Except Austin would be happy with anything I chose because he was a little too supportive about my terrible fashion sense. Could the guy not have given me a picture or something?
After trying on everything in my suitcase, I’d decided on a black halter turtleneck gown that showed off my shoulders and had a slit up to my mid-thigh, but otherwise the bottom reached down to my lower calves. To make sure I wasn’t too dressy, I wrapped a wide leather belt with a stylish buckle around my waist. To complete the ensemble, I’d chosen a gold strappy sandal with a three-inch heel, a gold and diamond bracelet, matching dangly earrings, and a necklace that did not work at all.
Hence the decision to lose the necklace.
After grabbing a clutch that only had lipstick in it, I headed downstairs, ten minutes late.
“No, no!” I heard Nessa shout. “Get out of here! This is not your dinner.”
She and Austin were in the kitchen, both at the large island that took up a bit too much space.
Austin stood near the double sink by the oven—I’d never seen both of those things built into an island
—and Nessa held her hands out over a cutting board, keeping him from peering too closely at the contents.
“All I’m saying is—” he started.
“I hear what you’re saying,” she replied, “and all I’m saying is it’s not your dinner. Mind your own business.” Nessa lifted her eyebrows at him, stared a moment longer, and slowly dropped her hands to continue chopping an onion.
“You’re gonna ruin it,” Austin said, shaking his head but not wandering away. He wore a pink dress shirt tucked into slim-fitting navy slacks, ending in brown leather shoes that matched his brown leather belt. His five o’clock shadow and messy-styled hair, teamed with the fancy watch I’d gifted him, made him look modern and sophisticated, a little trendy, and a polished sort of rugged.
The man could do posh in his sleep. It was really annoying.
“And if I were making your dinner, maybe I’d be worried about what you thought.” Nessa stuck her tongue out at him.
I heard footfalls and turned to see Sebastian coming down the hall to join us.
He smiled at me. “You look really nice, Jessie.”
Austin glanced over his shoulder and then did a double take, his gaze sweeping down my body and then lingering on my face. His shoulders came around slowly, as if some other force were turning him.
“You look beautiful, baby,” he said softly, taking the few steps toward me.
“Yeah good, go bother her,” Nessa said before pointing at his back with the knife and catching my eye. “How can you stand him? He’s a know-it-all in the kitchen. It’s smothering.”
“Maybe take a lesson—you might learn something,” he replied, full of bravado. Nessa rolled her eyes.
“This is a strange setup for a kitchen.” Sebastian stood next to the windows lining the wall.
Below them was a bench seat topped with pillows and a cushion. “Is this bench seat in case the cook wants an audience or something?”
“Probably, and I’m sure he made plenty of use of it,” Nessa replied. “His head is big enough to think he’s some sort of celebrity chef.”
Austin’s grin was cocky, his demeanor uncommonly loose around them right now. “I didn’t design this house, nor did I remodel it. I decorated the interior and went with it.”
“Which is the only reason I’m saying anything.” Sebastian turned around and sat down. “I don’t even have a great view of what you’re doing, Nessa. I’d rather sit at the island.”
“Except you can’t because of how it’s positioned in the kitchen.” Austin’s gaze drifted back to Nessa’s cutting board. “The design is not well thought out, something I didn’t care about at the time. I was more interested in the size of the house.”
“No surprise there,” Nessa said, “your being a guy and all.”
“Okay, we’re going to head out.” Austin opened the pantry and grabbed out a bottle of red. He looked at the bottle, frowned, and then looked at another. Then a third.
“What is it?” I asked, debating on putting something in my clutch. It wasn’t like I’d need money or anything, though.
“Nothing.” He hefted the first bottle. “Ready?”
A wave of butterflies washed through my stomach. I was about to meet the in-laws, who had a bunch of shifter rules I was still learning. Hopefully Mimi would help me keep out of trouble.