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“Thanks. You’re in great shape too. Now about my sister. We’ll figure something out about the video. I think morning is best.”
“I’m flexible.”
“There’s a joke there, but I’ll keep it to myself.”
They headed back up to the deck. Reese helped Jodi bring out food while Grady went inside to quickly shower and change. He returned just as Ted was taking the steaks off the barbecue. As they sat down to dinner, Reese was worried she’d feel uncomfortable during the dinner conversation, but she fit right in, chatting about sports, the weather, the amazing dinner Julia had prepared, and Jodi’s training schedule. Reese was happy that Jennifer and the scandal she’d created didn’t come up.
Reese helped clear away the dinner plates, while Grady and Ted worked on washing dishes. It was a Radcliffe rule that whoever cooked, the other cleaned. Reese liked the rule as she put away leftovers in the containers Julia had provided. Jodi set up new plates and utensils for dessert and got the coffee started.
Once the dishes had been dried and put away and the coffee had finished brewing, they settled again outside. The gathering felt more informal now. Grady sat on one of the patio sofas while Jodi sprawled in one of the loungers. Ted passed around cups of coffee while Julia plated the chocolate cake. Her face was marred with disdain as she distributed the store-bought confection. Unsure of where to sit, Reese chose a chair to Grady’s.
‘What do your parents do?” Ted asked Reese, then stabbed his fork into his cake.
“My father is a structural engineer, and my mother works part time as a florist.”
“They must be so proud of you,” Julia said.
“Are we having a bonfire tonight?” Grady asked.
Julia seemed surprised by the sudden change of topic, while Reese felt her heart warm. He would know that the last thing she wanted to talk about were her parents.
“We could. Or tomorrow night. Is there a rush?”
“Probably not. We want to sit down with Jodi and talk about our workout video in the morning.”
Jodi jumped in. “I’m not a professional videographer,” she said. “I’m good, but I don’t want to make promises.”
“This is a test run anyway, so please don’t feel pressure. My agent hasn’t approved me posting it yet,” Reese said.
“That reminds me,” she said, her steely blue eyes coming alive, “Grady said you’d bring your medals for us to see.”
Grady and I exchanged a looked and he shrugged sheepishly.
Gold medals? This was news to her. He’d never mentioned it.
“No, I didn’t say that. That conversation never happened.”
“You said you would ask her.”
“I did not,” Grady said.
“I asked you to ask her. You said you would and didn’t think it would be a big deal.”
“That’s not what I said. I said I’d ask becauseaskingwas no big deal.”
“Did you even ask?”
Reese’s head was spinning from all the back-and-forth, so she decided to step in. “I forgot them,” Reese said. “I’m so sorry, Jodi. It totally slipped my mind. But I’ll bring them next time. Or if you’re ever visiting your brother, you can come by my place. But I did bring something.”
She got up and retrieved her box, and Grady got up too.
“I’ll help you,” he said.
Once the patio doors were closed behind him, he thanked her. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I’m not sure I wanted to see another Radcliffe spitting match.”
“I did forget to ask. And it’s really not a big deal. If you have them somewhere safe, don’t pull them out for my sister.”
