The Wedding Affair (The Affair Series Book 2) by Suzanne Halliday

wouldn’t expect anything less of that family. Golfer and a baby-maker. Sounds like a plan.”
    Trailing behind as they returned to the lively group of lunching ladies, she conjured up a dozen payback scenarios worthy of Dolores’s venom but knew she’d never act on any of them.
    Andi looked her way as they approached. Her face appeared tightly drawn from anxiety.
    Sam smiled and gave a quick wink. The thumbs-up she flashed her friend turned into a rude gesture directed at the woman she was following. It was enough to break some of the tension.
    A minute or two after taking her seat and sipping some ice water, she caught Hannah Sommerfield studying her. The hair on Sam’s neck stood at attention and a shocking sensation—somewhere between an icy chill and a thunderbolt—slithered down her neck into her spine.
    She had the same eyes as her son. Curious. Intense. Thoughtful.
    Ryan’s handsome face lit up her mind. This was the woman who taught him his manners, and according to him, was the reason why he hadn’t pressed any sort of advantage last night.
    Samantha gulped.
    Andi put her arm on the back of Sam’s chair and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Thank you, Sami. You’re the only one who can do anything about her.”
    She swiveled to face her friend directly. About to say something, Sam ended up making a pained grimace at what Andi had admitted. “I wish your mom was here.”
    She and Andi were already bosom buddies by the time her father took off. Afterward, Dolores, who had always been a handful, got worse. Andi’s refuge was the Evers’ house where Sam’s mom, Judy, had treated her like a second daughter. The two were close, and the only reason her parents weren’t part of Andi’s wedding was a fluke of terrible timing.
    Her parents were in the middle of a two-month European tour, something they’d booked long before a wedding was in the picture. This week, John and Judy Evers were aboard a riverboat cruise on the Danube traveling from Budapest to Nuremberg.
    “We’ll video chat with my folks tomorrow, remember?” Sam’s heart was breaking for her friend. It was one thing to grow up with a cold fish as a mother and quite another thing entirely to be facing the most important decision and day of her life without a family. Andi’s father was permanently M.I.A., and Dolores was more burden than parent. Judy was the parental unit touchstone Andi always turned to. It sucked the way this whole thing was playing out.
    She patted Andi on the knee. “You’re not alone, Andrea Eleanor. I’m always here for you.”
    “No, you’re not,” Andi bit out. The uncharacteristically harsh scolding made Sam cringe. “You’re in a different time zone.”
    “Hey,” she murmured. “Look at me.”
    Andi had tears in her eyes where there should be nothing but joy and happiness. She was marrying a great guy. Her future was bright. As maid of honor and the bride’s best friend, it was up to her to blunt the effects of Andi’s stupid mother’s nasty mood.
    “Forget about Dolores. That cause was lost before it began. Think about Kyle and all the beautiful Sommerfield babies you two are going to make.”
    Andi started to smile, and then Sam began to giggle. “Oh, my god, girlfriend,” she wheezed as amusement seized her and squeezed. “Your mother’s face when I taunted her about the grandmother thing was priceless.”
    “Do tell,” Andi drawled as comical skepticism edged her expression.
    “Now, you did say a honeymoon baby was the plan, right?”
    “Hoping for, yeah.”
    So. Freakin’. Perfect. “Ya know that saying happiness is the best revenge?”
    A grunt and a nod from Andi and she continued. “I’d say a honeymoon bun in the oven and a grandkid she’ll barely ever know qualifies, don’t you?”
    Andi’s barked laugh settled Sam’s nerves. Sitting back in her seat, she reached for her water and found Hannah Sommerfield still staring at her. She froze and then the woman smiled and nodded