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“No, Jacob. Come home.”
“Alright. See you Friday.”
Before I hung up, a text message came through from a blocked number.
Done
Exhaling a breath, I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Two things finally checked off the list. Maybe now I’d be able to sleep through the entire night.
12
Bennett
Friday night dinner arrived with a bang. A literal one, since Cole popped open a bottle of champagne and the cork ricocheted off the stainless steel oven hood, straight into the window above the sink.
“Jesus Christ!” Olivia shrieked and ducked, smacking his bicep.
“Give me that fucking thing before you break something,” Elijah snapped, yanking the bottle of out Cole’s hands while Leander wordlessly handed him a towel to mop up the fizzing bubbles.
“That thing should come with a warning label.” Cole chuckled, wiping his hands before turning to the puddle.
“That’s why I use a knife,” I said, ducking between Olivia and Cole to snag the hor d’oeuvres plates.
Jake snorted at the far end of the kitchen and rolled his eyes.
“Yes, we all know your affinity for sharp pointy things.” Cole shot me a devilish grin.
“Better than poison, right?” I hip-checked Olivia, winking at her when she teetered on her stilettos. She promptly flipped me off.
Laughing, I carried the platters to the dining room and deposited them on the table between the other place settings. The front doorbell rang, and since I was the closest, I went to answer it.
As soon as I opened the door I was attacked by a bright bouquet of flowers. I grabbed for the stems quickly, juggling them until I got a good grip.
“Oh my God! I don’t know how you make that drive as often as you do!” Gavin’s voice snapped, somewhere behind the flowers. “Like, these people and their pickup trucks and their country music! Get the hell out of the way already! I would have been here an hour ago if Billy Bob hadn’t decided to drive five miles under the damn speed limit. Probably afraid his rust bucket was going to fall apart if he went any faster.”
“It’s fine,” I said, shifting the bouquet to my hip so I could see him. “We haven’t even started yet.”
Gavin tugged at his white sleeves, only to scrunch them back up onto his forearms. “You know I hate being late.”
“You’re always late.”
“Yeah, but I still hate it.”
I rolled my eyes and headed toward the kitchen. “I hope Leander has a vase big enough for these things.”
“I was going for a whole sunset theme,” Gavin said, trailing after me. The Birds of Paradise flowers certainly did match his bright orange pants.
“I’m sure Leander will appreciate it.”
“Anything for him.” He made a little giggle that annoyed me more than it should have. For as long as Gavin had known Leander, he’d been in love with him. Well, inlustwith him, at any rate. If I asked for something, I got twenty minutes worth of backtalk and a motley of huffs and sighs. If Leander asked for something, Gavin had it done in a matter of moments, served to him with a smile on a silver platter.
“Please tell me you have a vase for these?” I said, hoisting the flowers into view as I rounded the corner to the kitchen. “Or should I just stick them in a stock pot?”
Leander laughed and reached for the bouquet. “I think I have something. Thank you, Gavin.”
“My pleasure.” He even curtseyed. Gag me. My annoyance was short lived, though. Gavin grabbed my arm and yanked me to the side, lowering his voice. “Oh my God.Whoisthat?”
“Who?” I blinked, glancing around the kitchen.
