The Perfect Ingredient (Dare Valley) Read Online Free PDF Page B

too much.” He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “But I have a surprise for you, Janey, and I’ve been bursting with excitement to share it.”
    Rhett’s surprises could be wonderfully sweet or outrageously flamboyant. She and Jane shared a look.
    “What is it?” her friend asked cautiously.
    “I’m throwing your boy a private party at The Grand on election night to celebrate his impending win. It’ll be fun. Plus, I want to make the competition pea green with envy.”
    “Rhett,” Jane said softly. “That’s really sweet. But Matt and I were going to spend election night with his family—”
    “And what are we?” he asked, gesturing to Elizabeth and himself. “Chopped liver?”
    “Of course not,” Jane protested, and Elizabeth could feel the growing pains of their little trio adjusting to new circumstances.
    Margie brought over a steaming cup of coffee and an omelet dotted with hot sauce and took the credit card Rhett handed her. “Thanks, darlin’.” Turning back to Jane, he said, “All the Hales can come on up to Mac’s hotel, and anyone else you want to invite. I’ve arranged it with Mac so the restaurant will be closed for the night, and Terrance is going to cook up a feast. That boy sure knows how to cook, no offense to Brian.”
    Rhett had always loved to throw parties. Heck, that’s how Elizabeth had met Terrance in the first place.
    “What do you say, Jane? Let me do this for you two. Everyone will have a ball, I promise.”
    Jane fished out her phone. “Okay, let me call Matt.”
    When she stood and headed over to a corner for some privacy, Elizabeth almost rolled her eyes. She missed making impulsive plans with her friend.
    Rhett dug into his omelet and made a humming noise with the first bite. “Checking in. Compromise. She’s not married yet, but it’s already beginning. I hope Young Matthew accepts my gift.”
    “You’re only calling him that because he punched you in the face.”
    Rhett sighed. “Probably, but he had his reasons, which is why I didn’t punch him back. It was hard on him, learning about Jane being Raven, but he’s surprised me. No one could have stepped up to the plate better. They make a good pair.”
    Elizabeth thought so too, even though it was changing her friendship with Jane. “That they do.”
    “So how you handling Terrance being in town?” Rhett asked, taking a sip of his coffee, his poker face in full force now.
    His directness rendered her speechless for a moment, and she fussed with the napkin in her lap to give her time to muster some impassivity of her own. “You knew?”
    Not wanting to cause friction between Rhett and Terrance in case things went sour, she’d never breathed a word about their relationship.
    He snorted. “Please. I was afraid I’d have to hose you two off at a couple of the parties I had in my suite.”
    “But we never kissed in front—”
    “Honey, you didn’t have to. You smoldered around each other like a gator being cooked up at an LSU tailgate.”
    Dear God. Now that was an image.
    Rhett chewed, moaned a little more, and then took a drink of his coffee. “Rye has to try this omelet the next time he comes to Dare. I swear, that boy is going to think he’s died and gone to heaven. It’s as light and fluffy as a feather.”
    Their dear friend, country singer Rye Crenshaw, loved food more than anyone they’d ever met. It was no accident he was marrying his private chef in a few weeks.
    “You’re acting like a mother hen.”
    Rhett held out his knife. “Why don’t you just castrate me right here and now? A hen? I’m the biggest rooster in this joint.”
    At least he hadn’t said cock. Pushing the knife aside, she laughed. “That blade is way too dull. And as for Terrance, you have nothing to worry about.”
    “We’ll see,” he mused as Jane returned.
    Elizabeth didn’t like the prophetic tone in his voice. Everything would be fine. Especially if Terrance agreed to wear a paper sack over his head in