“I can’t believe you got a dog.” Gabrielle drops to her knees to pet Diva who shies away from her. “I won’t hurt you baby.” She holds out her hand and Diva sniffs at it before lifting her snout in the air.
“Figures you would get a snooty dog,” she grumbles as Phoenix helps her to stand.
“She probably smells Pan on you,” Phoenix explains.
“The devil goat,” I mutter.
“Nice of you to join us,” Lilac says when Elizabeth and River return. She’s not being sarcastic. Lilac doesn’t ‘do’ sarcastic, which is a shame since sarcasm is my favorite thing in the world.
Elizabeth’s hair is a mess, and her cheeks are flushed. Meanwhile, River has lipstick smeared all over his lips.
“The temperature in the entryway must be too warm since someone appears overheated,” I tease, and Elizabeth’s cheeks darken further. She’s a redhead with light skin so getting her to blush is always fun.
“And where’s your man this evening?” she asks.
I glare at her, and she smiles. She knows I don’t want Beckett to find out about Cedar. Big brother can be a little overprotective. Never mind I’m thirty-three and have been living on my own for over a decade.
When our parents died, Beckett was barely nineteen, but he took on the monumental task of raising his four younger sisters without a blink of an eye. I will be forever grateful to him for ensuring we didn’t end up split apart in various foster homes, but he needs to treat us as adults now.
“Cassandra doesn’t have a man,” Beckett says.
“Yeah, she does.” Elizabeth doesn’t hold back from selling me out.
“I will get you for this,” I mutter to her.
“Payback’s a bitch.”
Exaggerate much?
“It’s not my fault you packed your vibrator in a faulty box.” Everyone knows you move your sex toys yourself.
“That’s no excuse for playing catch with it.”
Beckett groans. “I don’t want to hear this shit.”
“Sex is perfectly natural,” Lilac says.
Beckett ignores her to ask me, “What’s this about you having a man?”
“I don’t have a man.”
He snorts. “You can’t lie to me. Do I need to repeat the question?”
“What’s for dinner, Lilac?” Gabrielle asks, and I could kiss her for interrupting.
“Eggplant rollatini.”
Beckett glares at his fiancée. “Why are you answering Gabrielle?”
“Why wouldn’t I answer Gabrielle? She asked a question. It’s polite to answer.”
“She’s trying to distract you from whatever’s going on with Cassandra.”
Lilac frowns, but she’s not stupid. She knows exactly what Gabrielle was doing.
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” Beckett prods when Lilac doesn’t respond.
“I should check on dinner.” She tries to flee, but he grasps her hand to stop her.