Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 63601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
On a regular basis.
Late afternoon meetings required lots of shrimp, evidently.
It didn’t seem like he was trying to kill her, but his newest flirtation loved one of the fancy seafood restaurants down by the port. It was far enough away that it should’ve been a safe spot, if not for Mrs. Crawford’s allergy.
And at the very least, his inability to brush his teeth after kissing his young friend.
Eyes rolled around the room except for one pair that went wide.
Oh.
I knew that look.
“Um, yes.” Annette was new enough to the industry to understand there were pieces she was missing, but she was smart and quickly put a few things together.
One plus one was coming up to three for some reason, though.
“Um, I was told Mrs. Crawford was going to be out of town for the holidays.” Something about the expression on her face said the good stuff was incoming. “I was planning on shrimp and salmon for the menu because I heard his niece was coming and she loves it.”
Oop.
That was one lawyer who was a moron.
Gregory cleared his throat, doing an admirable job of trying not to laugh as he passed a plate of scones to Annette that she hadn’t asked for. “It might be a good idea to recheck the menu.”
And the guest list.
Who’d invited his mistress?
Well, flirty new friend at the very least.
Did nieces actually kiss on the mouth?
Blinking, Annette nodded and took one more of the tiny scones. “I think confirming a few things is a good idea.”
Teddy’s eyes danced with delight but he managed to keep a mostly straight face as he nodded. “I’ve heard she has other commitments up north, though. So she might be out of town anyway.”
Oh, he knew something.
“Really?” Gregory raised one eyebrow, making a dry sound like it was only half interesting. But just the fact that he’d commented at all said he approved and was wonderfully curious.
“Yes.” Shaking his head, Teddy took a small sip of the last of his tea. “I’ve heard her husband doesn’t like how much time she’s spent lately visiting family.”
Several coughs popped up around the table, but Gregory kept his neutral expression as he nodded. “That does happen.”
He wanted to know where Teddy got the good gossip, and so did I, but we were too polite to ask in front of everyone. I’d grill him later, and then I’d let Gregory work it out of me because that was just how it was done.
But it seemed to be the last of the good gossip and plans because within minutes everyone was done and had to go back to real-world errands and less interesting things than sharing why all the treats at the bakery were overbaked.
He needed to find his ovens more interesting and his new assistant less or his business and his marriage were going to fall apart in spectacular fashion.
It took a while for everyone to help clear the table and head out, though. Handwashing china was a pain in the ass, but it had to be done and no one ever left quickly unless they had to. But with most of the holiday to-do list already done, it was just a few last-minute things that needed to be handled.
Like making sure I grabbed Teddy’s presents from Gregory.
“That was so much fun.” Teddy was having a hard time staying big once the house was finally empty and Chipmunk was ready to burst out. “I did great and Macy didn’t think it was weird.”
“Because it wasn’t.” Macy liked him a lot. She just hadn’t thought to ask him because I was the only non-staff member who’d ever attended.
“Come to our tea party, sir.”
There was no good way to have made that sound normal.
“I did great.” Bouncing around the kitchen, he didn’t seem to notice the way Gregory was trying not to smile at all the enthusiasm coming out of my boy. “I even had good…commentary.”
Gregory lost the battle with his smile again, but I laughed as I caught Chipmunk in my arms. “You did. I’m very jealous.”
“I know…” He giggled, crashing his head into me. “I know the guy who…who lives next door to her.”
Oh.
Chipmunk thought that was hilarious and it took him longer than he realized to get control of his giggles enough to finish sharing where he’d got his goodies. “She…she rents a townhouse over by the river.”
Once he got that out, Chipmunk was able to straighten and tell us the story. “His room is right next to hers and her husband yells so loud through the phone that my friend can hear it. She’s mean to the neighbors too. She doesn’t even say thank you to the man who takes care of the grounds. That’s not nice.”
Yeah, and that would’ve been enough to get the gossip going right there.
If she wasn’t even trying to look polite in public, everyone would start to wonder what she was doing in private.