“Ugh. Only because you’re getting married tomorrow. Now shoo.” Sharon turned her cousin around, giving her a slap on the butt to send her on her way.

“What’s going on?” Jake asked, looking confused. At least he didn’t appear quite so dazed anymore. Which was good, he was going to need his wits about him if they were going to run interference for Melinda.

“Come on,” she said, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm. “I want to introduce you to my aunt.” Sharon forcibly turned him around and called out, “Hey! Aunt Lorraine! I want you to meet someone!”

Both Jake and her aunt winced as she called out, loudly enough to draw disapproving looks from more than one person around them. Sharon pretended not to notice. If Melinda was hiding out from her mom the night before her wedding there must be a good reason… And if Aunt Lorraine was after Melinda, the only way to get her to focus on Sharon was to be loud. Aunt Lorraine wouldn’t want to cause a scene.

Sharon beamed as her aunt frowned censoriously at her, pivoting her direction slightly so that she was now headed directly towards Sharon and Jake. Behind her, Sharon could see her own mother now heading their way too. She was frowning even harder than Aunt Lorraine.

Well, this should be fun.

13

Jake could feel his cheeks heating with embarrassment at the looks he and Sharon were now garnering as she waved energetically at her aunt. Talk about a rude awakening. He’d admittedly been a little out of it when they’d first come into the house, which was even bigger and decorated more dramatically than Sharon’s parents’. He didn’t know why she was suddenly taking it upon herself to be both loud and obnoxious, but he hated the looks they were getting.

It made his skin crawl.

Definitely not the impression he wanted to make on anyone, much less her family. Yeah, he wasn’t the one doing it, but she was on his arm.

He tried to temper his automatic response since he did realize what she was doing. The same way she’d shielded Ellie at the engagement party, she was now working to shield her cousin. Just in a louder, more obnoxious and more obvious manner that was drawing attention from everyone around them.

“Aunt Lorraine, this is my date, Jake Standish,” Sharon said. Her voice wasn’t exactly louder than before, but she was projecting it so that it carried, despite the crowd of people around them. “Jake, this is my Aunt Lorraine.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he said, keeping his voice within normal levels as he held out his hand.

Sharon’s aunt took it, although she shot a disapproving look at Sharon first. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Standish.”

From her tone of voice, she didn’t think it was nice at all. Sharon ignored that completely.