Alexandria barely had time to give James a hug, much less express her outrage at his insult to her cooking (however true it may have been), before the knock came. Then, there was hardly time for her to look around and make sure everything was in place before her next guest arrived.
"Adam," she said with a tentative smile. She hadn't thought Adam would mind if she'd invited James; she knew there'd been some tension between them when they were kids, but all that was past now -- or so she'd thought. But then, it was supposed to have been just them. She should have told him. By way of apology, she crossed over to him.
"Jamie brought me those flowers," she said, motioning to the bright bouquet on the table, "so I invited him to come tonight. I thought we could all catch up. Though he's already complaining about the food." She made a face at her brother.
She gave Adam a hug and a tight squeeze, as though asking if it were all right and apologizing if it weren't all in one.