"Okay. All the flipping is reserved for you."
Andy"s spoiled brat face melted away into a broad grin. "You"re the perfect woman, do you know that?"
Sherilyn tossed her hair and sniffed. "Yeah. I hear that all the time," she said as she pa.s.sed him by.
It wasn"t until she"d reached the kitchen again that Andy called out, "Where? Who tells you that all the time?"
Russell was settled on the sofa again, Henry happily coiled into a ball under his arm. Sherilyn tapped her finger frantically on the counter until Russell looked up, and she shook it at him before pointing to Henry, and she used her free hand to draw a cutting motion across her throat. But Russell deciphered her meaning just a moment too late.
"Oh, look at this!" Andy exclaimed as he walked into the room and stopped in his tracks. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Russell and Henry. "You"ve pilfered my dog?" Looking at Sherilyn over his shoulder, Andy observed, "He"s been here twenty-four hours, and Henry doesn"t even get up to say h.e.l.lo to me anymore."
At the sound of his name, Henry looked up at Andy, his ears perked. In one fluid motion, the dog flew from the sofa toward him and sat down beside him.
"That"s more like it," Andy said, scratching him behind the ear. "Good dog."
"What kind of jumper is this?" Russell asked, looking Andy over from head to toe.
"This is my grilling ap.r.o.n," Andy informed him. "And I"m wearing it over my jacket because it"s cold out there."
Russell didn"t disguise his amus.e.m.e.nt, and he let out a hearty laugh as his eyes met Sherilyn"s.
"If you"re going to join me out there, you"d better get your rear end off the sofa for a change and put on your coat."
Russell leapt up and rushed toward the door. "Well, c"mon then."
Sherilyn retrieved Russell"s coat from the hall closet and pushed it into his chest. "And get some shoes on," she told him before grabbing the tray of hamburger patties and the spatula and handing them over to Andy.
"Hey, Sean," Andy said with a nod.
"Doc. Good to see you."
Although he did slip into the black peacoat, Russell walked straight out the door in bare feet. Andy shook his head and glanced at Sherilyn before he followed Russell out the door.
"He"s a handful," she commented to Sean when they had gone.
"Both hands and a wheelbarrow."
Wedding Themes: Hollywood Glamour LOCATIONS.
Art deco movie theater with a large lobby Old-fashioned formal restaurant or supper club Transportation for the bride & groom: A vintage Rolls-Royce or stretch limousine APPAREL.
Everyone, from the bridal party to the wedding guests,
should look like they"ve stepped onto the red carpet
Groom and groomsmen: Black- or white-tie, cla.s.sic Bride: Red-carpet type dress in white, perhaps bias-cut
with a long train, or a tight-fitting dress with a
fish-tailed hem
Bridesmaids: Black or blush pink dresses with
chandelier earrings
FLOWERS.
Stay cla.s.sic with roses, peonies, or calla lilies CAKES AND TOPPERS.
Cla.s.sic and elegant with a splash of glitz The bride and groom"s names in letters like the Hollywood sign
15.
The burgers were nearly ready, but Russell lost interest before the red meat turned to pink. He and Henry chased one another in the yard, leaving Andy to enjoy firing up his grill for the first time on Georgia soil.
"You"d better keep the leash handy," he called out to Russell. "He"s a bolter."
"Nah, mate. He"s not going anywhere."
Although the snow on the lawn had melted away to reveal large patches of greenish brown gra.s.s, Russell still managed to dig up enough from beneath the hedge to pat out a good sized s...o...b..ll which he pitched across the yard. Henry bounded after it, barking when he picked it up in his mouth and it disintegrated. Amused, Russell went on a quest to create another one.
"Hi, Mr. Drummond!"
Aaron, the young kid from the neighborhood, had appeared out of nowhere and joined Russell and Henry in their antics on the back lawn. Andy waved back at him and watched the antics of the equivalent of two boys and a dog. They wiped out at the edge of the property when Henry chased them into a full-on collision with the shrubs, and Aaron"s laughter rolled along the slope of the yard.
"I thought you said you didn"t have any kids," the boys giggled and called out to Andy. Russell raised a fist, and Aaron b.u.mped it before they sprang to their feet and took off again across the yard.
"Hey, buddy. Need some help?" Jackson tightened his jacket as he stepped up to the grill beside Andy.
"Glad you could make it."
Jackson watched Russell for a moment. "So you drew the short straw, huh?"
"Yeah. Sherilyn"s taken a liking to him."
"Emma too. She squealed like a girl when she heard he was back, and now she"s baking Australian desserts for the guy. I don"t know whether to laugh it off or punch him out."
"I know the feeling," Andy replied.
"So listen," Jackson began awkwardly, and Andy started to feel like a large shoe might drop on him at any moment. "About that woman you saw the night we went to the game together."
Andy swallowed. "Maya?"
"Yeah. Is there anything I need to know?" Jackson asked as he shook his head. "No, that"s not what I mean. It"s just that Emma is asking a lot of questions about her, on Sherilyn"s behalf I presume. I just wondered if-"
"Oh, no," he answered, returning his attention to the grill. "She"s an ex of mine. After that night, she went knocking on my mother"s door, and I ran into her over there as well. Sherilyn knows all about it."
"She does."
"Yeah. It"s all good."
"It is." Jackson tilted his head slightly and grimaced. "As long as you"re sure."
"Yeah. Oh, yeah."
"Because in my experience, a woman doesn"t go hunting down information on the ex if it"s all good." Andy looked up at him and Jackson smiled slowly. "Just something to think about."
Andy nodded, staring a hole through the second burger on the left.
"I had to peel it out of him," Emma whispered as she watched Sherilyn stir the large bowl of potato salad with a wooden spoon.
"Well, what did he say about her?"
"Oh, did I tell you that your wedding dress was delivered this afternoon?"
"Which one?"
Emma chuckled at that. "They never found the first one, huh?"
"No sign of it. Wedding dress on the run."
"Well, the alterations are all complete, and your second and final wedding dress is being safely held in the front desk office. You can pick it up when you get back there today."
Sherilyn eyed Emma with suspicion. "Are you through?"
"Oh, Sher. Are you sure you want to hear-"
"Emma Rae," she reprimanded, holding the spoon up and pointing it at her.
"Okay. He said she"s really pretty."
"Pretty?"
"Gorgeous."
"Gor-geous?"
"Like someone off the cover of a magazine," she reluctantly added.
"Oh. Great. Details?"
"Tall. Long dark hair, great body. Your basic nightmare."
"Comparables?" she asked, dropping the spoon into the bowl and leaving it there.
"Megan Fox meets Lindsay Lohan."
"What?"
"Jackson"s words, not mine, Sher."
"Andy can"t stand that Lindsay Lohan."
"I didn"t say she is Lindsay Lohan."
"I don"t know how he feels about Megan Fox."
"What about her?" Russell asked as he strolled into the kitchen. "I know Megan."
Emma shook her head emphatically at Russell.
"We were just saying how it"s too bad for her that she has to look like that," Sherilyn cracked. "I mean, poor Megan Fox. Some women just have bad genes. There"s nothing they can do about it."
"Bad genes!" Russell cackled. "C"mon. What were you birds really chirping about, huh?"