Page 102 of Finding Lord Landry

“I…” My throat tightened. I scrambled to recall that afternoon. “Did I?”

“Oh, yes.” Jamie grinned. “That’s why I was so surprised when you denied being engaged when we met with my father the other day… and not at all surprised when you announced you were married.”

“But—” I began.

“When my other friends tell me they are married, I don’t demand paperwork. I believe them. And I know what two people in love look like.” His sharp gaze pinned mine. “Which is exactly what I’ll tell anyone who asks. Assuming, of course, that youwantit to be the truth?”

Yes. God yes. All the yes.

Nan, ever the voice of reason, was more measured. “That’s for Kenji to decide.”

“Me?” I squeaked. “Landry’s the one with a reputation on the line!”

Everyone in the room snickered, but it was Ed who spoke.

“Oh, Kenji. My son’s talked about you for ten years?—”

“Talked about?” Cora snorted. “You meangushed. We didn’t know it was a romantic thing until this visit, but he acted like you hung the damn stars.”

“He once spent twenty full minutes explaining why Excel was better than Google Sheets,” Nan volunteered. “And when I finally asked him why he was acting so belligerent, he threw up his hands and said, ‘Because Kenji prefers Excel, and he’s one of the smartest people I know.’”

“Three years ago,” Cora put in, “he showed up here all in knots, muttering your name under his breath. We knew about the hotel incident with Zane and figured it had to do with that since you’re the one who handled his bail.” She rolled her eyes. “I asked if he was upset because you’d lectured him, and he immediately went off about how you weren’t an unreasonable person and that if you were angry, it was for good reason.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I remembered the night of that arrest. More specifically, I remembered how that “lecture” and the simmering anger I’d carried for him leading up to it had exploded into our first off-the-charts-hot sexual encounter.

“I did wonder why such a responsible lad had begun getting into so many scrapes he needed his assistant to get him out of.” Nan shot me an innocent look over her tea mug. “Can you think of a reason, Kenji?”

Cora snickered.

“And just a week or so ago,” Jamie added, not to be outdone, “Landry agreed to play fake boyfriends with me to give you your freedom and privacy back. Considering we were rivals up ’til then, that’s a hell of a sacrifice.”

The next volley came from an unexpected source.

Lydia circled the table and reached for my hand, running a manicured thumb over the top of my wedding ring.

“Everett was here in December,” she said lightly, “before he went to Majestic for the holidays. He asked for my help in getting this ring resized safely since it has such historic significance. I’d hoped it was for Harriet Salvant since she’s a lovely girl from such a good family?—”

Cora rolled her eyes. “Mom. Landry’s gay. He’s not a politician who switches parties based on who’s funding his campaign.”

Lydia waved a hand dismissively. “There is such a thing as bisexual, darling, in case you haven’t met your friend Jamie here?—”

I barely heard their banter. I stared at the ring on my finger.

Landry had gotten it resized inDecember?

“Anyway, Kenji.” Lydia squeezed my hand. “I apologize if I was frosty to you at first. I rather thought Everett had gotten mixed up in a scheme running counter to his best interests. Er, I mean, his heart. But evenIfigured out your relationship was real, even if your havey-cavey marriage wasn’t. And there’s no question Everett has true feelings for you if he gave you the Heart of Hawling.”

I frowned. “The… fundraiser?”

Cora laughed and pointed at my finger. “The Heart of Hawling is thering, silly. It’s probably the most important heirloom the Davencourts have. Wordsworth even referred to it in one of his poems. And the family legend surrounding it is where the fundraiser got its name.”

Overwhelmed, I stared down at it, instinctively curling my fingers to prevent it from slipping off, though it fit perfectly. “That’s… that’s…”

“A sign Everett wants your marriage to be real.” Ed spoke with all the authority of the fifteenth Earl of Davencourt. It was impossible not to believe him.

He leaned back, casually plucking a piece of lint off his sleeve. “You know, Kenji, the Double Bishop Sacrifice was first played in Amsterdam in 1889. I’ve been reading up on it since our game the other day.”

Cora, Nan, and I exchanged glances, waiting to see where this went.

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