Lori

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I planned to break the news to my brothers as soon as possible the next evening, because three of our Bennett cousins were also joining us, and I wanted to have the talk before they arrived.

Milo saved me the trouble. While Val told us the burgers were almost done, my son informed everyone how delicious Graham's fries and burgers had been. I supposed I should have considered myself lucky he didn't spill the beans to Will at the school event.

For a split second, you could hear a pin drop in my sister's dining room. Then Jace said, "Graham, as in Graham Frazier?"

"Your boss," Milo confirmed before I could even open my mouth.

"Sweetie, why don't you go wash your hands? They're dirty from playing outside," I said.

"But Uncle Jace and Will played too," Milo protested. For some reason, he considered washing hands a tragedy.

"They'll be washing their hands too," Val assured him. "After you."

"Told you," Will told Jace once my son was out of earshot. "She had that look last week, and on Wednesday."

"What look?"

"I believe you usually call it gooey eyes," Will said, with a fake shudder on the last two words.

"We're your brothers, not your next door neighbors," Jace informed me. "We can read through the lines. Damn, Will. All the responsibility is on you and Landon. I can't deck him... technically. But if he messes up, I'll forget he's my boss."

Landon shook his head. "Leave me out of your plans."

Will clapped a hand on Jace's shoulder. "Don't worry; I have your back. Have the police force on my side. I can think of worse things than speeding tickets if he messes with Lori and Milo."

I glanced at my sisters. "Help. How do we make them stop?"

Val shook her head. "No point. Let them get those brotherly instincts out of their system."

Landon nodded, and Maddie snickered. She and Landon might be married, but she still wasn't used to the madness that could be Friday night dinners.

"Can you look him up in your database or something?" Jace asked Will. "Check if he has any skeletons?"

Will seemed to seriously consider it, so I put my foot down.

"No, no he cannot," I said loudly. "Really, Will. You can't abuse the system just because you're on the police force. You're not supposed to use the resources for your personal issues." 

"You know me. I like to break the rules for a good cause."

The conversation changed course when Milo returned. 

After dinner, I pulled Jace to the side. "I know Graham is your boss."

"He's my boss only in a manner of speaking. Honestly, I see the coach as my boss, not Graham. As long as I keep performing on the field, everything is fine. This isn't bothering me. I hope he treats you right."

"He does."

"Good."

"You'll be civil when I bring him over to dinner next Friday, right?"

Jace grinned. "Civil is my middle name."

Our Bennett cousins arrived shortly afterward, and we tabled the discussion. When Sebastian, Logan, and Blake stepped inside my sister’s house, I kissed their cheeks and gave them a hug too, for good measure.

“Well, hello there, dearest Bennetts,” Val said. As we all sat at the dining room table, she went on, “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“We’re changing the distributor in this area,” Sebastian explained. He was the CEO of Bennett Enterprises, and Logan the CFO. 

“Always good to meet them in person,” Logan added.

“I just tagged along to annoy them.” Blake leaned back in his chair, wiggling his eyebrows. Then he added, “Kidding. Alice and I want to franchise the restaurant business, and we had some interest here in LA.”

“Impressive,” I remarked. Blake and his sister Alice owned several locations in San Francisco.

Hailey parked a hand on her hip, tapping her foot. “So no one came just to visit us?”

Val waved her hand. “Never mind, we’ll pretend you did. So, what’s new in the family? Anyone popping out more babies? It’s baby factory over there in Bennettland.”

“Nadine is pregnant,” Logan announced, referring to his wife. For some reason, he looked very, very smug. Hmm... interesting. All the men in their family had some mighty great egos, but I knew there was something more to Logan’s smile. Sebastian shook his head, smiling, and Blake was semiglaring at Logan.

It took me a second to understand what was going on as I recalled a funny conversation from Landon’s wedding.

“That’s right. You two were in competition with each other for who’d have a second kid first,” I said.

Logan’s smile turned, if possible, even smugger.

“Well, Blake. Looks like you lost,” I continued, trying to contain my laughter.

Blake didn’t seem fazed. “Clara and I aren’t in a hurry. And Logan already lost the competition with Sebastian. He just chose an easy prey to compete with.” Oh, yeah. The game was on. Now Blake was smug and Logan was glaring. 

“I’m still in the competition,” Sebastian declared.

I cleared my throat. “I remember Ava saying she was happy to stop at four.”

Sebastian’s lips twitched in amusement. “But my convincing prowess is unmatched.”

Everyone laughed at that, and we chit-chatted about the entire family while we ate.

“Oh, by the way, Pippa has her eyes on you two.” Blake pointed between Jace and Will.

“I knew it,” I exclaimed. Their sister Pippa was an excellent matchmaker.

Will chuckled, turning to Jace. “We kind of got the gist of that at Landon’s wedding. Nothing came out of her matchmaking attempts.”

“Have you met Pippa? Failure doesn’t discourage her. If anything, she’ll try harder,” Sebastian explained.

Will blinked. Jace ran a hand through his hair, looking somewhere between alarmed and amused. Closer to alarmed. 

“We should give Pippa pointers,” Hailey said conversationally.

Val nodded. “You’re right. That would improve her chances of success.”

Will turned to the girls. “You’re not supposed to be on Pippa’s side.”

“She’s family,” Hailey protested.

“So what are Jace and I? Doormen?” Will gave our baby sister his most impressive I’m-a-detective stare. As usual, it achieved nothing.

“If it helps, I think Will’s the next victim,” Blake went on.

Jace fist-bumped the air. “Excellent news.”

Will glared at him, and Jace had the grace to turn his shit-eating grin into an apologetic smirk.

“Sorry, buddy, but better you than me.”

“I need backup here, not to be stabbed in the back.”

Jace seemed to consider this. “Yeah, but if I do that, then I’ll go down with you too.”

“I always look out for both of us,” Will insisted.

“These are just my self-preservation skills at work. As a cop, you should be proud.”

Will remained dangerously silent. I could practically hear the wheels spinning in his mind. Oh, yeah. He was plotting his revenge, but it would take a while. That was okay. Brotherly revenge was best served after one put a lot of time and consideration in it.

“So, how come Pippa doesn’t have her eyes on Val and Hailey? They’re single,” Will said.

Val explained that Pippa had said she’d done her best work on her brothers.

“I’d like to point out that I didn’t need much help,” Blake said. “I knew a good thing when I saw it right off the bat, as opposed to these two.” He threw his thumb in Logan and Sebastian’s direction.

“So, basically, Will is toast.” Jace was gloating a little too much.

Will surprised everyone by replying, “Well, she can have a go at it. I’m not opposed to a relationship, just haven’t found the right person.”

Well, damn. Honesty worked better than revenge.

Jace jerked his head back. “Are you telling me I’m about to lose my best wingman soon?”

“I’m sure your teammates can pick up the slack.”

“Yeah, but as I said. You’re the best.” 

It was time I added gasoline to the fire.

“Pippa and I should go into business. A joint venture of sorts. She match makes, I organize the wedding. She sells the couple engagement and wedding rings. It all comes full circle.”

Hailey chuckled. Val was laughing openly, and Will’s smile was even smugger than Logan’s had been earlier. Jace was glaring at me.

I loved Friday dinners.

***

The next Friday, I was on pins and needles as Milo, Graham, and I arrived at Val's house, but I seemed to be the only nervous one. Milo and Graham were chatting about the dribbling video they’d watched when Graham was at our house. He’d joined us on some evenings, though he hadn’t stayed overnight yet.  

All my siblings were already there and we got introductions out of the way fairly quickly.

"Graham, I hope you like casserole." Val threw her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the kitchen.

"I eat anything. Lori said you're an excellent cook."

Val was already succumbing to Graham's charm. "It's going to take another twenty minutes for it to be ready."

"Girls, how about some wine before?" Will asked, dangling a bottle of Merlot in front of us.

"Yes," Hailey, Val, and I said in unison.

Landon set a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Sparkling water for you?"

Maddie sighed, rubbing her baby bump. I couldn't wait for the baby to be born. The girls and I sat on Val's couch while Will poured us wine. Then he joined the guys. The lot of them, Milo included, started setting the table. To my astonishment, Graham joined them.

"Graham, you're a guest," I said loudly. "Come here and relax."

"I'm glad to do my part in earning my dinner."

"I like him," Hailey whispered.

"Me too," Maddie said in a barely audible tone.

"I'm joining the fan club, but why are we whispering?" Val added.

Will cleared his throat. "Girls, are you just going to sit there, drink wine, and gossip the entire time?"

Hailey swirled her wineglass before raising it to her lips. "Yep. Excellent plan, wouldn't you say?"

"Think twice before you disagree, or I won't be feeding you," Val warned. That shut Will up. Jace, who'd opened his mouth, closed it. No one wanted to miss out on Val's casserole. Hailey and I would clean up after dinner. We had a mutual understanding: since Val insisted on cooking, the rest of us took turns setting the table and cleaning up.

Graham joked with my brothers, fitting in. Milo usually followed around one of my brothers, but tonight, he was glued to Graham's side. My boy was falling hard for him. I'd explained in kid's terms that Graham and I were dating, and his first question had been, "So we'll eat burgers and fries again?" I took it as a good omen.

"Earth to Lori!" Hailey waved her hand in front of me.

"Sorry, I drifted off. You were saying?"

"The event company my agency works with doesn't have time to take on a birthday party one of our clients wants to throw in three weeks on Thursday. I suggested your planning services. I know I should have asked before, but it was a spur of the moment thing. Are you interested?" When she mentioned the name of the client, my jaw dropped. He was a huge movie star.

"A Hollywood event? Wow. Of course I'm interested. We have other events that day, but my assistants can take care of them by themselves." I had full confidence in Molly, Valery, and Rose. This would be my first Hollywood event.

"Perfect. We'll coordinate our schedules and have a first meeting next week."

"Thanks!"

"By the way, the guy is as sexy in real life as he is on screen. Here, I've got some snapshots."

We gathered around her, peeking at her phone.

"Definitely sexy material here," I agreed. From somewhere in front of us came a low sound, like a growl. Graham was standing in front of us, feet apart, one brow cocked, bottle of wine in his hand. He'd clearly come to refill our glasses. 

"Who's sexy?" he demanded.

"A movie star," I responded, at the same time Hailey said, "Her next potential client."

"He's got nothing on you though," I added quickly, trying to assess that glint in his eyes. Naughty for sure... but also feral. I felt delicious tingles everywhere.

"We'll talk about that later." His voice sounded a little rough, like he was trying to disguise yet another growl. Oh la la. I foresaw some sexy activities in the very near future. 

After pouring us wine, Graham returned to the guys.

Val blew out a breath. "On a heat level from one to ten, I assume bedroom gymnastics are somewhere at twenty?"

Ah, I could have mercy on Val, but where would be the fun in that? I might not feel comfortable sharing sexy details with her, but I could definitely confirm her question. Hailey and Maddie were looking at me with equal enthusiasm.

I nodded once, rubbing my hands together wickedly and wiggling my eyebrows. They got the message. Nonverbal communication was second nature in the Connor household, what with a seven-year-old running around. Plus, certain conversations were not meant to be carried out loud when the room was so full of testosterone.

I observed Graham over the rim of my glass, drinking him in. He was wearing a white polo shirt that stretched over his muscular torso. The sleeves cut right into his mouth-watering biceps. His abs weren't visible, even though the shirt fit him snugly, but I knew they were there, mine to explore later.

Val's casserole was delicious. She made it from one of Dad's old recipes, and it included peas and garlic, as well as caramelized onions. The vapors wafting around the dining table were enough to make one salivate.

After dinner, Hailey and I cleared the table. While we were loading the dishwasher, she asked me about Jeff. Val had filled her in about his semi-threatening e-mail. After I replied to Jeff’s e-mail, I’d expected him to explain his request. Instead, he simply said he wanted to meet when he’d be in town in a couple of weeks, because he preferred to talk face-to-face.

"He’s got some nerve," Hailey said.

"Who's got some nerve?" Graham's voice came from behind us, startling us. He was carrying some glasses, which Hailey stacked in the dishwasher. 

"Milo's father," I whispered. 

"You're in contact with him?"

"Not exactly. He e-mailed me. I ignored him at first, but he kept insisting, so I replied. He says he wants to meet in a few weeks when he’ll be in LA.”

"Don’t worry, sis. We have your back,” Hailey said. Graham drew his brows together. He looked... mad. My insides churned. Why was he mad?