“I do not intend to spend the evening with my brother,” he said. “If you can call him that.”

“Cody,” she protested. “Why would you even say something like that?”

He frowned at her. “Because he knew about Sharon Lynn and he didn’t tell me.”

Melissa flinched as if he’d struck her. “Because I swore him to secrecy,” she reminded him. She didn’t want this family split on her conscience.

“He should have told me,” Cody repeated, his stubbornness kicking in with a vengeance.

Melissa regarded him with a mix of frustration and dismay. The last thing she had ever wanted was to cause a rift between the two brothers. Uncertain what she could do to mend it, she turned and walked away. Cody was on her heels in a flash.

“Where are you going?” he asked suspiciously, latching onto her elbow.

“To the ladies’ room,” she said.

“Oh.” He released her at once. “Sorry.”

Melissa rolled her eyes and continued on to the back, praying that Kelly would spot her and join her.

She was combing her hair when Jordan’s wife came into the rest room. “What are we going to do about them?” Melissa asked at once.

“It’s not Jordan,” Kelly said. “He feels terrible about what happened. He doesn’t blame Cody for being furious.”

“Okay, then, how do I get through to Cody? It’s my fault. I’ve told him that, but he says Jordan should have ignored my wishes.”

“He probably should have,” Kelly concurred. “I could have told Cody myself and I didn’t. There’s enough blame to go around. The point now is to make things right. I wanted it settled before the baptism tomorrow so that Cody could be J.J.’s godfather. But until this is resolved, Jordan and I have decided to postpone the ceremony. It was only going to be a small family gathering anyway.”

“Maybe if Jordan made the first move,” Melissa suggested.

Kelly shook her head. “It wouldn’t work. This is Cody’s call, I’m afraid. The trouble is, we’re dealing with the stubborn Adams men here.”

“Can you all stick around?” Melissa asked. “I’ll think of something.”

“Sure,” Kelly agreed. “Our dinner’s just now being served anyway. I can’t imagine what you can do, but let me know if you think I can help.” She paused on her way to the door. “By the way, it’s good to see the two of you together again. How are things going?”

“Don’t ask,” Melissa said.

Kelly grinned. “That good, huh? Does that mean you haven’t signed up at the Neiman-Marcus bridal registry yet?”

“No, and I wouldn’t be holding my breath for that if I were you. I am not inclined to marry a man who is as thoroughly, unrepentantly, exasperating as Cody is.”

“Interesting,” Kelly murmured, a knowing twinkle in her eyes.