Night Play(88)

"Titus," he said, holding it down for the dog.

Titus ran to get it.

Bride sat down beside Vane. "So Patrick, where's Maggie?"

"Over at her parents'. I'm going over there after I eat here. Since we're sleeping here, she wanted to make sure her mother didn't get jealous."

"Maggie is Patrick's wife," Joyce explained to Vane. "She's going to make me a grandmother in the springtime."

"Congratulations," Vane said to Patrick.

"Yeah, we'll see. I'm scared as hell. Personally, I don't think I'm ready to be someone's parent."

"Yeah," Bride said with a laugh. "You might have to share your toys."

Patrick grimaced at her before he launched a pea over the table at her head. Vane caught it before it made contact, then zipped it right back at Patrick. It hit him straight between the eyes.

Bride howled with laughter.

"Children!" Joyce snapped. "You behave or I'll make you eat in the corner."

"Nice reflexes, bud," Patrick said, wiping his brow good-naturedly. "I think we should recruit you for the team."

"I don't think so, Pat," Bride said. "I somehow think Vane would balk at wearing a shirt that says 'Snip It and Clip It If You Love It' on his back. He's kind of sensitive about dog neutering."

Vane arched a brow at that, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Her father laughed hard. "I can appreciate his point of view. Not many men want to play for the Castrators. But we have a lot of female vets who strangely do."

"Ah, we'll work on him," Patrick said. "With those reflexes, we could definitely use him."

Vane noticed the look of sadness on Deirdre's face, but she didn't say anything as she sat there and put her napkin in her lap.

Bride's father said the blessing and then stood up to carve the turkey while her mother began passing the side dishes.

Vane held the bowls while Bride served both him and herself.

"Is there anything you don't like?" Bride asked him.

"Not really."

She smiled at that. "You're so easy."

He impulsively kissed her cheek, until he realized that her family was staring at them. "I'm sorry," he said, afraid he'd done something wrong.

"Don't be," Joyce said. "I'm just glad to see my baby smiling for once."

Vane passed the mashed potatoes across Bride to Fury, who stared at them with a fierce frown. "What are these?" he asked.

"Potatoes," Vane told him.

"What did they do to them?"

"Just eat them, Fury," Vane said. "You'll like them, trust me."

Patrick snorted. "Where are you from that you've never seen mashed potatoes before?"

"Mars," Fury said as he frowned at the way the potatoes clung to the spoon.

He only took a little, then passed them over to Paul. Fury leaned forward a bit and sniffed at the potatoes in a very canine manner.

Bride felt Vane's leg reach over hers to kick at Fury's chair under the table.

Fury snapped upright and looked at Vane, who was giving him a warning stare.

"Really, where are you from?" Deirdre asked again. "Did you guys grow up here?"

"No," Vane answered. "We traveled a lot growing up. We've lived just about everywhere."

Her sister gave him a gimlet stare. "What brings you to New Orleans?"

"Deirdre," Bride said. "Since when is this the Inquisition?"

"Since Mom said you were serious about him. I think we ought to know something more about your new boyfriend than the fact that he looks good in a pair of jeans."

"Deirdre," Paul said in a low but stern tone. "Don't make Bride and Vane pay for the crimes of Josh."

"Fine," Deirdre snapped angrily. "But when he runs off with his secretary and leaves her alone to explain to her kids why Daddy's a jerk, I hope you remember this." She got up and left the room.

"I'm sorry," Joyce said, rising. "Y'all go ahead and eat. I'll be back in a minute."

"Deirdre's husband left her a few months ago," Bride explained to Vane. "Her kids are with him for the holiday and Deirdre's having a hard time with it."

"Why would a hum…" Fury stretched the syllable out in a way that let Bride know he was about to say "human." "Humongous jackass do that?" he said, finishing it off.

"I don't know why some men do what they do," Paul said. "I figure though that it's good riddance to bad rubbish."

"I agree," Bride said, looking at Vane, who was playing with her thigh under the table and making her extremely hot. His touch was electrifying.

Joyce returned to get Deirdre's plate, then left the room again.

Paul sighed. "I wish I could make it better for her. There's nothing worse than seeing one of your children in pain and not being able to stop it."