lives outside of town,” Pallas added. “He’s a thriller writer.”
Nick stared at her. “Jasper Dembenski? Are you kidding? His books are great. I can’t put them down. He lives here?”
Silver grinned. “Uh-oh. A groupie. You leave Jasper alone. He’s asked me to be on his team twice and I don’t want you messing that up. If you fawn on him, you’ll scare him off.”
“I’m not fawning.”
“You’re practically swooning.”
Nick’s expression turned wounded. “I’m impressed by his talent. That’s all.” He leaned toward Pallas. “I need you to defend my honor here.”
“I think you’re on your own on that one.”
Mathias chuckled. Nick groaned and the server returned with their drinks.
Like Pallas, Silver had ordered hot tea. As she poured a cup, she glanced at Mathias. “Nick repairs wooden panels, so what do you do?”
“I make kitchenware out of glass.”
Silver brightened. “The ones Atsuko sells? Those plates and glasses?”
Mathias nodded.
“I have several of your pieces. I’m working on collecting a set. The ocean-colored ones. They’re beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
Pallas listened to the conversation. So far neither man showed any signs of falling for Silver’s considerable charms. Were they immune? She hadn’t realized that was possible. On the bright side, maybe it meant a shot at more of Nick’s kisses, and wouldn’t that be nice?
“I wish I had some talent like that,” Silver said. “To be able to create something out of just an idea.”
“Me, too.” Pallas shook her head. “I can draw stick figures, but that’s about it.”
“You create weddings,” her friend pointed out. “I’m just a bartender.”
“You’re not,” Pallas reminded her. She turned to Nick. “Silver owns a tavern.”
Silver rolled her eyes. “I own a fifth wheel that’s been converted into a bar. I take it to weddings and other events in town. I like it. I get to meet a lot of interesting people.”
“Sounds like fun,” Mathias said.
“It is. And honest work, even if it’s not classy enough for some people.”
The brothers exchanged a look of confusion. Pallas recognized the potential danger and quickly changed the subject.
“Nick and Mathias are from a small town north of here. What was it called?”
“Fool’s Gold,” Nick said.
“The town has California’s longest serving mayor,” Mathias added. “Mayor Marsha Tilson. She’s a strange old lady who knows things she shouldn’t. We can’t figure out if she has friends at the NSA or God on speed dial.”
“Equally scary options,” Pallas murmured, glancing at Silver.
Her friend raised her eyebrows as if asking what was wrong. They both knew the answer. Silver had been about to go off on Drew—Pallas’s cousin and heir apparent to run the family bank. Back in high school, Drew and Silver had been an item. More than that—they’d been in love. But after graduating, Drew had broken up with her, saying he needed someone who ran in his social circle.
Pallas had never been sure of the exact phrasing but the message had been clear. He’d dumped Silver and had taken up with a sorority girl at his college. Ten years later, there was still bad blood between them.
The servers started passing out games. Pallas laughed when she saw the first one. “Hungry Hungry Hippos is one of my favorites,” she said happily. “I love this one.”
“Is it actually a board game?” Nick asked.
“If there’s a board somewhere, it counts,” Silver told him. “Watch out for her,” she said, pointing at Pallas. “She’s cutthroat when it comes to collecting marbles. There is no mercy in that one.”
Pallas stuck out her tongue, then turned the board so she had her favorite blue hippo in front of her. She stretched her arms, flexed her fingers a few times, then waited for the signal to begin.
Nick looked at his brother. “I think we’re in trouble.”
“Me, too.”
* * *
“HOW DO YOU feel about playing a courtier?”
Nick looked up from the panel he’d been sanding. Alan stood in the doorway to the workroom.
“Welcome back,” Nick said. “When did you get into town?”
“This morning. I’m here for the wedding tomorrow. So, are you up for it?”
“What do I have to do? More bride carrying?”
“No. This is a princess wedding. The bride rides in a coach. It’s glass, but not pumpkin shaped. We are a nonspecific princess kind of place. It’s very democratic.”
Nick tried to make sense of the information. “So this is the black-and-white wedding?” Somehow he’d thought it wasn’t for a few weeks. Had Pallas had time to get all the server costumes modified?
Alan shook his head. “Silly man. That’s a regular princess wedding. This is a Regency princess wedding. They’re totally different.”
“They don’t sound that different.”
“The Regency era is a specific period in history. Do you remember Pride and Prejudice? There have been maybe fifty different movie versions. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy?”
Nick thought a girlfriend or two may have made him watch something about that couple. “Maybe.”
Alan sighed. “Despite your lack of knowledge, the Regency wedding requires specific dress and music and food. The princess wedding is much more ‘I am a princess and I wear a poufy dress.’”
Nick shrugged. “Whatever.”
Alan stepped closer. “Fine. Let me put it in terms your artist brain can understand. Turquoise and cobalt are hardly the same color yet they can both be called blue. It’s like that.”
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place? That makes sense. So what do you want from me?”
“To wear stockings and knee breeches and a floppy hat.”
Nick put down his sandpaper. “You’re kidding.”
Alan smiled. “Do I look like I’m kidding? The J’s have a tournament. Football, I think.”
“Basketball,”
