“Are we going to go home now?” Ellis asked. “I ordered all the ingredients you need to cook.”
“She’s not going to cook for you,” I admonished my little brothers. A part of me was still worried that Sadie was going to disappear again.
“I have to cook for the party tonight!” she exclaimed. “Nothing like homemade biscuits to show you really care. We have Hazel catering, but I also like a personal touch. You don’t mind us cooking in your house, do you, Parker?”
“As long as you don’t mind my brothers in your business.”
“They’re my sous-chefs; they’re going to help,” Sadie said, ruffling Ellis’s hair.
* * *
My little brotherscrowded around us when we arrived at the estate house.
As I watched Sadie put on an apron and direct my brothers into cooking, I was reminded again that not having Sadie in my life as much as possible was not going to be an acceptable solution for me. I needed to convince her to move in with me. Then we would be one step closer to marriage, my ultimate goal.
However, I had to survive cooking first. We were in the kitchen for several hours. I stirred sausage gravy while Sadie ran around making sure my brothers were forming the sausage patties into the correct size, battering the chicken properly, and not overworking the biscuits. While I stirred the huge vats, I plotted my speech, pausing only to chide Ellis when he ate a piece of bacon.
“You have to sample while you cook,” Sadie said.
“Yes, but if everyone samples,” I said, gesturing to the horde, “there won’t be anything left.”
“I think we have more than enough,” she said, pointing to the hundreds of biscuits. There were plain ones for the gravy, and other piles of neatly assembled biscuit sandwiches, all neatly labeled.
“We’re going to be late,” she called, herding my brothers out of the kitchen.
“Are we invited to the party?” Billy asked.
“Everyone is invited, but you two will be working,” I informed them.
“You can still have biscuits!” Sadie said with a wink.
70
Sadie
The space looked magical when I trooped in with the Svensson brothers. Tall high-boy tables with tea candles made it cozy. The long, sheer white drapes hung from the tall ceilings, defining the space. Hazel was already set up with food and drinks. Ellis and Billy went to lay out the spread we’d made.
Several people had brought their dogs. I had brought Bob the goat.
“Should we have all these animals here?” Parker asked.
“Why not? The building’s going to have work done,” I said. “And this is one of those fun, quirky small-town things.”
“Honestly, the dogs are probably better trained than our brothers,” Garrett said dryly. He was there already with Penny. She had a photographer and a videographer from theVanity Ragwith her to do press pieces on the event.
“We have to have the dogs!” she said, making notes for the article she was going to write later. “Cute dogs get clicks. Everyone loves a corgi, especially a chunky one!” She gestured to Puff, and he waddled over to greet us.
Jasmine hurried after him. “Don’t give him any snacks,” my friend said.
“Pose for a picture!” Penny said, picking up Puff and handing him to Jasmine. “I need viral content! Parker, you and Sadie pose with the goat.”
“Can we name him something other than Bob if he’s staying?” Parker asked as Penny arranged us.
“Totally! We should name him Maximus the Third, King of the Goats.”
“Actually, I think I’m fine with Bob,” Parker said after a moment.
“Now take a picture of Parker and Puff,” I told Penny, trying to grab the dog before he wandered off. “Nothing better for PR than pictures of hot guys with cute dogs!”
