Page 131 of Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate
He shouldn’t have worried.
Jacques twirled Zuzu along the walkway with an unforeseen level of expertise. “My nephew is somewhat lacking in several of the social graces, but I can hold my own in any cotillion. Now … I must know! Who is kissing whom?”
“Do you like kisses?” asked Zuzu.
“Naturellement!”
Jacques kept Zuzu talking all the way to the front step, then bowed over her hand, begging a prior engagement. “Where might we find Suuzu Farroost?”
She looked to Akira. “Your room.”
“Thank you, Zuzu.”
Swooping in for another hug, she quietly asked, “Are you going to kiss him?”
“Err … no?”
She rubbed her cheek against his and whispered, “Too bad.”
Jacques held the door for Akira. The main floor was hushed, and the quiet suddenly felt awkward. Akira cleared his throat, “You dance?”
“All part of the posh and polish. Maman did insist.”
“Even though you don’t like girls?”
Uncle Jackie caught his wrist and held tight, but his posture was carefully neutral. “I liked them enough not to foster any false hopes. Or to step on their toes. The only woman’s heart I ever broke was Maman’s.”
“Oh. I didn’t know.” Akira adjusted his posture, uncertain why Jacques was suddenly so serious.
“You are hardly the first to ask a question simply because it popped into your head.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything …!”
“I know. Lord, don’t look so tragic. This isn’t about me. It’s the mission. I love transparency in a pair of harem pants, but where we’re going, one word thoughtlessly spoken could imperil everything.”
Akira frowned. “I can be careful.”
Jacques took his hand and squeezed. “I promised Argent that nothing terrible would happen to you. Aside from the obvious and unavoidable.”
“Which parts are those?” Really, they needed to tell him everything, and in the right order.
With a glance toward the stairs, Uncle Jackie sighed. “All the ones Suuzu is going to hate. Come on. I only want to have to break it gently once.”
They found Suuzu huddled disconsolately at the center of the bed. However, the moment they entered, he scrambled onto his knees and bowed his head. “I apologize for my outburst.”
Jacques was back to his usual breezy flippancy. “Was there an outburst? And it’s over already? Too bad. I’ve never seen you in the throes of passion. It must be a sight.”
Suuzu blinked.
Slapping Uncle Jackie’s shoulder on his way past, Akira went to sit on the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Can I make it better?”
“Don’t bother trying.” Jacques dropped into a picturesque sprawl between them. “I’m about to make things ten times worse. Shall we agree to make the best of what we have to work with?”
“Err … I guess?”
