could have been cut with a knife, Ethan decided. Some of that could be attributed to the uncensored barbs being tossed around between Boone’s parents, but Samantha seemed to be at odds with Gabi, and Boone and Emily were outside on the deck, obviously exchanging heated words. He had a terrible feeling he knew the topic under discussion.
“What’s with those two?” Samantha asked, gesturing toward the supposedly happy couple as she joined him.
“A difference of opinion, I’d say,” Ethan said. “How about you and Gabi? Did something happen between the two of you?”
“Just the usual sisterly disagreement,” she said, obviously minimizing it.
“Granted, I’ve never had a sister, but it seems more serious than that to me,” Ethan said. “You didn’t fight because she bailed on you last night, did you? I told you it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Nothing like that,” she insisted, but offered no further explanation.
“If you say so,” he said, just in time for the door to the deck to burst open. Emily stormed inside, grabbed her purse off a table and sailed through the dining room, ignoring everyone who called out to her, including her grandmother.
“Oh, no. This can’t be good,” Samantha murmured, and ran after her, as did Gabi and Cora Jane.
Boone entered more slowly, his expression shell-shocked. “Sorry about that,” he said, though his voice was barely loud enough to be heard by those close by. He headed directly to the bar, ordered a drink, then faced everyone. He tried for an upbeat expression, but it fell flat.
“I hope you’ll all stay and enjoy dinner,” he said stiffly. “Emily’s not feeling well. She had to leave.”
B.J. ran to his dad’s side, his expression filled with worry. “Daddy, Emily looked mad. Did you have a fight?”
Boone ruffled his son’s hair with a halfhearted gesture. “Just a little disagreement, son.”
Ethan thought otherwise. He also thought Boone was maybe a split second from shattering. Ethan didn’t want that happening in front of B.J. Keeping a concerned eye on his friend, he approached Boone’s mother. “Could you keep an eye on B.J. for a bit? I need to speak to Boone privately.”
She blinked at the request, obviously not used to playing the role of doting grandmother, then nodded. “Sure, I can do that. You don’t think there’s real trouble in paradise, do you?”
“Hard to say,” Ethan replied tersely.
The other party attendees, sensing a real crisis, were wise enough to give Boone a wide berth. Ethan crossed over to the bar, ordered his own drink, then waited. Boone finished the drink in front of him, then ordered another.
“Can I assume you just filled Emily in on your thoughts about Los Angeles?” Ethan inquired eventually.
Boone responded with a wry expression. “Oh, yeah. Bad idea, Ethan. Ironically, I actually think she’d been expecting it, but she didn’t take it well, just the same.”
“Better now than later,” Ethan said, sticking to his guns.
“You saw her. Did she look as if she might forgive me any time this century?”
“Forgive you for what? Being open and honest with her?”
“That’s not exactly how she sees it. She said, well, she said a lot of stuff, not the least of which being that I’d deceived her. I believe the word betrayal was thrown around quite a bit, as well.”
Ethan winced. “Okay, I suppose you can’t entirely blame her for feeling like that,” he said, then added quickly, “Not that you intended to do that, of course.”
Boone gave him a bleak look. “It’s over.”
Ethan regarded him incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous. It is not over,” he said with confidence, then studied him worriedly. “Did she say it was over?”
“She didn’t throw the ring in my face, if that’s what you’re asking, but she might as well have. She says she doesn’t want to see me again, that she wants me out of the house in Los Angeles before she gets back since I hate it there so much. I’d say that’s pretty clear.”
“Heat of the moment,” Ethan said, even as he wondered if it could really be more than that.
“I can see the handwriting on the wall,” Boone contradicted despondently.
“You’re not a fortune-teller, Boone,” Ethan said with a touch of impatience. He was fully aware of the irony of him, of all people, giving a pep talk about lasting love. Still, he continued. “Stop anticipating disaster. It’s a bump in the road. You’ll work this out. You caught her off guard. Give her time to cool down and think this through.”
“Not this time,” Boone said. “Time’s not going to