She shook her head, linked her arm in his and headed for the kitchen. “We were having a perfectly pleasant conversation. Does everyone know that we have history?”
“I mean, it’s always hard to keep things from a pack, but when your pack is a grand total of twelve, it’s downright impossible.”
“Hmm, I guess. Did you talk to her? Never mind, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know your opinion yet.”
“She told me she was impressed that I was bold enough to carry off this sweater so well.”
He said it so dryly, she wasn’t sure if he was making it up or not. She stopped, examined his very nice cashmere sweater with large black and green horizontal stripes.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. She seemed to think she was being quite charming.”
“Wow.”
They entered the kitchen, and of course found the tray of yummy artichoke and spinach dip cooked into little pastry cups right where she’d left them, in plain sight, available to anyone who wanted to grab them. She slanted a look at Bill, who just smiled and picked up the tray.
“You, go talk to people,” she told Bill. “I’m going to check in with Myra.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he barked and marched the tray to the food table.
She smiled as she scanned the room, spotting her best friend talking with Jonas’ mom. Excellent, she hadn’t yet had a chance to chat with Candace. The woman gave her a warm hug when she reached the pair.
“Hello, darling.” Candace kept her hands on Cindy’s shoulders, nudging her back so she could take a good look. “How are you doing?”
Cindy sighed. “I’m fine, except for the part where people are worried about me for no good reason.”
“A very good reason. Because we love you.”
“It’s not like we’re enemies or anything. We’ve never even said a cross word to each other.”
“And that’s why no one is going to treat her badly in this house. Unless she does something now, of course,” Myra assured her.
Cindy opened her mouth to respond, but Myra apparently thought it was time to change the subject.
“The party turned out amazing, thank you for all your hard work. All of the food is delicious, but the Sriracha deviled eggs were amazing. What was that sprinkled on top of them?”
Cindy rolled her eyes but let the conversation be diverted. Besides, she was pretty happy with how the menu had turned out and wanted the feedback. “Garlic panko crumbs.”
Candace shook her head. “Those were good, but they had nothing on the crab-stuffed mushrooms. I definitely want that recipe. I know you’ll be putting it on your blog eventually, but I don’t want to wait.”
“Family never has to wait,” Cindy promised. “I’ll send you the recipe tomorrow.”
“You’re a good girl. And you have good teeth.” She leaned in close to Myra and Cindy. “I was not impressed with Brenda’s teeth.”
For a moment, Cindy could only stare. And then she remembered Candace was a dentist, and she started laughing, Myra right there with her.
“Oh, Candace, you’re the best.”
She felt Jonas with their bond, a moment before his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin came to rest on top of her head. He loved to hold her like this, she’d come to realize. And she loved it to. She leaned back into him.
“Entertaining my girl pretty well, I see. Thanks, Mom.”
“Anything for my boy.”
“I’ve been informed by three out of four of our hierarchy that you are barred from cleanup duty. They said as soon as you’re done with the party, we’re to leave and let the others handle dismantling and cleaning up. Luckily, since I helped, and I drove with you, I get to leave, too.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary.”
