“What about your brothers? William was decent to you at the wedding. Surprised to see you there, but nice.”
Raphael looked at the ceiling. “Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing Alex. And you’re right, William wasn’t a bore at the wedding. I did plan to meet with him soon anyway.”
“What if I said that I’d like to meet and talk to your brothers? Does that sway you any?”
“Maybe.” His half smile made Francine’s heartbeat speed up. “I’ll call and see if they are free for dinner. Does that make you happy?”
“Being with you makes me happy.”
“And making nice with my family also makes you happy?”
“Yes. Not only that, but my family has welcomed me back into the fold. They even made it public. Lucy sent me a notice from yesterday’s Alpha-Prime society section. Not only am I back in the family, but they announced I’m engaged to a royal member of the Boudreaux clan from Ichor-Delta.”
Raphael’s smile widened and Francine’s knees went weak. “Good.”
“I also got a notice that my debt has been cleared. Seems my family decided not to bill me for the pricey ride back from the last wedding I attended.”
“Even better.”
“Best of all, though…” She stared at him.
“What?”
“You loved me even when I was a nobody grocery clerk from a backwater Earther colony. Then you changed my life.”
“Francine, you were never a nobody grocery clerk. Besides, you changed my life even more profoundly. You helped me save my best friend by thinking up the plan for me to make nice with my ex-fiancée to discover who the true villain was. There are not many women who are all right with that sort of sacrifice.”
Francine shrugged. “It wasn’t a chore. You clearly didn’t care about Claudia. You left your family and their fortune rather than be stuck in a loveless marriage with her.”
Raphael called William to make plans. A few hours later, they were dressed, out the door and on their way to a Boudreaux family dinner.
Raphael followed her as they were led through the upscale restaurant to a private table in the back of the large establishment. William and a younger man who looked like a Boudreaux were already seated. They both stood as she approached. Raphael introduced her to Alex, who seemed pleased to meet her.
When Alex turned to Raphael, his smile dimmed. “Brother,” he said, sounding reserved as they shook hands.
The conversation throughout dinner was polite as the three men talked about growing up together and caught each other up on their lives over the past decade. Raphael told them about some of the bounty hunter predicaments he’d gotten himself into and out of.
“…So Charlie Adler manages to grab hold of our quarry’s leg before he runs. Charlie is a big guy, too, but it didn’t even slow the guy down.
“Our bounty was from Paludion-Epsilon, where they run like the wind is continually at their backs, even faster than we can on Ichor-Delta. Poor old Charlie held tight with both arms and was dragged quite a distance through the sand, across a river gulch with no water and into the brush along the edge before I was able to catch up and shoot our bounty with a tranquillizer. Charlie didn’t stop cussing through the entire ride or after it stopped. He might still be cussing up a storm right now whenever he remembers it.”
Raphael was absolutely the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen and never more so than when he was telling stories about his bounty hunter adventures. Francine hadn’t been introduced to Charlie. Was he the bounty hunter who stole Raphael away from her the night of the party at Valene and Wyatt’s place?
Everyone was amused by the story, certainly picturing the funny scene of a big bounty hunter hanging on for dear life as he was dragged across dusty terrain.
Francine looked at Alex. While he laughed along with everyone else, she could tell he held back, trying to be polite, but not exuberantly welcoming to someone he clearly loved, if the stories the three men shared from their childhood were any indication.
Before she changed her mind and left well enough alone, she asked, “Alex, are you set to marry someone arranged for you, or do you get to select your own bride?”
Alex’s eyes widened. “At one time, I was supposed to marry Claudia. About five years ago, father squashed that idea and told me he would find someone else. To my knowledge, he never has. I’m in no hurry. I like being single.”
The two elder brothers smiled as if they well understood their youngest brother’s view of life.
“Are you married, William?” Francine asked.
“Not yet,” he said with a grin so similar to Raphael’s she was momentarily transfixed. “But the woman my father wants me to marry is very sweet, very nice and we are friends. Maybe that’s the best way to start out anyway.”
The waiter arrived to refill water glasses, take further drink orders and offer the dessert menu. Once they were alone again, Francine was compelled to discover why Alex seemed so somber. Had he been upset when Raphael left home? Could it be as simple as that? She tried to see things from his point of view and decided it was worth a question.
