Page 464 of Seasons of Love
“Well, if it isn’t John Melville. Did you hear there was cake, John?”
The man laughed and shook Frank’s hand.
Mal tensed up, and when I looked at him, he was staring at Jake.
Jake met Mal’s eyes, and I saw an imperceptible nod pass between them.
What was going on?
21
MAL
“You know I’ll never say no to cake, Frank,” John said.
“You asked for seconds of our wedding cake…before everyone else even had their first slice.” Frank cut a piece of the cake and put it on a plate for John.
“I remember that. And your Annie left the guests waiting so she could ask the caterers for a box to put an extra piece of cake for me. She was a good woman.”
The last thing I imagined John Melville to be was a friendly guy with a thick beard and a smile that reached his eyes.
Jake stared at John with a frown. Was he as confused by this exchange as I was?
“So, are you going to make the introductions? I remember little Jacob here and Gabriel. You both used to run to the door every time I came over and check my pockets for candy.”
Frank laughed. “They haven’t changed much. They can sniff out one of Elena’s cakes a mile off.” Then he turned to me. “This is Mallory Prescott. He runs the resort, and this is his husband, Griffin.”
John held his hand up to shake mine, his eyes boring into me, but he didn’t say anything. Just a simple smile and a nod.
He ignored Griff before turning to Frank. “As you know, there is an issue with the contract to work at the resort. If you have a moment, I’d like to talk to you about it.”
“John, in case you didn’t notice, we’re hosting people. This is not a day for business,” Frank said.
He glanced at me, and I gave him a small nod. When I’d spoken to Frank earlier, he’d been shocked to hear that John’s company had backed out of the contract.
He’d even suggested that maybe this had been a decision made by one of John’s brothers, not himself.
Had John come over to clarify things and get the contract back on? I didn’t want to ruin Jake’s party by having a business meeting, but I finally had the owner of Melville Construction and didn’t want to miss the opportunity to fix things.
“I promise this won’t take long, and we don’t even need to bother the birthday boy,” John said.
“Uncle Frank, if I may,” Jake interrupted. “Mal and I have been working on this for days. I think we should hear what John has to say.”
“Yes, I hear you’ve been working extra hard. You always were a people pleaser, Jacob.”
What the fuck did John mean?
“I’m not sure,” Frank said.
Gabe turned to Frank. “Dad, I’ll keep an eye on the party. Why don’t you do what you need to? I’m sure Zak will help,” he said, pointing to where Zak and Sam had retreated to talk to other people in the party.
“I’ll be back in a bit. Will you be okay?” I asked Griff. He hated big gatherings, especially when he didn’t know most people, which was the case on this occasion.
When I’d joined the party earlier and noticed how many people were there, I immediately panicked until I saw he was with Gabe and seemed to be okay.
“Your husband should join us, Mallory. This might concern him too. After all, Silver Resorts is a family business, isn’t that right, Frank?”
Everyone stared at John.
