Page 139 of Dream Girl
“Yeah, that’s good. If there are any missing, it wasn’t me.” He laughed as he started taking things out of the bag.
“What cookies? Never saw any,” I joked back. “Need help cooking?” It was nice that a lot of the main things in this world were mostly the same, like food, clothes, languages, and traffic lights.
“Bren's my sous chef, but if you could get the dining room table set? It might need to be cleaned off because Ri likes to use it for projects for her art class.” Jett got things down from the cupboard.
“Sure. How many for dinner?” I hadn’t eaten in the dining room, just in the kitchen or living room.
“Seven. Use the blue plates in the hutch in the dining room and the crystal glasses, but the silverware from here is fine.”
Nodding, I got to work. It was a beautiful space that had big open doorways to the living room and the kitchen, with aglittering chandelier poised over an elegant glass-topped table. There were only six chairs. I’d have to find another.
After putting the cookies on racks to cool, I carefully cleaned off all the paints and brushes from the table. Then I found what he asked for in the hutch, along with placemats, napkins, and even napkin holders along with candlesticks. A lot of the things looked brand new.
Delicious smells filled the air, and the murmur of voices drifted in from the kitchen.
Brennan walked into the dining room, holding a chair. He froze when he saw me. “Um, here. We need one more chair.”
“Thanks.” I folded a napkin to look like a bird and put it on the plate.
“It looks nice. Where did the placemats come from?” He studied my table setting.
“The hutch. I hope it was okay to use them.” My belly twitched a little.
“It’s fine. They’re probably wedding presents we never used and just shoved in there.” He placed the chair and stared at me. “I… I’m sorry for getting mad at you. You're right. It wasn’t about the piano. I really don’t mean to be a dick, Grace. I… I’m just trying to be cautious. Bringing someone into our home, our pack, is a big deal.”
Sure, guys like him didn’t mean to be dicks, yet they still were. But he had made up with Evan. Also, he had a point–I was living in their house.I was a stranger.
And he’d said he was sorry.
“I’m glad Evan and the guys mean so much to you. It’s understandable. You don’t know me. But I’m not after your money or power. Promise. I’m totally after Wes, but that’s because of his magic dick.” My cheeks burned. “I can’t believe I said that. Sorry, I’ve been hanging around Evan too much.”
A smile twitched on his lips. “Magic dick?”
“Knots are magic.” I shrugged, busying myself with the napkins.
He chuckled. “I see. Um, I suppose you can play the piano.”
“Thank you.” I folded another. “Back in high school, I used to compete. I know how to treat a nice piano. Promise.”
“Oh, did you want to be a pianist?” His look went thoughtful.
I shook my head. “Not really. But I did want to keep my mother happy. I enjoyed it, and I still do, but back in high school that was a driving force. That and stress relief.”
“I get that. Um, I should go check the food.” He left.
That done, I went upstairs and put on something nicer than Wes’ clothes. When I came back down, Riley was in the dining room.
“That’s where you sit.” Riley pointed to a chair on the far side of the table.
Evan came up behind me and kissed my neck, sending little shivers through me. I tipped my head up. We’d taken a bath together after everyone left, before he went to work. It was fun.
“Finally. Dinner is ready, you assholes,” Brennan said to someone in the kitchen.
“You made me dinner? Wow, you do love me,” Wes joked.
“Go pour the wine.” Brennan sighed.
Wes came in, holding a bottle of wine. He grinned as he looked around the room. “The fam’s all here.”
