Page 38 of Brides and Brothers
“Everyone enjoy the lasagna?” she asked, working her way into the conversation.
“Yes, ma’am,” Easton said, patting his stomach.
“Excellent.” Camille clapped her hands together. “I made some homemade ice cream for dessert, and it’ll be ready around seven.”
Benson slapped Daegan on the back. “I never say no to ice cream.”
Daegan chuckled. “We rarely celebrate the end of potato harvest until our annual Halloween dance in the barn. This is nice of you, Camille.”
Murmurs of pleasure rumbled around the table. Ice cream was one of the Petersons’ weaknesses. Homemade ice cream was their undoing, or so Aiden had told her. She hoped he was right, because she needed to lure all of them into her trap.
After dinner was over, Aiden helped her wash the dishes. “I didn’t know you’d been making homemade ice cream.”
Camille hid her smile. “You were hauling potatoes to the shed this morning, and this afternoon you were in your office. When would I have told you?”
Aiden pointed his scrub brush at her. “There’s always room for interruptions where ice cream is concerned.”
Camille handed him a stack of dirty plates. “I thought ice cream was for girls.”
Aiden feigned offense. “Ice cream puts hair on a man’s chest.”
“I thought that was meat.”
“You were wrong. Meat is for muscles. Ice cream is for bones and hairy chests.”
Camille rolled her eyes but jumped when a wet dish towel slapped her across her backside. “Aiden Peterson!”
A victorious smile spread across his face. “I’ll not hear any more of this ‘ice cream is for girls’ talk.”
Camille stole the wet dish towel and whipped him back. “For that, I’m not going to let you in on my secret.”
“What secret?” Aiden shut the dishwasher and pinned her with his gaze.
“Well, since I know you’ll resort to all sorts of ridiculous ways to force it from me, I’ll spare myself and tell you. I invited my roommates over to share the ice cream.”
Aiden put his hand to his chest, and his jaw dropped dramatically. “What other roommates do you have?”
Camille laughed. “You know who I’m talking about. Daisha, Amy—the girls.”
“Did you purposefully not tell us this detail at the table, or am I missing something?”
Camille exchanged the towel for a washcloth and started wiping down the counters but said nothing.
“Uh oh. What are you plotting?” Aiden grabbed the towel and whipped it against the counter to show he meant business. “Remember my methods for forcing secrets from you.”
Camille bit back a smile and held up her hands for mercy. “Fine. I’ll confess. I thought I would introduce my friends to your brothers to see if I could get everyone to get along. I want to mesh our lives. Daisha is feeling a bit sad about me not being around all the time. If this works, then I’ll get to be with all of you at the same time.”
Aiden nodded slowly. “Tell me what you’re really planning.”
Camille feigned innocence. “I told you.”
Aiden sat at the table, watching her. “No, you told me what I wanted to hear. You’re playing matchmaker, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” She took a seat next to Aiden. “More like seeing if there ispotential.”
“Which brother is going to be the project?”
Camille hemmed a little while picking at a thread on the hand towel. “All of them.”
