Izabel’s gaze drifted over to Rowan. She might also have a husband who preferred quiet nights at home.
“I’m so glad you could make it tonight. I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to chat, but there were so many people to greet. It would appear my definition of intimate and my mother’s differ greatly.”
Rose smiled and simply said, “Parents.”
Izabel leaned forward as she and her old friend exchanged one of those all-air, no-touching kisses next to each other’s cheeks.
“We’ll have plenty of time to catch up tomorrow at dinner before the symphony.” Rose smiled as her husband Marek draped her coat over her shoulders before rejoining Wes near the door so the two of them could say their goodbyes.
“I’m looking forward to it. We’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Izabel waved to Wes and Marek, as the threesome left the restaurant.
Izabel had been surprised when Rose had rsvp’d that she and her husbands would join them tonight. She and Rose Hancock had attended the same boarding school growing up, both serious students with a reputation for not suffering fools lightly.
When they added those personality attributes to the fact both of their families were members of the Trinity Masters, it created enough of a common bond that they’d grown close during the early years of school.
However, the friendship had faded when they were in their mid-teens, though Izabel wasn’t quite sure why. They hadn’t had a falling out or anything. Rose had simply pulled away, something that had always saddened Izabel.
She and her parents had agreed to limit tonight’s celebration to only Trinity Masters’ members so that they could be honest about the reason for the celebration. Not everyone would understand the significance of a binding ceremony. When her mother asked who Izabel would like to invite to tonight’s dinner, Rose’s name was the first to pop into her mind, even though she hadn’t expected her old friend to accept.
Rose had not only accepted the invitation, but she’d also extended one of her own, inviting Izabel, Rowan, and Brennon to join them for an evening at the symphony tomorrow night.
“Looks like the party is winding down,” Brennon said as he and Rowan approached her.
“It does,” she agreed. “I need to thank you both for being such good sports about this. My parents are huge proponents of celebrations. All kinds. Birthdays, holidays, job promotions, weddings, babies, and sometimes just because the Red Sox won a damn baseball game.”
“Is my daughter telling tales about us?” Daddy asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Izabel grinned when her other two parents approached them as well. The initial introductions earlier had gone very well, Dad giving her a quick thumb’s-up behind her grooms’ backs, while her mother engulfed them in hugs.
“Only little ones,” Brennon joked. “Though it sounds like there’s going to be a lot of cake and champagne in my future. Trying to decide if I should go ahead and have the waist of my suit pants loosened.”
Dad held Mom’s hand. “We’re delighted to have you as part of our family.”
“Delighted, indeed,” Daddy repeated, reaching out to shake Brennon, then Rowan’s hands. “We’re trusting you gentlemen to take care of our little girl.”
Izabel rolled her eyes, about to set her overprotective father straight on the not-so-little girl who was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
Rowan, however, took the words to heart. “I will, sir,” he replied. All his interactions with her parents including “sir” and “ma’am.” “You have my word.”
You can take the boy out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of the boy, Izabel thought to herself, amused by her parents’ reactions to it. Dad and Daddy loved the respectful “sirs,” but her mother was less thrilled by being referred to as “ma’am.”
“Mine too,” Brennon added affably.
“We look forward to meeting your parents as well,” Mom said. “We’ll host another—bigger—party after your wedding, where all of us can celebrate together.”
Izabel kept her eyes on Rowan’s face, curious about his feelings toward doing this again on a larger scale. Curious if that celebration was something that could even happen the way her mother was imagining. After all, she was certain neither Brennon nor Rowan’s parents knew about the Trinity Masters. Sworn to secrecy, they couldn’t tell their parents about the society, so if they did have a wedding reception, both Rowan and Brennon would have to say they’d fallen in love with two people instead of the more traditionally accepted one, without using the arranged menage marriage as an explanation.
She had to hand it to Rowan. He had an excellent poker face, revealing nothing as he merely nodded.
“It’s getting late,” Izabel said. “Perhaps we should head back to the hotel?”
The Trinity Masters maintained the penthouse suite in the Boston Park Plaza Hotel for use after binding and wedding ceremonies. The hotel was situated close to the Boston Public Library, so it only took a few minutes for newly bound trinities to travel there from the society’s secret headquarters beneath the library. The three of them had gone there immediately following theirs this afternoon, chatting for a little while before getting ready for this dinner. In a way, it had helped because without the party, they would have spent the rest of the day in the hotel room, awkwardly getting to know one another. The slight scramble to get dressed and ready for the party—and for Izabel to explain who her parents were, and that she was a legacy—hadn’t left time for awkwardness.
“That sounds good,” Brennon said. “I’m still a bit jet-lagged. My flight to Boston didn’t land until midnight last night after a delay. It was nearly two before my head hit the pillow.”
That was news to Izabel, who suddenly felt bad for keeping him out so late. “Oh! Then it’s definitely time to say goodbye.” Izabel kissed her parents, thanking them for the party.
Daddy held up his cell phone. “I’ve called Gerald to pull the car around. He’ll drive you to the hotel, then come back here to pick us up. I suspect Senator Jenkins is hanging around in hopes of bending my ear about the upcoming election. No doubt he’ll be looking for campaign contributions.”