Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“You’re damn right,” Will said, Matt nodding forceful agreement.
He would never tell them he’d done it because Ava had asked him. Truly, he would have done it for any of the Mavericks. But for Ava, he’d have walked through fire.
He couldn’t help looking for her. Where the hell was she now?
Rosie joined them then, the train of her beautiful wedding dress pinned up, giving the gown a bustle at the back. “I finally got Isabella down. She wanted to sleep with my veil. How she grabbed it at her age, I’ll never know.” Her eyes flashed, and they all laughed. “She should be fine for a few hours.”
“Penelope is sleeping like an angel,” Ari said of her daughter, only two weeks younger than Isabella, then she held up crossed fingers. “I hope she sleeps for a few.” Plucking a champagne flute off the tray of a passing waiter, she handed it to the bride, and they all raised their glasses. “To happily ever after. Rosie, you were always the sister of my heart, but now you’re my true sister. Family forever.”
Ransom felt the truth in those words. When the Mavericks loved, they loved big and wholeheartedly.
Rosie held up her glass. “This ranks right up there with one of the best days of my life.” Sipping rather than gulping, sadness suddenly clouded Rosie’s eyes. “The only thing that could have made it better was if Chi could be here.”
Ari echoed her sentiment. “Yeah. If only.” Then she explained, mostly for Ransom’s benefit, because everyone else probably knew, “She’s our best friend from foster care. We were the three musketeers.” Ari and Rosie bumped fists. “She’s nannying while she’s working on her degree, and right now she’s traveling with the family, taking care of the kids, so she really couldn’t come home, even for the wedding. They’re on an African safari, and it was impossible for her to get away.”
Rosie grabbed Ari’s hand. “Come on, bestie, let’s go make a video for Chi and send it off right now.” The two women dashed to get their phones.
“Well,” Matt drawled. “I guess we’re chopped liver next to making videos for the best friend.”
The three men laughed. Until Ransom’s attention was drawn away by a tap on his shoulder. Honorine had graciously agreed to help them out, especially after she’d met Ava.
He stepped away with her. “We’ve got a problem with the béarnaise,” she said in the softest of voices, as if she couldn’t bear for anyone to overhear this calamity. “There just isn’t time to redo it.” Then she groaned. “Désolée. I shouldn’t have trusted Bertrand with it. He still has a lot to learn. But there was so much to do.”
Ransom smiled, wanting to ease her frantic look. “I saw some packages of béarnaise sauce in Susan Spencer’s pantry. I’m sure she won’t mind if we use them.”
Honorine’s face turned red, and she gasped as if he’d suggested committing the foulest of crimes. “A packaged mix?”
“I’ve used it before. It tastes as good as the homemade stuff, and it’s a lot easier to make.” An arm around her shoulders, he turned Honorine in the direction of the kitchen and whispered in her ear, “No one will ever know. Chef’s secret. Sometimes store-bought is just as good as homemade.”
Honorine practically ran for the kitchen as if she couldn’t bear to listen to this blasphemy.
When he turned, Gideon and Rosie both stood before him. Obviously, the video was already winging its way to Africa.
Rosie raised her champagne flute to him. “Thank you so, so much for stepping in, Ransom.” She was a petite woman next to her new husband, with luscious curls of long dark hair falling over her shoulders. “I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
He smiled at her. “Like I said to Gideon, it was my pleasure.”
Peering through the champagne in her flute, her cocoa eyes grew troubled. “This champagne is the best I’ve ever tasted.” She licked her lips. “But I think it’s probably the whole budget.”
Gideon slung an arm over Ransom’s shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t think we can afford it.”
Ransom couldn’t let them go on. “This is what you need to know about chefs. We are among the most temperamental people in the world. I needed the perfect pairing for the food.” He smiled. “Unfortunately, the champagne you had on your list was not the perfect pairing. I had to change it.”
Gideon said softly, “But the budget.”
Ransom put a hand on each of their shoulders. “This champagne is my wedding gift to you. You don’t need to worry about the budget. I’m more than happy to do it, because really, it’s all about me.” He tapped a fist to his chest and grinned. “Now, off with you both to enjoy your guests.”
Rosie beckoned him to bend down, then she threw her arms around him, kissed his cheek, and whispered in watery words, “Thank you.”