Chapter Twenty-seven

“Uncle Preston!” Liam’s face was painted with excitement.

Preston made eye contact with everyone at the table where Nikolai was seated with Claudia and Liam. What a coincidence. His instinct was telling him to pretend he saw nothing, go straight to the bar, or go straight to the door. None of which was an option for a graceful exit.

“Hey, Uncle Preston,” Liam called again. This time, it was impossible to pretend he didn’t hear. The kid was excitedly waving in his direction.

“Hey, kiddo. Hi, everyone.”

Claudia’s eyes lingered on the red wine. That was enough warning to walk away. If possible, run away.

“Come join us, Preston.” Claudia invited before he could even think of an excuse.

What’s going on inside that head of hers?

“Nah, my workmates are arriving soon.”

“Yeah, join us while you’re waiting for them.” Nikolai invited.

He was lying when he said that they would arrive soon. He wanted to eat his lunch alone and drink a glass or two of wine. Since he saw the woman who looked so muc