"DESMOND GRANGER!"
Des spun around on a heel at the sound of his name being shouted from halfway across the room to find Miranda heading toward him in a hurry, looking like she meant business. He quickly put himself between her and the baby board, so she wouldn't notice the photograph he'd just tacked up there, trying hard not to look suspicious.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, glaring up at him, hands on her hips, as if he was suspect.
"I was dropping off Piper," he explained, gesturing toward Piper and Lyneth as if to prove his point.
"Oh," she replied with a frown, shoulders drooping as she relaxed a little. "Well, you have to leave. This party is for girls only. No boys allowed."
Desmond laughed, all the guilt evaporating in wake of his amusement. "Uh, I stopped being a boy a long time ago, Miranda."
"Don't be silly, Des," she countered. "Men are just boys with bigger....toys."
"That goes for girls, too," Des remarked, furrowing his brows as he glanced over at the gaggle of women who were giggling like a group of silly schoolgirls. He hoped they weren't giggling about him.
"Seriously, Des," Miranda said, pouting up at him. "You have to go. And take Lyneth with you. This party is for adults only."
Des glanced back at Miranda, eyeing her suspiciously. There were no men allowed and no children either. That could only mean one thing. "I thought this was a baby shower, not a bachelorette party."
"Des," Miranda smiled sweetly back at him, a look of feigned shock on her pretty face. "Would I do something like that?"
"Yes," Desmond replied without hesitation. He wasn't a prosecuting attorney for nothing. He could recognize a guilty conscience from a mile away.
"Have you seen Olivia?" Miranda asked, quickly changing the subject and turning to search the small group of women for a particular face.
"I'm sorry....Olivia?" Des asked, unsure who she was talking about. The name was vaguely familiar, but he was pretty sure she wasn't anyone he'd met personally.
"Olivia....Jonathan's assistant," she explained, standing on her tiptoes to look over the gathered group. "She's supposed to be bringing a surprise."
"No," he replied. "I haven't seen Jon either. What kind of surprise?"
"The kind of surprise that's none of your business." She sighed dramatically, as she turned back around, frowning up at him. "I chased Jon out earlier." She leaned in, lowering her voice as if to share a secret. "I wish he'd have taken Humphrey with him."
Des narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "You're up to something."
"Well, of course, I am, silly man," she laughed, eyes dancing with mischief. "It's a party. What fun would a party be without a few surprises" Those surprises just aren't meant for you," she said, jabbing a meticulously manicured finger against his chest with a grin. "Now, be a good boy and skedaddle," she said, tugging him toward the door and giving his rear an affectionate pat to send him on his way.
"Oh, and Des, darling?" she added, almost as an afterthought, smiling sweetly back at him as she turned to greet another guest. "Take Corrine with you," she instructed, putting an emphasis on the name for some reason, and nodding her head toward an elderly woman who looked more than a little out of place.
Corrine" There'd been no Corrine Granger in any of the family photo albums he'd been shown. He scanned the room, looking at each face in turn, recognizing some, but not all. His gaze at last settled on the elderly woman whose wig had slipped to one side and who was obviously not what she seemed, and he found himself chuckling in amusement. Corrine, indeed.
But before he could collect the rooster in hen's clothing, he had to say his goodbyes to Piper and gather up Lyneth to leave.