Page 96 of Rebel Bride
I wanted those conversations as much as I wanted Summer in my bed.
We were debating whether the night warranted another pitcher when Franky arrived. Francesca St. James was in her mid-thirties, so closer to Sean and Jason’s ages. I’d always liked her, mostly because she had a direct, no-nonsense way of looking at things. With her dark hair piled into a messy bun, librarian glasses (the bridge wrapped in blue duct tape), and a Lakeshore U sweater over rolled up jeans, she gave off a schoolteacher vibe. Which tracked, because she was a professor of biology at LU.
“Hey, sis!” Rosie jumped up to hug her. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“We were just about to make another pitcher of margaritas,” Addy said. “You in?”
“Not for me. I’ll just stick with water.” She looked around the table. “I thought Sean was here?”
“He’s in the kitchen on a work call,” I said. Sean was the chief tech officer for a bank in Boston, so very, very important. “How was the slug hunt?”
Her eyes lit up. “Very productive, though in fact, I was looking for snails. Viviparinae Gray to be exact. They’re usually found in colder waters of the north but have started to migrate to the lower parts of the Great Lakes and associated waterways.”
“Sounds like a wild time,” Jason said, with an unexpected touch of snark.
Franky was more friendly with Sean, so I assumed she knew Jason to some extent. Yet I wasn’t prepared for her reaction when my uncle spoke to her. Her lip curled in a very distinctive sneer, and she turned away.
Jason shot a quick look of da fuck at me. I wanted to laugh because my uncle usually never failed to charm anyone. He was like my dad in that respect—everyone loved him. But not Franky, which amused me greatly.
Rosie set a plate down before her with a glass of water. As Franky picked up the taco, she arced her assessing gaze over the group.
“Have I missed the discussion about Summer’s sprint from the church?”
A smiling Summer made a point of not looking at me. “We haven’t really discussed it except in surface terms.”
“You made the right call. Dash Carter’s as spineless as a gastropod.” Around her chewing, Franky added, “Slug humor.”
Rosie laughed. “Tell us how you really feel.”
She sipped from her water glass and took that as a literal invitation to unload. “I once overheard him telling someone at a Rebels fundraiser that he couldn’t make a donation because his mother took care of the family’s gift-giving.”
“Damning stuff,” Jason said with an eye roll.
Franky stared at him. “You might think that a meaningless anecdote, but it reflects a negative personality trait that no woman wants in a prospective mate. A man who exhibits that sort of selfishness of spirit is not worth a woman’s time. I only wish I’d told you sooner, Summer.”
Summer caught my eye—yes!—and rolled in her lips, hiding a smile. “Not sure I would have drawn the same conclusion from that, but there were plenty of other red flags I ignored.”
Franky went on. “I imagine he would have provided good genetic material for your children, though. Sometimes that’s all you need, especially when we’re talking about athletes.”
“What does that mean?” Jason asked sharply.
Franky met his gaze over her glasses. They had slipped down her nose while she ate, making her look like a scolding schoolteacher. “Only that athletes aren’t the most evolved people on the planet.”
Jason looked like he was about to explode. I jumped in to defend my jock brethren.
“Your dad’s an athlete, Franky.” Not just any athlete. Bren St. James was a legendary center from a Cup-winning Rebels team.
Franky considered that. “My dad excepted. And Uncle Remy, who is probably the most evolved man I’ve ever met. Uncle Vadim is up there, too, though it took him a while. Russians are tough nuts and Aunt Isobel had to work hard to crack him. The rest of them? Idiots.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jason muttered.
“I think several of us have a different view of athletes, Franky,” Addy said diplomatically.
“Well, you already have proof that Lars can produce a healthy child, so you can check that off the list. And I assume he has other positives that prove he’s worth your time. After all, you overcame several obstacles to get your happy-ever-after.”
Lars stared at her. I wondered if this was his first direct exposure to the professor.
