“Never wave at random people,” Theo said.
“Oh.But aren’t those two the men we freed from my stepbrothers’ clutches?”
Theo groaned.“Don’t remind me.”
“I did not think you had so soon forgotten.”
Will hopped off his bar chair and hugged Theo as soon as they got within reach.It was short, surprising, and over almost as soon as it had started.
“Oh, sorry!”Will’s big eyes met Theo’s.“They said you—” He looked at Cloudtree.Up at Cloudtree.And stepped closer to Theo, putting himself between him and Cloudtree.
Sage cleared his throat.“Sweetcakes, I think that one’s friendly.”
Theo nodded.“Yeah, that’s Cloudtree.He works here now.”
Cloudtree pushed out his chest, making the sequins sparkle.“I do.”
“Okay.”Will turned to Theo.“I can’t believe you didn’t text me!I always check my phone now that we text.I check it daily.You could’ve at least texted when you got back safely.”
Theo cleared his throat.“Uh.I was sort of busy.Come on, sit down.Maybe I can try making you something to drink?”
Theo threw a hopeful look at Lilo as he came back around the bar.Cloudtree sat down next to Mike, which made it so that most of the seats directly at the bar were taken.It gave the entire place the air of being busier than it was, even though there weren’t as many clients in the main room off the bar right now.It was the middle of the week, after all, and not all that late yet.
“I think you can make a gimlet if you follow my instructions,” Lilo said.“Make four, one each for your friends.Good practice.”
“Gimlet sounds fancy,” Corvin said.
Mike got that sappy look when he turned to Corvin.“Fancier than the piña coladas you want for our wedding?”
Corvin looked up at Mike from under his lashes.“I don’t know about that, Pineapple Mike.What will Carl think if he doesn’t see us embodied in cocktails?”
Lilo put a hand on his hip.“Your friends invited Carl to their party, and no one even asked me whether I can come to make drinks?”
“Um,” Corvin said.
Mike looked flustered, but his nice lawyer suit hid that pretty well.“This keeps happening to us, doesn’t it?”
Will was leaning on the bar, clearly afraid of missing what was going on.“What keeps happening?What does?”
Theo leaned over to him.“They keep having to invite people to their wedding.Carl first.Then Lord Laurette.And now apparently Lilo.”
Lilo blinked his heavily decorated eyes.“I’m offering towork.I make the best fucking cocktails in this city.”
“We’ll tell Mom?”Corvin asked, looking at Mike, who sighed.
“Do you really have to call my mother ‘Mom’?You don’t have to do everything she says just because she loves the idea of you as her son-in-law.But yeah.We’ll tell Gladys.”
“We’re going to the wedding too,” Will told Sage.
“Yeah?Well, if you don’t want any live doves, we can make you pretty paper birds.Very environmentally friendly.”
Theo wondered whether Sage owned shoes he could wear to a wedding.Flip-flops probably weren’t going to do it.He was automatically reaching for his phone to text Peter about it when he stopped himself.And started smiling.
Corvin pointed at him.“Aw!That face!Luuurve!Mike, look!”
“It’s not news to me, honey.”
Theo took a step back.“I don’t—I’m not—”
