“You’ve got a fan, Kincaid,” laughed Doug. He winked at her. She gave him a shy smile in return and then turned back to me and rested her head on my shoulder.

“She spoke,” said Maddie in wonder. Maddie knew I’d been friends with the Mortensens and thought nothing of me knowing the girls.

“An entire soliloquy,” I laughed.

“We’re watching her while the others are at a school play,” explained Seth.

“This party’s unreal,” said Maddie, gazing around at all the fanfare. “Does anyone know why she dual-majored in Latvian?”

“Blow-off major?” suggested Beth.

“Anthropology and Women’s Studies are blow-off majors,” said Doug. “Not Latvian.”

“Hey!” said Maddie, elbowing her brother. She often wrote freelance articles for feminist magazines.

“Hey, don’t take it out on me. I’ll never forget you taking that class called Evolution of the Dress.”

“It was harder than you think!”

The rest of us watched the Sato siblings with amusement, and to my dismay, so did Seth. I guess I’d kind of hoped he’d be shooting furtive, longing glances at me. Instead, he watched Maddie almost . . . fondly. Like he found her smart and funny—which she was, of course. He was watching her the way any guy would watch his girlfriend.

“Hey,” I said to Doug. “Why don’t you stop annoying your sister and go get us a refill?”

“You’re a bad role model for the kid,” he warned. But he took my cup anyway and headed for the bar.

If anything, it seemed me holding Kayla gave Seth and Maddie a chance to be more affectionate. They held hands. So, I paid more attention to Kayla, snagging novel appetizers as they went by and explaining to her what quiche and brie were. Once Doug returned with my drink, I took it down pretty rapidly, still conscious of the fact that I held a child. When I’d finished my third, I knew enough to hand her off. Maddie took her by the hand and led her to look at a koi pond on the far side of the yard.

This left me alone with the others, and whether it was alcohol or succubus charisma or just a desire to show up Maddie, I found myself coming to life. I joked and talked to everyone, making sure each person was included in the conversation. I saw them all light up, caught up in the aura of comfort and good cheer I created. Maybe I had ulterior motives, but despite that, I actually enjoyed myself. It had been awhile since I’d been able to just have a fun, effortless social encounter.

When Maddie returned, however, I decided it was time for my fourth drink. I headed across the yard, graceful in spite of the alcohol. While waiting in line, the guy behind me struck up conversation.

“I’ve seen you somewhere.”

I glanced up at him. He was tall, late thirties, and had bronzed hair. I gave him a winning smile. “That’s a very bad pick-up line.”