“Starling,” Kendrick supplied before Lane.
The maître’d nodded, then promptly escorted them to a secluded table in the corner of the room. Plant positioning ensured no one overlooked the table, not that Kendrick knew anyone else in the nearly full dining room. The suit he wore was most unquestionably the right thing to wear in such opulence.
“Nice,” Lane murmured, bringing Kendrick with him. “You can sit next to me.”
He helped seat Lane and took the chair he indicated to his left. Derick sat on the other side of him, and Kendrick heard Rue curse.
He gave Rue an ‘I’ve got this’ smile when he sat across the round table from Kendrick, tension evident in the stiffness of his posture.
Monty laid a hand on Rue’s shoulder, bending to whisper something in his ear, bringing a light to his eyes that Kendrick knew well. Intrigued, his brows rose in question at the two men. Rue licked his lips, sharing nothing of his thoughts as Monty sat next to him, looking rather pleased with himself.
Kendrick listened as the wine server brought the champagne, explaining the flavor notes, and offered Rue a taste. He nodded his approval, and the server moved to pour wine into gorgeous flutes. The wine was so fucking good, Kendrick moaned in delight. The bubbles tickled his palate as the delicious sweetness of the grape hit his tastebuds.
“Wonderful,” he murmured, nodding his approval of his man’s taste in wine.
“What’s in the box, Monty?”
Lane’s inquiry had Monty slide the white box between the wine glasses and around the flower centerpiece that none of the other tables held. Had Rue ordered flowers for them? A glow of romance he’d never experienced before warmed his chest.
“I made a Nutella cheesecake for you and Derick for your anniversary.”
Damnit all! Why hadn’t Rue mentioned this to him? It explained the champagne and the flowers.
Rue gave him an apologetic head tilt while Monty directed the conversation to all things baking and took the pressure off Kendrick from having to answer anything more personal. It gavehim some breathing room to watch the dynamics between Lane and Monty.
What struck was how easy they were with each other and the genuine affection Lane had for the other man. Their relationship was much more than employee and boss. They were friends, too.
“Kendrick is fabulous in the kitchen too. His grandmother’s recipe for apple pie is amazing,” bragged Monty, making Kendrick fight to stop squirming in his seat with both Derick and Lane looking at him with interest.
“Better than mine?” Lane questioned Rue.
“How do I answer that?” Rue looked at Dad.
“Carefully,” said Derick.
This brought laughter, and it somehow relaxed everyone. The meals they ordered were so delicious that the conversation slowed, but the questions didn’t stop. Lane was the culprit, with an occasional one from Derick.
Understanding it came from concern made it easy to ignore the intrusiveness he’d not experienced to this level before. Love. Love between father and son, husband and husband, even employer and employee. Somehow, he fit into their mix with ease.
“Have you witnessed Rue on a stampede yet?”
“Dad, not you too,” groaned Rue, his skin decidedly pink in the flickering candlelight and lamps lighting the room.
Caught off guard, Kendrick probed, “A stampede? I haven’t seen Rue’s rhino or Monty’s otter.” He was intrigued by Derick’s assumption, not Lane’s. “Does he stampede often?”
“My darling, our boy loves a good stampede.” Lane’s expression was one of mischief as he gave Rue a cheeky wink.
“I need to see this,” Monty said as Kendrick spoke.
“He does?”
“I haven’t needed to act like that in some time,” Rue muttered, the embarrassment darkening his cheeks further.
Derick hid his mouth with his napkin, coughing—laughing.
To shift the attention, Kendrick grinned at Rue. “My bear would love to meet your rhino,” he twisted to look at Monty, “and your otter.”
His bear went from not paying attention to fully alert.
