Stephan looked over at Kal. “That’s a nice suit.”
“And your dress is stunning,” Riley said.
“Marilyn made it herself. She and her mother design a lot of the clothing they sell.” Sure, Marilyn might not be potential friend material for me, but I had promised to spread the word about her shop.
“Marilyn’s Closet. Judy, you and I should check it out,” Riley said.
Judy nodded. “I’m always looking for new designers. I wonder how she’d feel about working with bulletproof materials.”
My eyes widened.
Leonardo leaned toward me and said, “She’s not joking.”
Stephan raised a hand between us. “So, back to Richard. Why are you hoping to go to dinner with him?”
I shared what Kal had told me about Paul’s restaurant and how he served his late grandmother’s recipes as a way of staying close to her. “Paul told Kal he has a deep appreciation for Richard’s skills as a chef. In fact, it’s a dream of his to meet him. We thought if we could somehow get Paul to prepare one his grandmother’s recipes and have Richard taste it—”
Riley gave me a tight hug. “I love you already. That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. We need to make this happen.”
“It was Kal’s idea,” I said, hugging her back. “I just offered to help.”
Tapping her chin, Judy said, “The first thing we need to do is have Paul released from work tomorrow, so he has time to prepare the meal.”
Gavin said, “There is the small problem of Richard and his wife leaving tomorrow morning.”
“A small wrinkle that Stephan can fix. Right Stephan?” Riley looked at her brother-in-law with absolute faith in her eyes.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he promised.
I said, “We’ll have to tell Paul something, so he’ll know to make the meal.”
Kal’s arms came around me from behind and he gave the side of my head a kiss. “What did I miss so far?”
I smiled back at him. “I told them about what we’d like to do for Paul and we’re coming up with a plan for how to make it happen.”
He hugged me tighter. “You’re awesome, do you know that?”
I blushed and turned back to the group. “It can’t be too many people, but do you think some of you would like to come to the dinner with us? We could tell Paul it’s an engagement dinner that would be made even more special if it included one of his grandmother’s dishes.”
“I might cry,” Leonardo said.
“This is a good thing, Leo.” Judy shook her brother by the shoulder.
“I bet Paul cries,” Leonard added.
Riley bent to look Leonardo in the eyes. “I bet he does, but it’ll be the best kind of crying. Some tears heal.”
He smiled at that.
Stephan quickly updated Nicole on what we were planning. She brought a hand to her mouth. “I love this.” Then she glanced at Kal. “And that we’re all doing it together.”
I felt emotion roll through Kal. Later, we could talk about how the day had turned out better than he’d hoped it could, but right then I wanted him to simply savor it. In my ear, Kal whispered, “Thank you.”
I turned my head and said quietly, “It was your idea, Kal.”
“But you made it happen.”
I hugged his arms tighter around me. “We’re pretty good together.”
“We sure are.” To the group, he asked, “So how many people should we tell Paul to expect?”
Judy pointed to herself then Leonardo. “We’re in. Riley and Gavin. Nicole and Stephan. Richard and Maddy. The two of you.”
“Mom would want to come and bring Hamilton,” Riley added.
Kal interjected, “That’s twelve so far.”
“We should invite Mom and Dad,” Leonardo said.
Judy put a hand on her hip. “If Dad comes . . .”
Kal said, “It would be perfect and mean a lot to him that we thought of him. Judy, as someone who was raised without a father, I hope you never take yours for granted. Nothing is forever. Appreciate him while you have him, or one day you’ll look back and regret that you didn’t.”
Judy opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. I felt a little bad for her, but she’d been born with so much more than most had—it didn’t hurt for her to be reminded to be grateful for it.
After looking around quickly, Kal added, “And Sebastian. We need to ask him if he and his wife would like to join us. It would be nice to spend time with them before we all head home.”
“That would be a photo for the wall,” I said. When Kal glanced down at me, I added, “All five siblings.”
“And the people we love,” Kal said.
I nodded and in a soft voice repeated, “And the people we love.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kal
The next evening, Jade and I drove over to Paul’s restaurant ahead of everyone else to thank Paul for closing down for our private event. The guest list had gone from twelve to twenty, to the cap of the restaurant including the overflow of outdoor seating.
We parked in front of a place that looked like a private home in the front but had a side building as well as a large white tent attached. There were Adirondack chairs on the lawn leading up to the house which fit with the relaxed, but upscale island atmosphere.
Jade paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Do you think we’re paying for tonight?”
“Hamilton insisted on hosting.” I chuckled. “Thank God.”
We shared a smile. “I should have thought of that before I started inviting everyone.”
“How you did it was perfect.” I gave her a slow, lingering kiss, then walked with her to the entrance of the restaurant.
“I can’t believe we pulled this off,” she said.
I could. With Jade at my side nothing was impossible.
We were led inside to a dining room where square tables had been pushed together into a large rectangle each with its own white tablecloth. It was a modestly decorated room with dim lighting that lent an intimacy to it. My first impression was that it felt as if we’d been invited to a friend’s home to eat. I hoped Paul’s grandmother’s recipes were up to D’Argenson’s standards.
Paul came out to meet us. His face was flushed and sweaty, but he looked happy. “Thank you for this opportunity. I really appreciate it.”
And he didn’t even know D’Argenson was coming.
“You’re welcome. We wanted to make sure you had everything set before people arrive.”
“Because you’d work the kitchen if I was short on staff?” he joked.
“I would,” I said without missing a beat.
Jade added, “Me too.”
Paul frowned as if he wasn’t sure what to say to that. “I kept the menu limited to my grandmother’s favorite dish. Of course, I’ve added a starter course as well as salad, cheese, and desserts for later. I’m not used to serving the same main dish to everyone, though.”
“They’ll love it,” Jade assured him.
Paul nodded. “It’s the best bouillabaisse I’ve ever tasted, but I might be biased. I’m sure some of those who are coming tonight have refined palates.”