The Summer of Sunshine and Margot - Susan Mallery Page 0,102

When she finally got control of herself, she sighed. “Alec, you have many flaws, we all do, but boring in bed isn’t one of them. You’re not even close. Seriously, the woman was an idiot. You should let that go.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “Thank you. I wanted to be sure you were satisfied.”

“I am. Completely. Totally. In every way possible.”

His gaze locked with hers. “I am, as well.”

“That is very good to know.”

* * *

Sunshine tried to think of a polite way to say no.

“Come on,” Phoebe cajoled over the phone. “It’ll be fun. We’ll get dressed up and then go have drinks. A girls’ night out. Say yes.”

Sunshine really didn’t want to. She preferred her girls’ nights out with her sister. With Margot she could totally relax and be herself. With Phoebe, she was less sure. Did the other woman actually want to spend time with her or did she want to grill her about Declan?

She knew he’d taken her advice and had gone to coffee with Phoebe so he could tell her where he stood, which made it very likely that Phoebe’s overture of friendship was more about Declan than wanting Sunshine to be friends with her.

“I’m begging,” Phoebe told her. “Say yes, or I’ll be devastated.”

“Devastated seems strong,” Sunshine murmured, feeling herself start to cave. “But all right. Drinks would be fun.”

“Great. I’m in my car and can’t get to my calendar. Let me text you later and we’ll set something up. Bye.”

And with that, she was gone. Sunshine dropped her phone onto her bed and groaned. She should have just said no, she told herself. It wasn’t a hard word. According to her great-grandmother, it had been the first word she’d ever spoken.

“I’ll deal with that later,” she murmured, heading to the kitchen. She had a busy day planned. Her math class had been canceled which gave her more time to get ready for Connor’s birthday party tomorrow. While she felt organized, there was still a lot to get done. Declan had insisted on taking the day off to help her and if she was going to be honest with herself, she was way more excited about hanging out with him than prepping for the party. Not that she had to admit that to anyone. Still, the thought of being together for the day made her feel just a little squishy inside.

Declan met her in the kitchen. He looked strong and capable and more than a little sexy.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I am.”

They walked to the spare bedroom and he unlocked the door. Inside were all the party supplies including the items for the goodie bags and equipment for the games. There were also wrapped presents including the custom-made ant-patterned comforter Sunshine had ordered for Connor on Etsy.

It took four trips to carry what they needed to the kitchen.

“I want to save the game setup until the morning,” she said, grabbing the goodie bags along with the tote containing her craft supplies. “It’s not going to rain, but there’s still morning dew to contend with and I don’t want anything getting wet.”

“Not a problem. I’ve already turned off the sprinklers so they won’t go on tomorrow. That way the grass will be dry.”

The birthday party would be held outside. Sunshine had ordered long tables and plenty of chairs. She had game areas, a giant ant piñata and separate tables for presents along with food and drinks.

She pulled out her party to-do list.

“Today we’re going to cut out the ants for the goodie bags and glue them on, then load them up. I want to cut out the ants for the flashlights, run through the supplies for the games, confirm the backyard layout and get started on some of the food.”

“That’s a lot.”

She smiled. “Not with you helping me. Margot is coming tomorrow and she’ll help with serving the food and generally run interference.”

“Won’t the other parents be sticking around to help?”

“Oh, Declan, seriously? A kid’s birthday party is a chance to have a few hours without worry. That’s the deal. Trust me, the parents are going to drop off their kids and bolt.”

“I guess I hadn’t noticed that before.” He frowned. “Actually, I think we never bothered with much of a party for Connor before. Iris wasn’t the party type, so we kept it mostly family.”

Sunshine knew there was nothing she could say that wouldn’t be considered snarky so she offered him a smile and said, “My love of planning parties is only surpassed by