"That's because they are intended to offset other team-oriented clothes. Most women don't want to dress in head-to-toe gear like a player. So I have some pieces that are very focused on team logos, and some accessories that pick up the colors or motifs in a more subtle way so that fans can be coordinated without being cartoonish."
"So when I buy Henri's jersey to wear-just to tease Gervais, of course-" she gave Adelaide a conspiratorial grin as she released the jewelry "-I can wear gorgeous black-and-gold earrings with it."
"Exactly." Sipping her icy-cold cocktail that made good use of fresh oranges and limes, Adelaide winked at her new friend. "And how can your future husband argue when the jersey has the Reynaud name on it?"
"There is a bit of competition among them. Have you noticed this?"
Adelaide nearly choked on her drink after the unexpected laugh. "I've noticed. You'd be surprised to know it was even worse when they were teenagers."
"Tell me." Erika peered over her shoulder where the brothers had sat a few minutes before. "It is safe. They are watching their games on television."
"When I first met Dempsey's brothers, I was thirteen." It was a year after he'd been living with the Reynauds and she'd been so excited that he'd invited her to his fourteenth birthday party. The day had been a disaster for many reasons, mostly because she'd realized that her friend had become someone else since leaving St. Roch Avenue. "And they knew I was Dempsey's friend, so they decided to vie for my attention."
"Because when you have a sibling, you enjoy irritating them. Trust me, I understand that part a little too well."
As an only child, Adelaide hadn't. She wished she'd understood because she'd handled the attention all wrong.
"One of them decided they should have a race to see who was fastest. On that particular day, fastest was synonymous with best."
"I would bet Gervais won because he was eldest." Erika sipped her drink, adjusting her blue-and-white sundress around her legs as she shifted to her side.
"Well, he would have, except Dempsey tripped him." She'd been so disappointed he'd cheated that she'd failed to see the significance of him needing to win for her. At least, that was what she'd decided it meant later.
"Of course he did. You were his friend." She stirred the ice in her glass with the red straw and waved over a maid who had emerged from the house to pick up the dishes from their dessert. "May we have some waters?" she asked the server, passing off her glass. "And the men are in Gervais's study. I believe he keeps brandy in there, but will you see if they need anything?"
The woman nodded before disappearing into the house.
"I didn't really understand how competitive they were at the time. I just thought it meant Dempsey had turned into a bully and I spent the party being kind to Gervais."
Erika laughed. "So he won after all." Her blue eyes sparkled. "What a clever clan we are marrying into, Adelaide." She reached to squeeze her hand. "I'm so glad I will have a new sister here."
Adelaide swallowed, her throat and eyes suddenly burning. Tricking nice people did not sit well with her. She blinked fast.
"I've never had a sister." She cleared her throat, grateful for the maid's return so she could accept a fresh glass of sparkling water with lime. "Let's not be competitive, though," she added.
"Deal." Erika clinked her water glass with Adelaide's. "Now, will you order me some of your earrings? And whatever else I need to be a stylish sports fan?"
"Of course." Flattered, Adelaide wondered if she would still want the items once her engagement was broken. "Thank you."
"But I'll need some things in blue and white, too, in addition to the Hurricanes gear."
"Blue and white?" Puzzled, she turned to see Gervais and Dempsey headed down the steps from an outdoor deck on an upper story.
"Some days I'll have to root for Jean-Pierre's team, of course. He is family." She pantomimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.
The princess was a firecracker in couture clothes. It made Adelaide happy for Gervais, who seemed as if he could use more fun in his life. But as they said their good-nights and walked back across the landscaped properties separating their homes, she couldn't help a hollow feeling in her chest.
"Thank you for spending time with my family." Dempsey slid an arm around her waist as they passed a line of Italian cypress trees and rounded a courtyard with a fountain at the center.
"You don't have to thank me. I had fun." She held her hand out as they neared the fountain so she could feel a hint of the cool spray drifting on the breeze.
"Did you?" He halted their steps on the gray cobblestones and tipped her chin up. "You look troubled."
She took comfort in his concern. "Erika was so kind to me. It feels wrong to deceive them about us." She searched his expression for clues to what he was thinking.
"An unfortunate necessity," he admitted, his handsome face revealing nothing while his hands smoothed down her back in a reassuring rub. "What do you think of Erika?"
"I like her. She's witty and sharp. I think she will liven up Gervais's world, and I bet she'll be a fabulous mother."
"That's good. He deserves to be happy." Palming the small of her back, he turned her toward his house again.
"Why? What do you think of her?" She knew Dempsey well enough to understand when he wasn't saying everything on his mind.
"I didn't get to speak with her one-on-one the way you did, but I trust your judgment. I researched her when Gervais announced the engagement, and her family-for all that she's royalty-has come close to bankruptcy in the past. So I wondered-"
"That's a horrible thought." Defensiveness surged at the insult to their lovely hostess. "And incredibly cynical."
"My grandfather taught us to be wary of fortune hunters from an early age." He kept to the cobblestone path until they reached his driveway. "Said he worked too hard building the company to have it torn apart by that kind of infighting."
"So is it safe to assume your brothers and grandfather are all reviewing my financial information this week?" She didn't like the idea of being held up to scrutiny for a fake engagement. She quickened her step as they neared the front door. "Because if a foreign princess rouses suspicion of gold digging, I can only imagine what the Reynauds think of a struggling artist from your old neighborhood."
"No one questions our relationship when we've been friends for more than half my lifetime." He circled around so he could hold the door open for her. "Every single member of my family knows you're important to me."
Some of the frustration eased out of her at the reassurance. She was important to him. But would she remain that way once she was no longer his fiancée?
A ball of panic bounced through her at the thought, but now they were inside and Dempsey's golden-brown eyes were already alight with desire as he stared down at her in the foyer.
"All through dinner, I was thinking about the moment when that door would close behind us." He crossed the polished Italian marble floor to eliminate the distance between them. "You know what else I was thinking about?"
"No." Her heartbeat did a crazy dance, and she was all too willing to let go of her doubts and worries about the future. This time with Dempsey was precious. A chance she'd been awaiting for half a lifetime.
Oh, what this man could do to her. With his hands. His sinful lips. The powerful thrust of his hips. He was better than any fantasy she'd dreamed up in the days when she'd had a crush on him.
"I was obsessed with this." Reaching behind her, he hooked a finger in the loop of the tie for her dress's halter top. "Do you have any idea how provocative it is to wear an outfit that allows a man to get you naked with a single tug on a lace?"
Her skin tightened like shrink-wrap.
"I hadn't known." Her neck tingled where his knuckles grazed it. "But now that I do, I will put the knowledge to work the next time I want you thinking about me."
Keeping his finger threaded through the loop, he didn't pull it free, but simply palmed her bare back and drew her closer.
"I'm thinking about you lately, no matter what you're wearing." He breathed the words in the hollow under her ear, right before he kissed her and then licked a trail across her most vulnerable places as he headed lower toward her shoulder.