“I’m calling for a Drink and Divulge game after dinner, and I’m not taking no for an answer,” she said as Phoebe arrived with another bottle of champagne.
“That’s telling us, little sister,” Dean shot back with a crack of laughter. “I hereby obey your summons.”
“Good,” she said smartly, “and don’t call me little sister. I’m a grown woman who’s married and is running her own business.”
Kyle’s jaw went slack. Thea wasn’t usually testy.
Dean gave a slow whistle. “Consider yourself Madame Thea to me from now on.”
Jacqueline uttered a very Frenchbofwhile Brooke bit her lip, clearly doing her best not to smile.
“What’s the matter with Thea?” Madison whispered to Kyle, on alert now.
He shrugged. Work had a way of stressing people out. Maybe it was her turn.
Their meal was rife with Shakespeare-themed dishes. No Man’s Pie fromHenry VIIIfor their main course with lamb and vegetables. A Renaissance Garden salad, because neither Phoebe nor Sawyer could come up with any real side dishes. Finally, they served Gremio’s Cake fromTaming of the Shrewfor dessert with dried citrus and spices. A warm and tasty Chamberlain’s Wassail fromMacbethhelped wash it all down.
“An inspired meal,” Nanine decreed at the end when everyone had coupes dangling from their hands once again. “I adore our new Sunday dinner tradition. Thank you both for hosting, Sawyer and Phoebe. Carl and I must depart so you can turn to your coveted game of Drink and Divulge. Good night, my loves.”
She rose with one of her benevolent smiles, their eyes meeting again across the room. Yeah, she knew he knew andwasn’t talking. Probably better. He was working hard enough to control his emotions and stay positive.
Carl made his goodbyes alongside Nanine, ending with a long hug for his daughter. Brooke had tears in her eyes when they left, but she reached for her flute again and punched up her smile.
Phoebe and Sawyer led the couple out, and when they returned, Thea smacked her lips. “All right, let’s get started, shall we?”
“Should we clean up first?” Brooke asked, still standing.
Thea’s head shake was emphatic. “Nope. We can do that afterward. Okay, I won last time, so I get to start.”
“Wait!” Dean called, resituating himself on his pink pillow—one he’d claimed he wasn’t afraid of because he was cool with his feminine side. “How do you remember that?”
“Because I do, Dean,” she ground out, shoving her chestnut hair behind her ear. “Now, here’s my question. Kyle, it goes to you first since your birthday is coming up.”
“His is in August,” Dean corrected before Thea shushed him. “Never mind. Go ahead, Madame Thea.”
She shot their funny friend a look before shifting her attention to Kyle. “Kyle, when were you planning on telling me that that horrible Chef Dassault had blackballed Nanine’s again?”
Terrific.
“Now her attitude makes sense,” Dean announced before Brooke shushed him. “Jeez, seriously? Can I not talk at all?”
“Not right now you can’t,” Madison delivered dryly. “Thea, it’s my fault as much as Kyle’s. You were opening your bakery.”
“You just got married,” he added, his heart thumping with gratitude at the way Madison had dived in like a good partner and taken some of the blame. “We’ve never seen you happier.”
She bounced on her pillow, her champagne sloshing. “Soyou were keeping something vital about The Paris Roommates Group from me because I’mhappy? You cut me out of being your friend when you were upset. God?—”
“Oh no!” Brooke moaned. “She said ‘God.’”
“And I’ll saycanard—because I can swear in French too.”
“Oh chérie,”Jean Luc groaned, caressing her back.
“Why is she talking about a duck?” Jacqueline whispered to Dean.
“I am not talking about a duck!” she exploded, her pearl earrings bobbing. “I was calling him an a-hole.” Then her face fell. “Oh no! Did I mispronounce the word again?”
Jean Luc stroked her arm. “It is no problem,ma Thea.I am sureun canardcan beun connardtoo.”
