“Thanks, Dad.”
Jerry arrived to summon them all to the dinner table, and Jimmy took his seat at his usual place by the head of the table.
Cold wasn’t here yet, no doubt still plotting things with Tamerlane.
Everyone took their seats, and Jimmy resisted the urge to hiss when Charlie sat down next to him.
Jerry came out to serve the first course, a steaming savory soup, murmuring something in French to Charlie when he set his bowl down. Charlie whispered back, and they shared a smile that made Jimmy’s eye twitch.
What was with this guy?
Jimmy felt a strong hand on his shoulder, startling him, and he looked up at Cold’s smirking visage. “Hey!” He glanced around. “Tamerlane isn’t joining us?”
“He had other plans,” Cold explained as he sat down.
“Gonna go get kicked outta another fuckin’ hotel with Lorre?” Maury asked casually, grinning over his soup. “Heard they had themselves one hell of a homecoming party.”
“What can I say?” Cold smiled. “My Gentlemen are very... passionate.”
“They’re not gonna be like your groomsmen or anything, right?” Rowena quirked her brows. “Are you guys even having a wedding party? I mean, I would obviously make a killer maid of honor.”
“That’s up to Jimmy,” Cold said.
“I don’t care,” Jimmy mumbled into his spoon.
“I’ll be your best man,” David offered, smiling warmly. “I would love to do it, slugger.”
“Jules could be Roddy’s best man,” Rowena suggested. “He’s his oldest friend, after all. And Maury could be a groomsman for Jimmy, and I can be a bridesmaid for Roddy!”
“Maury’s gonna what now?” Maury blinked.
“Be a groomsman for Jimmy!” Rowena insisted stubbornly.
“Great. Perfect.” Jimmy kept eating.
“Come on, Jimmy,” Rowena pouted. “This is your big freakin’ day! You should be excited!”
Jimmy said nothing.
“How about the three of you get together tomorrow?” Cold suggested, lightly dabbing his mouth with his napkin. “Decisions need to be made. I’ve already confirmed the guest list—”
Jimmy dropped his spoon and glared at Cold. “Without me?”
“Unless you would also like to review all four hundred and twenty-seven names?” Cold retorted dryly.
“Yes!” Jimmy said defiantly. “As a matter of fact, I would!”
“Ah, an excellent task for you and Charlie to conquer tomorrow.”
“Fine!” He turned to Charlie. “Tomorrow, yeah, let’s go ahead and get all of this over with.”
“Oooo! We can do brunch!” Rowena exclaimed. “We can make mimosas! This is gonna be so much fun!”
Jimmy returned his attention to his soup, resisting the urge to audibly grumble to himself when he saw how smug Cold was over his apparent victory. There were many words he could think of to describe hanging out with Charlie.
Fun was definitely not one of them.
