“No. Not everything. Some of you are good at keeping secrets.” He should have known there was something more behind Angie’s reaction.
Angie’s face flushed and she turned, moving toward the house. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He dropped his tool kit and followed her. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
She moved into the house, opening the kitchen door. “Let it go, Harry.”
He couldn’t. This secret was costing him the best relationship he’d ever had, and he wanted to know why it wasn’t as secret as Sera seemed to think it was. If Angela knew, perhaps his aunt knew as well and didn’t care. Sera had told him Celeste looked down on her. What if they all knew and he’d blown up his relationship for no reason? What if Sera had been scared for nothing?
“I’m not going to let it go,” he said, pushing through the door despite the fact that Angie had let it close. “You know about Luc. It’s the only reason you would have spent all that time trying to convince me to stay away from the kid. Why else would you care? You know who Luc’s father is.”
Angie gasped and her whole body went stiff as Celeste walked in from the dining room.
“Why would Angie know about Seraphina’s child’s father?” Aunt Celeste set her purse on the kitchen table and took them both in. “They’re not close. And I assure you if my daughter knew some gossip, she would tell. Despite the angelic looks, she’s not perfect.”
“I thought you were going into the office,” Angie said, a flush staining her cheeks.
He saw the moment Celeste decided something serious was going on. Her gaze sharpened and he knew it was all about to go wrong.
“I was joking with Angie,” he said, forcing the lie from his mouth.
Unfortunately, he was a terrible liar.
“No, you weren’t, and Angie isn’t joking about anything. She’s gotten caught. You think I don’t know that look, my darling girl?” Celeste said. “What’s going on and what does it have to do with the boy? It’s a boy, right?”
“It’s nothing.” His stomach took a deep dive but he tried to smile. “She was ragging me because it turns out Sera broke up with me last night.”
That got Celeste’s brow rising. “Why would she break up with you?”
He shrugged, trying to play it off. “She decided I wasn’t a good bet.”
“You’re an excellent bet and she knows it,” his aunt countered. “I was with her yesterday. She didn’t show a single sign of breaking up with you.”
“Maybe that’s why she did it.” Angie seemed to find her spark again. She squared off with her mother. “Maybe you scared her away.”
Celeste snorted, a sound she managed to make elegant. “If it was easy to scare that girl away, I would have done it years ago. No, she was perfectly fine when I dropped her off at that old jalopy of hers. She was happy we found a dress we could agree upon. She’s got too much love for glitter, that one. I’m not having everyone at your wedding infected with glitter. Now, what’s this about Luc’s father, and if someone tells me it’s Darth Vader, I’m going to get really angry. Yes, I know about movies, and you weren’t talking about one.”
“She doesn’t think I would be a good dad.” He had to make this right, had to throw his aunt off the scent.
“That’s not what you said. You said Angie knew who Luc’s father is. Is he coming back to make trouble?” Celeste sighed. “Because you’ll have to deal with that.”
“He can’t . . . That’s not the problem,” Angie said with a frustrated huff. “Mom, it’s Sera’s problem, and now that she’s broken up with Harry, we should stay out of it. Why don’t you come out and see the gazebo? Harry finished it and it’s beautiful.”
“No.” Celeste seemed to be thinking the problem through. “I think one of you can tell me what’s going on or I’ll call Seraphina myself. Maybe that’s the best way to do this. Something’s wrong and you two are lying to me. Why would Sera break up with you over Luc?”
The situation was getting out of control. He heard the doorbell ring but ignored it because everything was falling apart. “Aunt Celeste, I need you to let me handle this. It’s my relationship on the line, and it’s a private thing between Sera and I.”
“How old is Sera’s son?” Celeste asked, her face going stony. “When was he born? I want the date.”
The door to the kitchen swung open and Annemarie walked in followed by the one person he didn’t want to see. Seraphina had a garment bag over her arm along with the shopping tote she’d brought in the day before. She looked weary but resolute.