“Hooray! You survived the onslaught,” Kevin said. She appeared to be the official greeter and hugged me as though she hadn’t seen me in months.
“Barely,” I muttered, rubbing my upper arm where some stupid photographer had slammed his camera into it. “Those guys are horrible.”
“We’ve called the police to complain, so I’m hopeful that they’ll back off.”
“Good.” I slipped my jacket off. “It’s great to see you.”
Derek took her hand in his. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“You’re an integral part of our little gang now,” she said with a smile, and stretched to plant a kiss on his cheek. She looked gorgeous in a black lace top with her hair pulled into a soft, sexy updo.
Her gaze sharpened as it slid toward Dalton. She gave him a quick up-and-down look (and who could blame her?) and asked, “Another member of our gang?”
“Ah,” Derek said. “Kevin, my brother Dalton.”
“Wow. Okay. Nice to meet you.” She gave me a wink as if to say, Great gene pool in the Stone family!
I nodded in silent agreement.
With a wave of her hand, Kevin said, “I’m waiting for a few more arrivals, so go and join the others at the bar.”
“Excellent plan,” Derek said.
As we walked away, Dalton whispered, “She has a boy’s name.”
“She does,” I said, “but she’s a girl.”
“Indeed she is,” he murmured, gazing back at Kevin.
“Her name is Kevin Moore,” I said, pulling him back to the conversation. “She was named after the Dublin street where her parents fell in love.”
“Isn’t that charming?”
We crossed the elegant room and I was happy to see that the amazing wall-length waterfall was running again. Once we got to the bar, Derek took care of introducing Dalton to the small group while I went off to look for Savannah. I found her in the hallway outside the kitchen. She was wearing her white chef’s coat.
“There you are,” I said. “Are you cooking tonight?”
“Not exactly,” Savannah said. “We all decided to cook one dish in Baxter’s honor, so I made a simple salad. Other than that, it’s mainly a carnivorous menu.”
“Yippee!” I raised my fist in the air.
“You flesh-eating heathen.”
“That’s me,” I said, grinning. “And proud of it. So, can you sit with us after the salad is served? I want you to meet Derek’s brother.”
We both smiled, recalling my phone call to her yesterday. When I’d told her that Dalton was in town and asked if he could come to dinner tonight, she’d replied, “Derek has a brother? Wow, God is great.” When I mentioned that he had three more back home, she was close to hyperventilating.
“I’m looking forward to meeting him, too,” Savannah said. “As soon as I finish plating the salads, I’ll get rid of these chef duds and come join you.”
“Good. By the way, did you ever find my earrings?”
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, as she turned to go back to the kitchen. “I asked everyone to check around, but we couldn’t find them.”
“That’s okay. Thanks for looking.” But I was bummed. My parents had given me those diamond-studded hoops for my twenty-first birthday. I had numerous pairs of earrings, but those were my only sparkly ones. I’d worn them to every dressy occasion for the past twelve years or so, which sounded a little pathetic, I guess. It was way past time I bought another pair or two to replace them. But still, that original pair was important to me. A milestone in my life and a sentimental touchstone as well.
“There you are,” Derek said. “Champagne?” He handed me the glass without waiting for an answer. As if I would ever turn down a glass of good champagne!
“Thank you,” I said, smiling up at him. Savannah wouldn’t be out for a few minutes, so I settled in to enjoy my drink.
“I don’t see why we have to wait around all night before starting the search,” Dalton grumbled.
“Shut up and drink your champagne,” Derek said genially. “We’ll have the run of the kitchen and back rooms once they’ve served dinner.”
“Fine. But pretending to be here solely for a dinner party seems ridiculous, doesn’t it?” Dalton took a reluctant sip of the very expensive champagne.
I couldn’t quite believe my ears. “You do realize these are some of the top chefs in the world, right? This might be the best dinner of your life.”
He winked at me. “I’m looking forward to it. I just like to give my brother a hard time.”
“I can appreciate that,” I said, relieved to hear him say it. I’d hate to think this wonderful food would be consumed by someone who didn’t appreciate it. Besides, there was plenty of time for cloak-and-dagger activities. Food came first in my book.
“Do we know who’s cooking tonight?” Derek asked.
“Everyone’s contributing something to the meal, but there’s probably one person in charge. Savannah said she’s doing a salad, but other than that, it’s a carnivore’s paradise.”