The Summer of Sunshine and Margot - Susan Mallery Page 0,105

the kitchen. Declan turned to Sunshine. “What did you get him?”

“You’ll see.”

Seconds later Connor was back with a large, flat, wrapped package in his hands.

“It’s really heavy,” he said eagerly. “Can I open it now? Can I?”

There was a family dinner that night, something low-key, following the party. Connor would open Declan’s presents then, plus whatever Sunshine had bought him. Not that she was expected to buy his kid a present, but he knew she would.

“You can,” she told him.

He ripped the bug-themed birthday paper and shrieked when he saw the title of the book. The World of Ants. The book was thick, with lots of glossy pictures and more information than the average person wanted to know about ants. Connor beamed at her.

“This is the best! Thank you.” He hugged Sunshine, then clutched the book to his chest. “Can I go read it now?”

“You can. We’ll call you when your guests arrive.”

“Okay.” He ran out of the kitchen, leaving the ripped paper behind.

“Well played,” Margot said. “You knew he would be excited and in the way, so you planned on giving him the gift.”

“I thought it might help.”

“Imagine what you could do if you weren’t injured,” her sister teased.

Declan watched the exchange. Physically the sisters couldn’t have been more different. Oh sure, they were both blonde and had similar eyes and shared a smile, but otherwise, they looked nothing alike. Yet they were both kind and giving. He’d seen Margot eyeing her sister, as if making sure she was doing all right with her injury. Margot had given up a day off to help with a party for a kid she barely knew. The Baxter sisters were special, he thought, and whoever won their respective hearts would be damned lucky.

He allowed himself a brief moment to play a mental game of pretend, then pushed the thoughts away. Sunshine was in his house, under his protection. He would not repay her devotion and friendship by coming on to her like some sleazy asshole.

At ten-thirty there was a final meeting to make sure all the prep work was done.

“The ice-cream cake has been moved to the kitchen freezer,” Margot said, checking off an item on the list. “Plates and forks are ready to go for that. The sandwiches and finger foods are all prepared and in the refrigerator or in the pantry.”

Declan looked at his list. “Goodie bags are finished and safely behind closed doors. I’ll get them out at two-thirty. The hall bathroom is stocked with plenty of liquid hand soap and a stack of paper hand towels. I’ll check supplies every half hour and make sure nothing gross has happened.”

Margot looked sympathetic. “Good luck with that.”

“It’s the least I can do,” he told her, then winked at Sunshine.

She smiled at him, then read from her list. “Game supplies are all in place. You two have the rules of the games. Guests are due to arrive at eleven. We’ll go right into the What Am I? game, then have lunch with the movie Ants playing. After that we’ll do the sword relay followed by presents. We’ll wrap up with the piñata.”

She looked at them. “That’s all of it. I’ll be supervising from my chair, although there’s really no reason I can’t—”

“Please,” Margot said, rolling her eyes. “You have dozens of stitches in your hand, I know it still hurts and you barely slept. You may be the queen of all things child, but we can handle the details of the party.”

Sunshine looked at Declan. “She’s always been bossy. Sometimes you just have to go with it.”

“I can’t help it,” Margot told her. “I’m the firstborn. Responsibility is my middle name.”

“You’re firstborn by eight minutes.”

Margot sighed. “I did love being an only child.”

They laughed. Sunshine caught Declan’s gaze and smiled at him. Desire exploded, but he had plenty of practice ignoring the sensation. Instead he enjoyed their sense of connection. They were a good team and he didn’t want to do anything to screw that up.

* * *

Sunday, Margot decided to do some exploring in the monastery cellar. The area under the former church was huge. Part of the old root cellar had been converted into a large wine cellar with shelves and racks and good lighting. The rest of the root cellar was still intact and at first she’d thought that was as much underground as there was.

A couple of weeks before, Margot had found a small door at the back. She’d opened it and discovered dozens of small rooms