“Let’s eat, and then I’ll see what I can do about the gum. Go grab Jack and Emma, and I’ll start cutting up some pizza.”
“You’re a godsend. I don’t know what I would do without you guys.” I stand up and pull Jessa in for a hug, ignoring the menacing growl from Nick.
“Get your hands off my girl, and you’ll never have to find out,” he says.
We all laugh, and I turn for the living room. The house is way too quiet, which means Jack is probably engrossed in an Xbox game, and Emma is doing something she shouldn’t be.
“Jack, Emma, time to eat.” My words die on my tongue when I step into the living room.
Emma is sitting on a young woman’s lap, and that woman happens to be sitting next to Jack on the couch, watching him play a mean battle in Halo.
Jack and Emma are sitting beside each other, and they’re not screaming, pushing, poking, or spitting.
I blink, but the woman is still there, and sure enough, Jack is smiling and Emma is sitting calmly. Emma doesn’t know the meaning of calm.
She must’ve drugged them. There’s no other explanation.
“Who are you, and what have you done to my kids?”
The magical stranger lifts her head and steals my breath. Her brown eyes are big, round, and outlined by dark lashes. There’s a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her slender nose, and she has the perfect cupid’s bow at her top lip. Chestnut hair is piled high on top of her head in one of those messy bun things, and a few locks have fallen loose around her face.
My God, she’s beautiful.
And definitely not from here, because I’d remember seeing a face as stunning as hers. Although, there’s something vaguely familiar about the woman. I just can’t put my finger on it.
I stare longer than I should, and the woman’s smile falters, but only for a second. I hate that I made the kid whisperer uncomfortable. I hate it even more that my heart is beating wildly in my chest.
“I take it these angels are yours?” she asks, standing up with Emma still in her arms.
“What angels? I don’t see any angels.”
She laughs and holds her hand out. “I’m Nora.”
No wonder she looks familiar. I see the resemblance now. “You’re Nick’s sister?”
“Unfortunately. But please don’t hold it against me. We’re nothing alike. I’m the cool, smart, funny, beautiful one, and he’s, well…”
“You wish,” Nick says, walking into the living room.
He reaches for Emma. She goes right to him, and Nora flounders for a bit with what to do with her hands.
She fusses with the hem of her white, off-the-shoulder shirt.
Do I make her nervous? She’s the one who’s famous…
My eyes are drawn to the movement of her hands, but that’s a horrible move because now all I see is sun-kissed skin, smooth, toned legs, and her bare feet. She doesn’t look like a woman about to step onto a stage in front of tens of thousands of people. She looks like a country girl. I can picture her sitting shotgun in the cab of a truck, hair blowing out the window, her feet propped on the dash.
Too bad I don’t have a truck. I wonder how she feels about classic cars?
“You’ve never met my sister?” Nick asks.
I shake my head. Nick and Jessa have only mentioned her a handful of times over the years. They’re fiercely protective of her, probably because of her fame.
I definitely would remember if I had met her. She’s gorgeous on TV, but in person—without the makeup and fancy hairdo—she’s absolutely stunning.
“Nope, pretty sure I would’ve remembered,” I say, holding her gaze.
Nora’s cheeks turn pink, and she bows her head.