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“Do you know them?”
“No, I haven’t met them.”
Friends of Rodrigo’s? Knowing my brother-in-law and the wild parties he’d apparently hosted back in the day, I could only imagine what this couple would be like. My brother and I stared at each other for a moment, and of course Prospero noticed.
“Meeting new friends is fun.”
Both of us looked at the boy, silently disagreeing, but loving him too much to say so. The boy had so much of his mother in him, and hung on her every word.
“Of course it is.” I wished I sounded more sincere. There was a good reason why I only spent time with Severin, his family, and Jack.
Prospero skipped off toward the kitchen.
“You’re okay with strangers being around the children?”
“I think it’s a bad time to have company, and of course I don’t trust strangers around the children, but I was outvoted.”
The same way he’d been outvoted when it came time for Prospero to go to school. Severin had wanted him to be homeschooled, but both Minnow and Rodrigo had refused, saying he needed to be around other kids his age.
“Minnow knows them, too. Neither her or Ro would put the children in harm’s way,” my brother said grudgingly. They sounded like words he had been repeating to himself since he’d found out company was coming.
The doorbell rang, and the dogs, who had been milling around, took off to greet the visitors.
“If I’d known you were expecting company, I would have stayed home.”
“If Minnow would have let me, I would have taken the children to your house, and we could have waited them out together.” His eyes twinkled with his dry-humored mischief. “As it was, I decided that if I have to suffer through it, so do you.”
“Don’t you think you should go answer the door?” I asked. “Rodrigo is busy in the kitchen.”
“If Rodrigo didn’t want to deal with them, he shouldn’t have invited them over,” my brother said.
Prospero galloped back into the room, screeching with delight. “They’re here!”
“Yay, that’s great,” Severin said with zero enthusiasm. “I’m going to see if Minnow is up to joining us. Would you mind keeping an eye on Frog?”
The child rolled his eyes in a way that made me think of his mother. “I’m not a baby.”
“You, sir, are five years old.”
“Mama says I’m a really good helper.”
“That is true. While I’m upstairs, make sure you listen to your uncle.”
Severin left the room, and Prospero followed me around as I finished setting the table. Hopefully Minnow would be joining us, otherwise there was going to be a lack of conversation for these guests. It wouldn’t be fair if Rodrigo had to do it all himself.
I could hear them talking as they got closer to the dining room. I frowned. The man’s voice sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
Prospero got onto a chair, jumped into my arms, and did not settle until he was on my shoulders again.
As he accidentally poked me in the eye, the couple I’d counted on never seeing again entered the dining room.
Valor’s funny story about going through security at the airport stalled the moment he spotted me.
“Oh, I forgot to mention my brother-in-law, Loïc, is here for dinner, too.” Rodrigo gestured to me and then to them. “Loïc, these are my friends Tarryn and Valor.”
The two of them looked exactly the way I remembered. Their attractiveness had seemed improbable when I thought about them, but my memories had been accurate. Tarryn’s red hair was a cascade of ringlets tonight, and her lips—god, how I had loved kissing those full lips. Her eyes were wide with shock, reminding me of her expression when I’d seduced her husband. Valor had gone pale and silent, as though I’d been haunting him and had the nerve to show up in the flesh.
A wave of loathing swamped me. How could I detest a hot man I’d met once and fucked? It was unreasonable.
