Page 32 of Just One Look

It took past the appetizers and well into the main course to actually taste the delicious meal Hazel had cooked. Liz had been so taken aback by all the silverware at the table that she’d been more intent on watching who used which fork and spoon than on savoring the dinner. At one point, the creamiest and most flavorful mashed potatoes she’d ever had, tickled her taste buds, and her obsession with not making a fool of herself with the wrong silverware slipped far away. Everything was as Devlin had led her to believe. Heaven on a plate. It was all she could do not to moan when she bit into the cornbread. Normally, she didn’t even like cornbread, but this, she could eat the whole pan and then some. Though she did notice a minute too late that she’d been the only one to bite into the square of bread. Everyone else would break a small piece off and pop the single morsel into their mouths. She wasn’t totally sure, but she suspected that it was not a family quirk but probably a rule straight out of Emily Post.

If she were going to hang out with these people, she might have to study a copy, and not the abridged version either. “How do you do it?” Liz joined her sister by the dessert table.

Adding a crème puff to the plate in her hand, Emily tipped her head. “Do what?”

“Fit in?”

“I’m sorry.” Emily reached for an almond square. “What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t know which fork to use.”

Emily turned pensive.

“And I don’t think I’m supposed to bite the corn bread, am I?”

This time her sister chuckled very softly. “No. Any bread, you break off a bite-size piece, butter it, and put it in your mouth. Never, ever butter the whole thing then break it off. Not many people know or care, but if you’re ever having dinner with the King of England, it would behoove you to remember.”

“Have you?”

A frown replaced Emily’s smile. “Have I what?”

“Have you been to dinner with the Barons and royalty?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “I may be Dev’s plus-one a lot of the time, but no, I’ve never been anywhere near royalty.”

“What else would I need to know if I were to spend time with these people?”

“Most of the time, nothing.”

“And the rest of the time?”

“There’s a cheat sheet Devlin gave me when I went to a political dinner with him at the White House.”

“Now that you mention it, I remember that dinner, but never gave any thought to needing a cheat sheet.”

“Political protocol can be tricky. When to stand, when not to stand, whose hand to shake and not shake. The hardest for me is always other women.”

“What about them?”

“The rules of etiquette dictate that the senior female must extend her hand first. Which is why no one ever offers to shake the Queen of England’s hand in receiving line photos and videos.”

“They just curtsy.”

“The women, yeah. But when you’re at an official dinner party, and you’re introduced to a woman who may or may not be older than you, it’s a crap shoot who goes first. Last thing you want to do is piss someone off by not extending your hand because youthinkshe’s older.”

“And here I thought it was all fun and frills.”

“Did you two save room for ice cream?” Devlin came up between Liz and her sister.

“Don’t tell me Hazel makes ice cream too?” At this point, after tasting so much of what Hazel has cooked, Liz wouldn’t be surprised by anything the woman made.

Devlin chuckled to himself. “She does, but that wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“I don’t know,” Liz blinked. “I ate an awful lot at dinner and I wasn’t even that hungry after the afternoon snack.”

“I wish I could.” Emily sighed. “I am exhausted and have an early day in the morning, but you know that if I didn’t, I’d kill for some of Gertie’s butter pecan.”

“Gertie?” Liz looked to her sister.

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