"That's a good idea." Bastien entered the room. Rachel turned and offered a smile to the man. He smiled back, a tinge of surprise on his face as he took her in. "You look lovely, Rachel. Just as lovely as a blonde as you are as a redhead."
"Thank you." She blushed prettily, then moved around him and left the room, leaving Etienne to stare after her. Suave devil that he was, he hadn't said a word about her appearance. That was when Etienne realized that, for all his centuries of knowledge, he was a first-class idiot.
"Nice move there, Etienne," Bastien said, grinning. "I can see the old silver tongue is working hard."
Grunting, Etienne flopped into a chair.
Bastien merely laughed harder at his disconsolate expression. Walking over, he clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. Lucern probably has his hands full with a nervous Greg about now. We should go help him pack the groom in the car and get him to the church."
Etienne heaved himself to his feet. Following his dark-haired brother out of the room to the front door, he glanced about, hoping he might spot Rachel again and perhaps get to give her the compliment he should have--but of course she was nowhere to be seen. He'd missed his chance. And if there was one thing Etienne had learned in his three-hundred-plus years, it was that life rarely gave you second chances.
"They make a cute couple, but it isn't him she wants." Etienne stopped glaring at the dance floor where Bastien was, in his opinion, holding Rachel far too close, and turned to scowl at his cousin. Thomas had paused beside him and was watching the couple dance too. Etienne glowered at him for his trouble and turned back to watch, trying to ignore the jealousy and resentment rising within him.
The wedding had gone without a hitch. The meal was over and the reception was in full swing, yet Etienne hadn't been able to share a single word with Rachel yet. He really wanted to correct his earlier flub and tell her she looked beautiful... among other things. Unfortunately, as one of the ushers, Etienne had been forced to sit at the head table with the rest of the wedding party. Rachel had been placed at Jeanne Louise and Thomas's table. He'd felt bad about that at first, but she'd seemed to enjoy herself--at least, every time he'd looked her way Rachel had been laughing at something, so he assumed she'd had a good time. He himself had been bored to tears and impatient to rejoin her. Unfortunately, Bastien had been quicker, and had reached Rachel first. He'd immediately scooped her up and onto the dance floor--which Etienne felt was kind of a crappy thing for a brother to do.
"They're just dancing, Etienne," Thomas said. He sounded vastly amused.
He didn't appreciate Thomas poking inside his head, but then Etienne was already a bit cheesed off at his cousin. Getting to enjoy Rachel's company during the meal was one reason, but he knew his jealousy was ridiculous, so he ignored it and said, "I have a bone to pick with you, cousin."
"Uh-oh." Thomas couldn't even dim his grin. He obviously wasn't too concerned. "What have I done now?"
"Sweet Ecstasies?" he asked, scowling. "What kind of setup was that?"
"Well, it was obvious what you two needed," his cousin said unapologetically. "And it worked, didn't it?"
When Etienne remained silent, Thomas laughed and clapped him on the back. "You're welcome. I'm sure you would have managed it without the drinks eventually. You're just a little rusty, so I decided to give you a little push."
"Well, what if she hadn't wanted--"
"Not a chance, dude. I read her thoughts. Dudette was way hot for you." He shook his head. "Even I--despite being the reprobate that I am--was almost moved to blush at the thoughts she was having."
"Really?" Etienne asked.
"Oh, yeah." He grinned widely, then arched an eyebrow. "But why the flak now? You didn't say anything when I delivered the blood to your house. Is there trouble in paradise already?"
"No." Etienne glanced toward Rachel, his eyes devouring her body in its blue gown with both heat and knowledge. Then he turned to his cousin again and added, "I would have ragged you about it the day you brought the blood and we were locked out, but I wasn't really in any shape."
"No, I guess you weren't," Thomas agreed. "You were pretty drained. In more ways than one." He burst out laughing, then walked away, leaving Etienne with a scowl.
"You should cut in."
Etienne turned to find his mother, a soft smile playing about her lips. He temporarily ignored the advice and commented, "You look happy."
"I am," she agreed. "The first of my babies is married and settling down. Finally."
Etienne chuckled at the emphasis. He'd heard humans complain about their children taking forever to marry and settle down. They didn't have a clue.
"So, are you going to cut in or not?" Marguerite asked. "She wants you to."
"Does she?"
Marguerite concentrated for a moment, a smile curving her lips, then she nodded and said softly, "Oh yes, son. Rachel enjoyed dinner and is having a nice time but would definitely rather be in your arms. She'd rather dance with you. Bastien knows it too, and his ego is suffering for it. You should go save him."
Etienne let his gaze drift out to Rachel again, nodding. "Thank you." Without another word, he crossed the dance floor to the slowly moving couple.
"Brother." Bastien greeted Etienne solemnly as he reached their side, then he released Rachel, gave her a polite, courtly bow, and left the dance floor.
"Hi," Rachel said softly.