Chapter 27
Come to family dinner tonight.
Red
No.
Yes. I already told everyone you’re coming.
Red
I told Thea I’d help her get the nursery ready. Apparently she’s surprising Jules.
Perfect, I’m helping too. I’ll pick you up.
And family dinner is at Jules’ house tonight.
See you soon *kissy face emoji*
In a surprise to absolutely no one, Jules and Thea are madly in love. I’m glad they figured that out before the baby came. I’m sure there will be enough to focus on once he makes his grand entrance.
Because we are all happy for the two lovebirds, Bardot family dinner is a particularly jovial affair.
I, too, would be thrilled if it weren’t for the fact that my fiancée isn’t wearing her ring and has a goddamn scarf around her neck to cover up the hickey I left there.
“Why do you look like someone peed in your Raisin Bran?” Bex, my younger sister, is not one to mince words.
“One, I don’t eat Raisin Bran—”
“Yes you do,” Gabe pipes up.
“And two,” I continue, completely ignoring Gabe, “Why are you even here?”
Bex and Anders’ newest addition, Molly, is strapped to my sister in some confusing contraption that would take me an hour’s worth of YouTube videos to figure out, and their older daughter, Elodie, is running around causing chaos, I’m sure.
“It’s family dinner.” She says the words slowly, enunciating each syllable before pointing between the two of us and then around at the rest of the room. “We, Benoit, are a family.”
My sigh could probably move mountains. “I know that, Rebecca. But you, the giant redheaded man, and these cute little cherub babies live almost four hours away. So again, I will ask: Why are you even here?”
She shrugs and then walks away, still not answering my question.
“Something weird is going on,” I murmur to Gabe.
“Agreed.” Gabe eyes me. “You do look like someone peed in your Raisin Bran. Is it Cole? Is that why she’s here?”
“She’s here because she has an open invitation to join our family dinner any time she wants. And because she’s friends with Thea.”
“Is that all she is?” he asks, his tone knowing.
This is the hardest part about the arrangement between Cole and me.
I would happily tell the world that she’s mine—and I’m trying to do just that in any way she’ll let me—but she’s not ready.
She’s still wrapping her mind around us.
And not us in the way she’s always known, but the new us that could be if she wants it.
Before I can answer, I see Mom cornering Cole. I hand my drink to Gabe without looking at him so I can interfere before Elaine Bardot starts one of her famous lectures.
“Dear, take your scarf off! It’s unseasonably warm. I can set it by the front door!” I know Mom is trying to help, but I would be able to see Cole’s mortified expression from Mars.
“No, that’s okay, Elaine! Thank you, though. I get very… cold… indoors.” Cole’s face is flushing even redder than normal, betraying her lie to anyone with functioning retinas.
Before I have a chance to jump in and save her—and honestly I’m not moving very fast because I am mad she’s not wearing her ring—Thea pops out of nowhere.
“Cole! Come to the bathroom with me.” She rubs her belly obnoxiously as if to emphasize her next statement.
“Pregnancy means I constantly have to pee! So sorry, Elaine. I’ll bring her right back. ”
The two of them escape to the bathroom, so of course I follow. I’m not the only one, though. When I round the corner, I see Bex has ditched Molly and has her ear pressed to the bathroom door. She puts a single finger to her mouth and then slides it across her throat.
She’ll kill me if I speak. Got it.
“When did you get so scary?” I mouth. But it’s pointless because Bex has failed me by never learning how to read lips.
I lean my ear against the door, matching my mischievous little sister. Thea and Cole’s words are garbled, but I can hear it clear as day when Thea asks, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you being weird?”
“I’m not being weird.” Cole replies, and I can practically see the way her arms cross under her perfect tits and her hip juts out to the side with those four words.
“Yes,” Thea hisses, “you are! It is eighty degrees outside and you’re wearing a scarf. We were rearranging the nursery earlier and I thought you were going to pass out.”
“It’s fashionable,” Cole argues, and I have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Cole has worn the same uniform including some variation of sweaters and plaid skirts since high school. The last thing Colette Russell is worried about is what is currently considered fashionable.
I hear a gasp and a smacking noise. Bex raises her eyebrow at me as if to ask Should we intervene?
“Quit it!” Cole says at the same time Thea exclaims, “You’re burning up!”
There seems to be a bit of a struggle between the women before everything gets quiet and Thea cries out, “Is that a hickey!”
It’s not really a question, more like an observation because after one look there’s no mistaking the mark on Cole’s neck for anything other than what it is. Bex’s eyes widen as she looks back and forth between me and the closed bathroom door.
“Who gave that to you?” Thea’s tone is incredulous.
Cole answers but she’s too quiet for me to hear, but Bex smooshes her face against the door even harder in the hopes of catching the name of the perpetrator.
Except I don’t need to know who did it. I was there.
“Excuse me?” Thea’s voice is shrill. “I thought you didn’t like him! Y’all hate each other!”
Now that catches my attention. I lean in closer to hear how Cole is going to reply when Bex—fucking Bex—runs out of luck, knocking her elbow hard against the doorknob. The interior of the bathroom falls silent, and I haul ass out of there.
“Apologies ladies! Need to use the restroom when you’re finished,” I hear Bex telling whoever had the misfortune of opening the door.
Unfortunately, her follow through isn’t great because she follows Thea and Cole around the corner, earning confused looks from all three of us.
“What?” Bex asks after catching the look on my face.
“Oh! Bathroom, right…” And she turns on her heel and leaves.
Thea eyes the two of us, ultimately throwing her hands into the air. “I’m not getting involved in this! You two”—she points at Cole and me—“figure your shit out.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I salute to an answering eye roll from Cole. And then Thea leaves too, and I’m finally alone with Cole for the first time since we got here.
“Hey, Red,” I murmur, taking a step toward her. “I noticed you didn’t have your ring on. You had it on when I picked you up.”
“Of course I don’t have the ring on,” she hisses. “I put it in my purse. We are with your entire family. You don’t think one of them would have noticed? Your mom has already tried to get me out of this scarf fifteen times tonight.”
With another step, I’m close enough to run my fingers down the curve of her neck, pushing the stupid scarf down to see what she’s hiding. “You should take it off. Let them talk.” I shrug.
Cole answers with a scoff. “I would threaten to turn your neck into one giant hickey but something tells me you’d get them permanently tattooed there.”
“Damn straight I would. I already have a—”
“Dinner’s ready!” Jules calls from the kitchen, and thank fuck because I was not ready to admit what I almost let slip. Something I’ve held close to my chest for so many years. I can—I should—wait a little while longer before I play all my cards.
Cole gives me a quizzical look, seeing too much, but I catch the moment she decides to drop it, heading for the cramped dining room instead of asking questions.
We all settle around Jules and Thea’s dining table—the entire Bardot family, including Chloe and Hank.
They’ve been a welcome addition to the Bardot chaos.
Thea and Chloe especially were exactly what Jules needed—a family of his own to nurture and love.
One thing that’s always been different between me and my twin.
Jules has always desired to be a dad, to have a family of his own.
I would be exceptionally happy with one singular person to call my own.
And she happens to be sitting right across the table from me.
Dinner is excellent, per usual, and conversation flows around the table. I watch Cole more than I probably should. She’s beginning to relax around my family. I know she’s slow to trust, slow to open up, and it does something inside my chest seeing how seamlessly she fits into my world.
“You’re staring,” Bex whispers in my ear. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“So,” I say, expertly pivoting the conversation again. “Are you going to tell us why you’re here?”
“For fuck’s sake,” Bex replies. “Oops, sorry.” She looks at Chloe, who has already narrowed her eyes at Bex’s language. “We are—”
Anders cuts in before Bex can continue. “We’re moving back!
” He’s practically vibrating in his seat, biting back a smile.
They’ve been in New York City for the last several years.
I know it’s been hard on them, but I also know Bex was more than willing to support Anders as he’s been killing it on Broadway.
“Well, shit!” Gabe jumps up, matching Anders’ excitement. “Hell yeah! I’ve missed having my best friend around.” They pat each other’s back in a huge bro-hug.
“And your sister,” Bex adds. Gabe ignores her.
One look at Mom tells me she already knew Bex and Anders were moving back. She claps her hands together, exclaiming, “All my cabbages back together again!”
“Hawthorne wants me to come back as an artist in residence, and we knew we couldn’t refuse an offer to come back to Sassafras,” Anders explains.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you both.” And Jules does look happy. He’s got his arm around the back of Thea’s chair, stroking her shoulder in a way that sends a pang of longing through me. I look over at Cole, but she seems overwhelmed by everyone talking over each other and won’t meet my eye.
“Thanks, JuJu,” Bex replies. “Added bonus: the girls will get to grow up close to their new cousins.”
The entire table looks between Chloe and Thea, the latter of whom looks like she might burst into tears at any moment. The Roses are good people, and I know they’ve had a rough go of things. I hope Cole can see how easily she would also be accepted into the Bardot family—is already accepted here.
“Do you already have a house?” Gabe asks, interrupting my thoughts.
Anders is the one who answers. “Not yet. This has been in the works for a bit, but I had to figure out some stuff with Hercules, to make sure they could replace me. It was time, we did the whole New York thing and we’re ready to come home.
” He pauses to smile at his wife and their two girls.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to make it work so we’re staying at Elaine and Hugo’s until we find a place. ”
“Hell yes,” Gabe replies. “Sleepover at Mom and Dad’s!”
Mom and Dad exchange an excited look. I think they would buy land and build a compound if we would sign off on that.
Before they can respond, Bex’s phone starts ringing. “Oh! Luci is FaceTiming! I told her and Riz to call me so I could tell them the news.”
All of our eyes swing to Gabe, and I guess I’m not the only one who knows about his history with Bex’s best friend.
“I’ll just…” Bex looks apologetic as she excuses herself to take the call.
The tension in the room can be cut with a knife, so of course I do something a little bit impulsive. That’s my role in this family, isn’t it?
“I also have an announcement.” I push from the table, tapping my glass with my knife even though everyone is already staring at me.
Cole knows me a bit too well because she’s the first to respond. “No. You don’t.”
I think her glare could castrate me and I’d enjoy every fucking second. And probably thank her for it afterwards.
“On the contrary, Colette,” I grin. “I absolutely do.”
This is a risk, but so is everything I’ve done with her. Looking at Jules and Thea, I know, I know how much Cole would fit in perfectly here all the time, not just at the occasional dinner. Fit into my life all the time. She just needs a little… push.
“As many of you know, Cole recently turned thirty,” I continue. “A little over a month ago.”
“We were supposed to celebrate! Cole! You’ve been avoiding me!” Thea smacks her hands on the table in mock-outrage, but Cole has yet to look away from me.
“Birthdays are stupid,” Cole replies, answering Thea without looking toward her.
I hold back my laughter, knowing it won’t help my cause, opting to tip my glass toward her instead. “Eloquent as always, my dear,” I say to her, before turning to the table at large. “Colette and I are—”
Now Cole decides to respond. “No!” Her favorite word. She pushes back from the table, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she decided to leap right over it.
She doesn’t get a chance however because Bex bursts back into the room and exclaims, “Luci’s engaged!
Perfect. “So are we!” I add. Cole is fuming… and I’m turned on.
She has a death grip on her butter knife, and Jules, always the practical one, reaches over to dislodge it from her grip.
No one speaks. The only sound in answer to either of those proclamations is the scraping of Gabe’s chair as he storms out.
“Probably should have done that differently,” Bex winces. I’d have to agree with her but it’s too late to turn back now.
Anders, who has been Gabe’s best friend for over a decade, gives a sympathetic look to his wife. “I’ve got it, Baby Bardot. He just needs a minute.” And he follows Gabe out of the room.
Bex looks relieved for a moment before she registers what I said. “Wait, you two are also engaged?” She points between me and Cole, looking confused as hell.
“Yes!” I reply at the same time Cole says, “No.”
Her eyes narrow at me. “Benjamin. I will never marry you.”
I’m obviously fucked up because it sounds more like a challenge than a promise.
“That’s not what you said last night, Red.”
She’s irate, and that’s when it hits me, the weight of my miscalculation. Now it’s her turn to shove back from the table, storming to the doorway. Once she’s there she pauses, taking a deep breath before she turns back toward the room.
Her eyes find my Mom and Dad. “I apologize for my swift exit Mr. and Dr. Bardot. I’ll call you tomorrow—” She turns to Thea to say this and then reluctantly faces me. “And fuck you.”
Then she’s gone.
I throw back the rest of the wine in my glass. With more confidence than I feel, I say, “I love when she’s feisty,” and then I follow her out.