Chapter 192: Family Dinner Again: Hannah
Neither of us were surprised when we walked into the kitchen to find Lori and Marcus chatting at the counter. However, what was surprising was that Marcus seemed engaged this time. He was chuckling, grinning, and making eyes at Lori. Lori was wide eyed, nothing but a smile, and rosy cheeks.
"Good to see you, Marcus," Roman commented as we walked into the room.
Marcus straightened his posture and crossed his arms, apparently not having noticed us enter the room until Roman spoke up. "Good to see you as well. We just came by to clarify a few details with you guys."
Roman nodded. "Care to stay for dinner? I’m sure there’s plenty."
"Sounds great," Marcus nodded.
The two of them shared a look before they walked over to the dining room table. There in the center of the table was a full spread of fish, shrimp, mussels, and scallops with fresh herbs and all the lemon and butter one man could want. It was served with roasted potatoes, sauteed kale with bacon, and fresh slices of French bread. I was almost dizzied by the sheer amount of hunger I felt in that moment.
We all sat around the table and served ourselves. I wasted no time digging in, relishing in the light yet rich taste of it all.
"What details do you need clarified?" Roman asked.
I blinked, having completely forgotten already that it was the reason they said they were there to begin with. Right. There was an investigation going on that I needed to participate in.
My eyes darted to Marcus and Ed, looking between the two of them as though I could read what was going on just from the looks on their faces. They were better than that, though; they always seemed to keep a composed and cryptic look on each of their faces.
"It’s just some minor things. Dates and times. Just to make sure they are clear and correct in your mind," Ed explained.
"Is there something to make you think the information I gave is wrong?" I asked, frowning at the idea.
"No, not at all," he assured me. "We just went over a lot yesterday and we like to always do a second interview to make sure nothing got jumbled up for you."
"Makes sense," I nodded.
"How long are you guys staying for?" Lori chimed in.
I looked over in time to see her batting her long lashes at Marcus.
"Just for dinner and the interview," Ed interjected.
"Aw, can’t stay any longer?" she asked. "I think we were all going to watch a movie after dinner. Surely you two could stay for that."
"We were?" I asked, a sly smirk coming over my face. I wasn’t surprised when I felt a little kick at my legs under the table.
"Yes, remember? That horror movie you recommended," she said, her face and tone as pleasant as ever. As if she wasn’t secretly attacking me underneath the table.
"Ah, how could I forget," I chuckled. "What was the name of it again?"
"Shouldn’t you know if you recommended it? Silly thing," she snickered at me, though her eyes had a gleaming glare to them. Lori sure could be cryptically scary when she needed to be. I wasn’t sure if I was impressed, or actually intimidated.
"Well, maybe..." Marcus began, his eyes panning over to Ed.
Ed shook his head and, based on something in the way his expression read to me, I could have sworn he was holding back the urge to roll his eyes at the two of them. "No, we cannot do that."
"Why not?" Lori asked, her face immediately morphing into a pout.
"It would not be very professional of us," Ed stated, his eyes locked onto Marcus.
Marcus let out a long sigh and looked back to Lori. "Sorry, he may not make the rules but he certainly enforces them."
"It’s okay," she chuckled. "Maybe another time." "Maybe so," he smiled.
"Maybe once this is all over? Would that be professional?" Lori asked, her eyes growing longing and soft.
"I think professional would have nothing to do with it," Marcus all but purred.
I could only blink and watch as I ate my food.
I wondered what in the hell we must have missed for the two of them to finally be on the same page like that. I supposed it didn’t matter, but I knew that it warmed my heart. I knew it wasn’t the most likely of relationships, but I certainly had enough hope in my heart that they could make it work. They would be really cute together. I could already imagine my nieces and nephews.
I giggled under my breath, telling myself not to get too far ahead. I didn’t think there was any harm in it, but still.
"So, what dates do you need clarified?" I asked Ed.
He looked over at me and I could tell from his face that he was about to suggest that it could wait until after the meal.
"If we get the interview done now, you two could hang back for a little bit to hang out and let your food settle."
I felt Lori nudging my foot and I glanced over to see her peering back at me with dewy eyes. Oh, she was such a softy.
When I turned my attention back to Ed, he looked rather exhausted by the suggestion, but nodded. He pulled out his tape recorder and fetched a notebook from the pile he had sat next to the table.
One by one, he read out the instances of me seeing the black car and asked me for the date and time. I gave them easily, though a good bit of them were only rough estimates, considering I had thought I was only paranoid at the time so didn’t think to take note of the time after each instance.
Still, it wasn’t hard, and I was glad to give the information. I wanted to be as clear and specific as possible to help aid in the investigation. My hope was that the more information they had, the quicker they could piece the case together and get it solved.
It was certainly a pipe dream, but there was still some part of me that hoped, no matter how foolish it was, that the case would clear up before the launch.
It was a long shot. In fact, it might have been the longest long shot in the history of long shots... But a girl could dream.
For the rest of the meal, after the investigation part was over, Ed, Roman, and I all made minimal small talk while Lori and Marcus flirted and chatted candidly. It was so cute I could hardly stand it. I rally hoped by the end of it all, they would find they way to be together.
Geoffrey, like the phantom he was, wafted in the room and cleared the plates before handing out dishes of tiramisu and coffee. It smelled so heavenly. It wasn’t exactly what I thought would follow a seafood meal, but it was delicious nonetheless. The cream was perfect, the cake was moist, and the espresso was present but not overbearing.
We of course then had to listen to Lori and Marcus make overly excited small talk about their favorite desserts and where they’ve enjoyed them.
At one point, I leaned into Roman and whispered, "Where we like this when we first got together?"
He smirked and shrugged. "I think we weren’t exactly fond of one another. Once we got there, though... I think so."
We shared a chuckle and a kiss. We heard an audible groan from across the table.
Looking over, I saw Ed finally unable to resist rolling his eyes.
I couldn’t help but snicker. "Sorry, Ed," I called over. I hated making him feel like the odd man out, but I would be lying if I tried to say it was wasn’t hilarious.
He waved us off and just turned his cheek, spooning more of his cake without looking.
I smirked up at Roman and he returned the expression. I couldn’t wait for the day we could go on double dates. I could only imagine just how fabulous and over-the-top they would be if Lori and Roman planned them together. Marcus and I would be along for the ride, stunned, amazed, and puppy dog eyed.
Finally, Ed stood from the table and cleared his throat. "Marcus, I think it’s about time we headed out."
I watched Marcus begin to pout and then remember it was his partner agent that was talking. He cleared his throat, fixed his expression and stood as well.
"I suppose you’re right." He nodded. "Thank all of you for your hospitality. We will be in contact soon."
"But you don’t have my number," Lori stated boldly.
Marcus grinned but fixed his expression once more. "It’ll be Mister and Misses Thaddeus we will reach out to."
"Why are you using last names?" Roman asked teasingly.
With a blush on his cheeks, Marcus excused himself and hurried out the door. Once the agents were both gone, we all shared a hearty little laugh.