The doorbell rang again, and she made her way to answer it. This time it was her grand-uncle Luke and his wife Maria as well as their daughter-in-law Sharon and two of her and Charles’ three children, Sara and Trevor. Uncle Luke and Aunt Maria went directly to Grandma Becky’s room while the others joined those who were already in the kitchen.
Rory found herself as the first responder to every ring of the doorbell, and soon enough, the house was buzzing with quite a number of the Hamilton clan.
The doorbell rang while she sat on the stool, laughing at a joke Kerry had just told as she poked fun at her big sister.
“That’s my cue,” she piped up, earning chuckles from the others. Rory made her way to the door and quickly swung it open with a broad smile on her lips. Her smile slipped, and her lips slowly formed anoas her eyes widened in shock at who stood before her.
“James?”
ChapterTwenty-One
“Hi, Rory.”
“What’re, how…” Rory felt tongue-tied, her brain befuddled as she stared at the man before her. Her heartbeat erratically against her chest as she stared into the electric blue eyes that stared back at her with hope— eyes she hadn’t stared into for nearly a month now.
“I needed to see you,” he responded simply, answering the unasked question.
Rory didn’t know how to respond to that, and she didn’t get the chance to because, just then, she heard, “Oh my gosh, James, you’re here. I’m so happy to see you.”
“Hi, Mom.” James looked over her shoulder, a warm smile on his lips. Rory moved out of the way to allow her mother the opportunity to hug him.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” Andrea said in a questioning tone the moment they separated.
“It was a surprise,” he replied, looking over at Rory before staring back at Andrea.
“Well, I am surprised, and it’s obvious Rory hasn’t gotten over it either,” Andrea responded, looking over at her daughter before turning her attention back to him. “I’m just happy you chose to come...I may have been longing to see you just as much as my daughter,” Andrea confessed.
“I’ve missed you too, Mom. And I’ve missed my fiancé very much.” At the latter statement, James cut his eyes to Rory, the sincerity of his words palpable from the look he gave her.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Andrea replied, pleased. She looked down at his empty hands before casting her eyes outside and then back to his face. “Where are your bags? You are staying for Thanksgiving, right?”
“I am staying,” he affirmed with a small chuckle. “My bags are in the car.”
“Good,” Andrea replied, smacking her palms together and clasping them pleased.
“We can get your bags later. Let me take you to meet the family. There are quite a few that have never met you,” she suggested.
“Okay. I’d like that,” James beamed.
“Rory, are you coming?” Andrea looked over at her daughter with concern etched into her brows.
Rory managed to steel her expression, giving the woman a small smile. “Yeah, you two go ahead. I’ll be there shortly. I just need to use the bathroom really quick,” she explained.
“Okay, sweetie,” her mother responded. “We’re setting up the back patio for the barbecue. Join us out there when you’re finished,” Andrea instructed.
“Okay,” she responded, avoiding James’ gaze that was on her. Rory turned and disappeared into the powder room on the bottom floor. She splashed her face with the cold water before staring at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. After a few more splashes, she left the bathroom, ready to smile and pretend that everything was right between her and James.
“Hey, Rory. Are you okay?”
Rory looked over to see her aunt Jo looking at her with concern.
“I’m fine,” she replied, plastering a smile on her lips. “What do you guys need help with? What can I do?” she asked, effectively changing the topic.
“We’re moving the trays of food out to the patio. You can put it with the others on the table there,” Jo instructed.
“Okay,” Rory perked up, taking the pan of casserole to go.
Rory spotted James talking with her mother and a few other members of her family a few feet away from the patio. Keeping her head down and her eyes averted, she made it to the stone slab table and deposited the pan. There were a number of foil pans on the table, the mixture of aromas causing her to salivate. Her belly grumbled a little as she remembered she hadn’t eaten since yesterday evening.
