“I told her that Toni hates small talk.” Josh grumbled. “She only stopped by to drop off a dish of her famous yams.”
“It almost upsetting that she manages to be good at so many different things,” Clara said. After the Granger campaign had won reelection, Clara had stepped down from the PR firm to work full-time on Shameless, but Toni had remained a constant in their lives.
During the battle against Black Hat, the DA had declared Josh one of the best witnesses she’d ever worked with, calling him her secret weapon to unlocking what many had called a next-to-impossible victory. On the day the guilty verdict came in against Pruitt and his empire, cementing Toni’s place in public service history, the attorney had invited Josh to train as an expert witness so he could continue to represent the interests of the adult entertainment community on behalf of her office.
He’d taken her up on the offer and continued to advocate for reform within the industry, in addition to his responsibilities for Shameless.
Naomi strolled in from the den. The smoke detector chose that moment to start wailing.
“There’s a joke on the tip of my tongue about how you two sure know how to heat up a room.” The redhead grabbed a chair and stood on it to wave a dish towel at the incessant siren. “I’m used to putting out your fires at work every day, Connecticut, but when I accepted your offer to come over for a holiday meal, I didn’t know I’d have to battle a literal blaze.”
“What can I say, when you fall in love with the hottest man in the world, you learn to accept the threat of occasional combustion.” Clara gazed adoringly at Josh until her business partner made an exaggerated retching sound.
“If you don’t can it with that mushy crap I’ll have no choice but to sleep with your brother,” Naomi said, her tone serious.
Clara gasped. “You wouldn’t try to sleep with Oliver.”
Despite the astonishing success of their website, which now had almost thirty full-time employees, the two women still loved to test each other’s boundaries.
“Oh, honey.” Naomi batted her eyelashes and dismounted the chair, having vanquished the alarm. “I wouldn’t have to try.” She sauntered back to rejoin the party.
“I’ve gotta get out there.” Clara moved to follow as her mother rushed into the kitchen.
“Your brother spilled Cabernet all over the society pages.” She held up a sheet of soggy newspaper. Red wine bled into the headline Roommates Turned Business Partners Say “I Do”: Wheaton to Wed Conners.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Josh said, winking at Clara as he moved to fetch a replacement. “We’ve got that one laminated.”
Crisis averted, Clara guided her mother back to the living room. She returned to find her fiancé fiddling with an electric lighter. “I thought I could brûlée the yams,” he said in explanation. “Give ’em a little extra pizzazz.”
“Let’s not tempt fate,” she said, removing the apparatus from his hands. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you.”
“Haven’t you ever done something stupid to impress someone you liked?” Josh wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a lingering kiss.