“She’s my grandmother too.” Neil’s voice was tight. He walked around the island toward Blair.
Several feet now separated her and Garrett, but she could still feel him tense up.
Neil stopped next to her, leaving a foot between them. “Where’s my kiss hello, darling?” He wrapped an arm around her back and leaned down to kiss her, but she couldn’t bear to kiss him after the way she’d just thrown herself at Garrett. She turned her head at the last moment, and his mouth skimmed the corner of her mouth.
“It wasn’t intentional, Neil,” she said, trying to keep it together. “Why did you stop by?”
“I was missing you, of course.”
Her gaze shot up to him in surprise. That was a bald-faced lie. He rarely told her he missed her, and even then, it was only after a separation of multiple days. But he took the opportunity to plant a lingering kiss on her lips. His mouth felt rough and possessive against hers, as if he were staking his claim. She resisted the urge to pull away, and part of her wondered why she even felt that urge. Was it because his kiss left her cold compared to Garrett’s fire? Or was it out of guilt?
“Is my cousin bothering you?” Neil murmured after he lifted his head, still looking down into her eyes.
Her face burned under his scrutiny.
“I can have him kicked out. I am the groom.”
Garrett crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought you had other plans tonight, Neil.”
Neil’s nostrils flared, and some unnamable emotion glowed in his eyes. Oh, God. He either knew or suspected she’d behaved inappropriately with Garrett. “My plans fell through. Besides, I know where my true priorities lie.”
“Funny how quickly they’ve changed. What spurred that?”
Blair glanced from one of them to the other, trying to understand their secret exchange, but the room was spinning and she could hardly stand, let alone form a rational thought.
Garrett took a step toward them, his hands fisted at his sides. “Don’t be so sure of yourself. There’s something we need to tell you.”
Neil’s eyebrows rose. “We?” Then he looked down at her, demanding an answer.
She pulled free of his hold and took a deep breath. In her office and in the courtroom, she was the epitome of confidence and control. Where was that woman now? But everything felt jumbled and out of sorts in her head. For the first time in her life, she literally had no idea what to do. “I . . .”
The back door opened, and Libby and Megan hurried through, worry in their eyes. Noah trailed behind them. “Blair, there you are,” Megan said, rushing over to her. “It’s time to open presents.”
Libby intercepted Garrett. “I think you two should hang out with the guys. What do you think, Noah?”
“Yeah.” Noah nodded. “There’s a Royals game on.”
“Sure, he should join you,” Neil said, his anger unmistakable. “But I’ll be staying with my fiancée.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Megan smiled, but it was forced. “It’s girls only, Neil.”
His jaw tightened. “If Nana insisted that Garrett come, I’m sure she’d want her other grandson here too.”
Megan looked from Neil to Josh, her eyes wide.
Some of Blair’s senses began to return, and she realized she had to get things under control. “Megan’s right, Neil.” She looked up at her fiancé. “There’s a whole bunch of women out there along with your sister’s two kids. But if you’d rather come outside and play stupid shower games, then by all means, feel free.”
“Blair.” The disbelief in Garrett’s voice sent a stab of pain through her chest, but it wasn’t enough to get her to react. She couldn’t do this right now. She couldn’t spontaneously make a decision that would affect the rest of her life. Not when the future of her job depended on this wedding. The very fact that she was prepared to consider calling it off after one mere kiss scared the shit out of her.
She let Megan lead her outside and was surprised to see that everyone was sitting at the small tables around the pool now, eating and drinking. Presents and cards covered a small table to the side of the food table.
“Blair’s going to open gifts now,” Megan announced as her shoes clacked across the patio.
Knickers was shifting the food around on the platters, but she bolted upright at Megan’s declaration. “The presents aren’t until after the games.”
Megan released her hold on Blair and pulled a chair over to the presents table. “The schedule’s changed. She’s opening them now.”
“Neil!” Debra squealed as she glanced up and saw her son trailing behind the two women. She shot out of her seat and nearly tripped on the chair leg. “Thank goodness you’re finally here.”
Blair wanted to kill the woman. She was obviously the reason Neil had shown up. She hadn’t been able to accept the fact that Garrett was present and Neil wasn’t. She was the reason Neil had almost caught her in a compromising situation. But that wasn’t really true, and she knew it.
Blair was a cheater. And she wasn’t sure she could live with that title.
To make matters worse, that damn kiss kept replaying over and over in her head, and try as she might, she couldn’t banish it to the dungeon with all the other thoughts and feelings that had threatened to consume her over the last ten years since her father had abandoned her mother. Her mind was still reeling from the events of the last ten minutes, trying to sort through the mess of emotion. Give her facts and she could cut through them like a world-renowned surgeon with a scalpel. But feelings?