Chapter 5 #2
“I’ve met River—he’s as sound of mind as her mother, Ivy.” Axel reached for a piece of bread. “But again, none of this matters. Only how Sawyer feels. After all, he is not going out with her parents.”
God, sometimes Axel’s sense of humor cut through the complexities in his mind.
He was right. Sawyer reached for his water glass and took a drink.
These revelations were drying up all the moisture in his mouth.
“I guess it comes down to something pretty simple…I liked her. From the first moment I saw her.”
“Then you must follow your heart, Fourth Course,” Nanine said with a pointed glance at the rest of their friends. “As must we all. However, we are here to listen to your stories, and if there are any red flags, we will uncover them together. Does that appease everyone?”
“Nanine, the peacemaker in the house,” Dean commented, lifting his wineglass in her direction. “How long has it been since you crafted a plan to make everyone feel okay about something troubling us?”
“Not long enough,” she said with a rueful chuckle, picking up her wine as well. “I seem to recall recent concerns about other romantic choices made by the people at this table.”
She was referring to Dean and Jacqueline, since Jacqueline’s family had been selling the wine cave he and his roommates wanted to procure for the restaurant. Later, they’d also been concerned about Axel and Brooke dating while working together.
“And look how all that worked out!” Thea exclaimed in her usual chipper manner.
“So Doc will be vigilant and do all that listen to your heart mumbo jumbo,” Madison summed up, a scary smile on her face, “and if Phoebe Anderson is some opportunist or excessive art stalker, we’ll take care of her.”
She and Brooke exchanged a look.
He gulped. “Really, there’s no need for talk of violence.”
Kyle chuckled. “It’s Madison’s love language, Doc.”
“My what?” she erupted. “Take that back, Kyle.”
He only grinned. “No. Bottom line, Doc, we take care of our own. Speaking of… With tomorrow being Monday, would you like me to start setting up meetings for you with the agents we shortlisted?”
“I can get back to the galleries—Phoebe included—and tell them you’re in the process of securing an agent,” Brooke added, “who will be in touch forthwith.”
He stared at his friends. They had big-time jobs, and here they were working as his executive assistants. All because he wasn’t supposed to speak to anyone directly. God, had his life changed.
“Is this part of the Operation Sawyer Thea mentioned?”
“We’re just getting started,” Dean assured him with a wink.
A Voltaire quote came to mind: It is the first law of friendship that it has to be cultivated. This help and concern was their way of cultivating him, like he was the grapes for the next vintage. “Then yes, thank you for the help. Have I mentioned you guys are the best?”
“You don’t need to say it, Sawyer,” Thea told him with a sweet smile. “We know how you feel.”
“Now that we’ve got all that worked out, let’s talk more about Operation Sawyer.” Dean rose quickly from his chair. “I have something to add to the mix.”
A few people groaned before resuming their meal. Sawyer picked at his food, knowing he should eat, but his stomach was swaying like a turbulent sea now.
When Dean returned, Sawyer couldn’t help but laugh at the two T-shirts he playfully lifted up to his chest one at a time.
“I couldn’t make up my mind which was better. The I ARTED or IMPRESSIONISTS MAKE THE BEST LOVERS.”
“I love the second,” Jacqueline said with a classic French shrug. “For obvious reasons.”
“I don’t get the Impressionist one,” Thea exclaimed, making everyone hide a smile.
“I will explain later, chérie,” Jean Luc murmured, raising her hand to his lips before saying, “The second for me. The first one is…gauche.”
“No, it’s special and funny.” Dean laughed like a little boy. “But not everyone can appreciate the humor.”
“It’s so the second.” Brooke gave Dean a playful eye roll. “A serious artist wouldn’t wear the first.”
“Why not?” Axel asked in that practical tone of his. “We are all human.”
Dean struck a pose. “The second, Doc?”
He could only nod and accept the T-shirt his friend handed to him. As far as he knew, Dean didn’t know he’d done his PhD on an Impressionist or that he particularly admired their work. Only it was Dean, and maybe he’d had one of his inklings.
“That leaves this baby.” Dean walked to the other side of the table. “Axel, I hereby give you this special T-shirt as an overdue welcome to this awesome family of ours.”
The Norwegian gave a short smile. “Thank you. I will wear it with great pride.”
“You will?” Brooke blurted.
“Yes, when I am in Norway in the forest among my trees.”
Where no one could see it.
Sawyer started laughing. “I don’t plan to wear my shirt outside the house either.”
“Why not?” Jacqueline asked with a quirk of her brow. “It would entice many women here in Paris.”
But he only wanted to entice one woman.
A Venus come to life in bold colors with a gusty laugh he hoped was everything he’d thought in that first moment along Paris’ famous bookshelves along the Seine.