Page 85 of Embers of Torment

"Yeah, go ahead. I'm ready." Theo placed the shrimp skewers on the counter beside the platter of catfish. Then he stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed his masterpiece.

"Cool. I'll tell everybody they can make a plate." Adam headed toward the cornhole group.

There were oohs, ahhs, and a string of compliments as Sofie and Rielle fixed plates for Evie and Lily, and the rest of us eagerly followed. The girls were seated on two loungers with a small table between them. The adults filled the three tables Adam had set up in a triangle configuration. Adam, Theo, Jace, and I were at one table. Sofie, Reid, and Rielle shared another while Spencer, Kendra, and Nathan occupied the third.

During a break in the conversation, Rielle leaned toward our table. "Theo, I need your recipe for the shrimp. Lily's a picky eater and surprised me by choosing it over her hot dog. I even saw her sneak to the counter for seconds." Rielle glanced at Lily, catching her stuff another piece in her mouth. Laughing, she turned back to Theo. "Told you."

"Thank you. It's a sign my dishes are a hit when the kids devour them," Theo chuckled. "Remind me before you go home, and I'll write the recipe down for you."

"Perfect, thanks."

"Hey, speaking of the little creatures, guess how many species of edible shrimp there are," Adam interjected. Met with silence and blank expressions, he focused on Rielle. "Go ahead. Take a guess."

"Hmm. I don't know." Rielle squirmed in her seat, looking uncomfortable under Adam's unrelenting stare. "Thirty?"

I brought my napkin to my mouth to hide my grin. I enjoyed it when I wasn't on the receiving end of Adam's quizzes.

"Nope, sorry. There are over three hundred. Guess how long they live."

"Adam," Theo said, trying to hold back a smile as he touched Adam's arm. "Not everyone is a walking trivia book like you."

"Fine," Adam huffed. "Forget the question."

"No, it's okay," Reid piped in. "Go ahead and tell us. I want to hear the answer."

Adam frowned at Theo. "See? Some people are interested." He puffed out his chest in a dramatic display. "Their average lifespan is nine to eighteen months, although the North Atlantic Shrimp can live up to eight years."

"Well, that was an unusual piece of information," Reid acknowledged. "Thanks for sharing, Adam."

"Yeah, it was noteworthy, all right. Next time I go to a seafood restaurant, I'll have to ask what species of shrimp they have so I'll know how old it is," I said between peels of laughter.

"God, you're a witch," Adam declared with one of his famous eye rolls. He waded up his napkin and threw it at me. The paper bounced off my forehead and landed in Jace's coleslaw.

I lost it at the expression on Jace's face, laughing so hard I snorted. The tables went silent. Seconds passed, and then it was like a chain reaction. One person giggled, then another, until we sounded like a bunch of lunatics.

"I swear. There's always chaos whenever Della and Adam are together," Sofie teased when the laughter waned.

"Me?" I said, somewhat startled. "It's Adam who does it. Besides, it's Morgan Systems' fault. They hired Adam. If Reid's parents hadn't done that, he and I would have never met and wouldn't be subjecting you guys to our craziness. So, see? I'm not responsible for any of it."

"Hold on. Ree's the one to blame if you want to use that logic." Jace pointed at his cousin.

"Hey! Don't drag me into this."

Laughing, Jace threw his hand in the air. "Hang on, Ree. Let me explain. When Adam and I graduated from college, you emailed me an employment advertisement you stumbled across for Morgan Systems. You hoped I'd apply, get the job, and return to Boston. However, Adam was better suited for the position,so I forwarded the information to him. He applied, got selected, and moved here. Then Della and Adam met when the company hired her a few years later."

"Ah-ha! Rielle's the culprit," I blurted. "Think about it. Jace and I got together because of Adam, which wouldn't have happened without Rielle's intervention." I looked pointedly at Rielle, although I could feel my cheek twitching as I forced back a smile. "See what you started?"

"I'm not sure about that one." Jace placed his hand on my thigh and lightly squeezed. "I already intended to look for you, remember? That's one of the reasons I moved back to Boston."

"True, but I wouldn't have known the new you that way. I think you would have pissed me off by showing up, and I would have told you to leave me the hell alone."

"Yeah, maybe so. In that case, I have to agree. A toast to Ree for helping me rediscover my soulmate and fall in love." Jace raised his beer to a round of cheers.

Rielle blushed and reluctantly lifted her glass of Theo's homemade watermelon lemonade. "Okay, but I still think Reid's parents are responsible."

Sofie smiled at Reid. "We'll have to tell your mom what she did."

"She'll be delighted to hear it," Reid laughed. He lifted his bottle of pale ale. "Another toast. This one to my parents, Wallace and Virginia Morgan, who always recognized the goodness and potential in the people they met."

---