s last few hours of being in his thirties, and a little bird named Ramon told me golf was on the wish list.”
Ramon placed a guilty palm over his heart. “It’s my fault indeed. Leo won’t be here until close to dinner, so this would be the best time for the four of you to hit the links.”
“And what about you, Ramon?” Marcy asked. “We don’t want to leave you out.”
“I have a hidden agenda of my own.”
“Top secret,” Timmy added with a sly smile.
Marcy already knew that Ramon had promised to find a way to take Timmy shopping alone so he could select a special present for Alex, separate from the gift Laurie had chosen for both of them.
Laurie looked to Marcy, assessing her opinion. “I’m a terrible golfer, but Alex keeps telling me that we should play together like you and Andrew do.”
“Lunch at the clubhouse and then just nine holes,” Andrew promised.
Marcy would be leaving her three kids with a nineteen-year-old she had met only moments earlier. On the other hand, Laurie was understandably the most protective mother she knew, and Laurie trusted Kara implicitly. What could possibly go wrong in this ocean paradise? she asked herself.
“Fore!” she said, acting out a full swing of the club.
The two couples entered the breezeway toward their rooms. As they walked—beneath the rim of a blue