Clara in America (Clara Andrews Series - Book 7) by Lacey London Page A

the room. ‘Who else do you know who looks this damn good?’
    ‘Mom?’ Diving out of bed, Oliver reaches for a t-shirt before greeting his mother with a hug. ‘I thought we were meeting down at breakfast?’
    ‘Well, I decided to come up here! You got a problem with that?’ Pursing her overly plumped up lips, Janie feigns anger before bursting into laughter.
    Oliver catches my eye and I force myself to smile. Wearing a revealing red swimsuit and the world’s smallest denim shorts, she couldn’t look more outrageous if she tried. The bright pink lips and wedges to match are just the icing on an already ridiculously overdressed cake.
    ‘Yoo-hoo!’ Dumping her leopard print tote bag on the floor, she reaches into Noah’s bed and plonks him on her hip.
    Not knowing what is going on, he lets out a grumble before realising that the crazy cradle snatcher is actually his beloved grandma.
    ‘Look at you!’ She yells, ridiculously loudly considering it is so early. ‘You are getting more and more like your Uncle Ernie every time I see you!’
    ‘Where’s Dad?’ Oliver asks, pulling back the curtains and flooding the room with light.
    ‘I tried to call you from the plane.’ Sighing dramatically, she attempts to frown, but the many years of Botox abuse prevent her from doing so. ‘Ernie’s sick, so your father has had to stay behind.’
    ‘ Again? ’ I gasp, looking at Oliver and suddenly feeling rather worried.
    ‘I’m afraid so.’ Janie confirms, raising her tattooed on eyebrows a millimetre higher than they already are.
    For those of you who don’t know, this isn’t the first time that Oliver’s dad, Randy, has had to miss out on a holiday to take care of his Uncle Ernie. When Noah was first born, poor old Ernie took a turn for the worse, meaning that Randy didn’t see his first grandchild for the first couple of weeks of his life. That particular bout of illness is actually why Noah ended up having Ernest as his middle name, but that’s a different story entirely.
    ‘He’s going to be OK though, right?’ Concern etches onto Oliver’s face as he tugs on a pair of shorts.
    ‘Who?’ Janie spins around and checks out her reflection in the mirror. ‘Ernie? Yeah. Yeah, he’ll be fine.’ Passing Oliver a pair of shorts, she adjusts her swimsuit and puts Noah back into his bed. ‘Let’s get some breakfast. My stomach thinks my throat’s been cut.’
    Locking eyes with Oliver, I offer Janie a small smile and make for the bathroom. Sunshine streams in through the window and I breathe a sigh of relief that we aren’t in for another downpour. Listening to Janie coo over Noah, I quickly jump under the shower before changing into one of the pretty sun dresses that we purchased yesterday. A quick layer of sun cream and a change of clothes for Noah later, we find ourselves downstairs in the restaurant.
    ‘So, Rapture Realm!’ Janie’s eyes sparkle as she takes a bite out of her celery stick. ‘Are you excited, Noah?’
    Happily chewing at his bacon, Noah resorts to a swift nod of the head before returning his attention to his food. I have to hand it to the hotel, they really have put on an impressive breakfast buffet. Everything you could possibly wish for is laid out in the canteen. From tempting pastries to a full cooked breakfast, you could put on weight just looking at the calorific dishes. Even Janie, the pickiest of eaters, managed to fill her plate with treats. Well, if you class celery, carrots and grapes as treats .
    ‘Before I forget, I just want to say thank you so much for this. It’s really kind and generous of you and Randy to fly us all out here.’ I smile gratefully and give her arm a little squeeze.
    Her cheeks colour up and she bats away my gratitude. Not wanting to embarrass her, I decide to drop the subject and return to my breakfast. Taking a bite out of my omelette, I reach for my napkin and wipe a blob of ketchup from Noah’s chin.
    ‘Have you done something to your hair?’