Page 11 of A Goddess Unraveled (Olympus Rising)

After the epic round of croquet, the wind picked up significantly, destroying hairstyles and making it difficult for other guests to play a proper game. Dinner service had to be brought indoors, which Chef Lorraine and her team easily adapted to. They’d prepared two free-range turkeys and a cornucopia of veggies, making the table look like it was fit for the gods.

Lexi had been floating on cloud nine ever since the kiss, and her win on the lawn had put a permanent smile on her face. So she didn’t mind when her dad seated her next to James from Yorkshire, a boy she had barely spoken to. Luke claimed the seat opposite her, which gave her some reassurance. He had gone quiet after his congratulatory handshake, and she suspected he needed time to heal his ego before he would be ready to talk again. As she and Luke exchanged smiles behind their water goblets, James made his move.

“You were brilliant on the croquet court today, Lexi.” His British accent triggered a memory of a bartender she’d spoken to at a London pub, before her father had rudely interrupted them.

“Thank you. Do you play?”

“I haven’t played enough to get where you are, but I enjoy the strategy of it. It’s not unlike backgammon in that way. Do you play backgammon?”

“My brother and I used to play a lot before he started working for the man. I take it you prefer backgammon to croquet?”

“Guilty as charged. I grew up playing with my brother, same as you. Now I play with my mates at Oxford.”

“Oxford University? I wanted to apply there. But it wasn’t in the cards.” She glanced down the table at her parents and uncle Z—the reasons she didn’t go to Oxford. They were the ones who held all of Lexi’s cards.

“Can I interest you in a game after tea?” James asked.

Lexi didn’t need to be told he meant dinner as she considered his offer. Three challenges in one day had to be a record for her. “Sure, why not? I appear to be on a roll today.”

“Let’s hope the dice rolls in your favor.” James raised his glass to toast her, and his smile came across more genuinely than she’d expected.

His easy humor caused Lexi to grin back, and she gave the boy a more thorough inspection. She’d already noticed that James was on the taller side, with dark-blond hair that hung loose over his forehead without the aid of sticky products, and his brown eyes held a gleam of intelligent curiosity. A fine specimen by anyone’s measure. It was a credit to Luke’s overwhelming sex appeal that Lexi had dismissed James from Yorkshire.

As dinner was served, Lexi decided to give him another opportunity to prove he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, and he managed to impress her with his knowledge on the sociology of gameplay, a subject she’d researched in college. She nearly forgot about the rest of the table until the toe of Nora’s shoe made contact with her leg, and Nora offered a subtle chin jut toward Luke.

His eyes were narrowed on James, and he was stabbing his turkey breast mercilessly. Did Luke consider the Oxford boy with the British accent to be a threat? Lexi’s diplomatic side decided to swoop in and try to smooth things over.

“You should sample Chef Lorraine’s gravy, Luke. She uses buttermilk to thicken it. C’est magnifique .” She pushed the gravy boat across the table, directing Luke’s focus away from mutilating his dinner. Somehow, he made it look casual.

“Thank you. Your chef is a credit to her profession. I’ll extend my compliments after the meal.”

He accepted her offer, and the exchange diverted Lexi’s attention to their fingers as they met on the gravy boat. It was embarrassing how her hormones pulled her under like a riptide at such a simple touch.

Dessert arrived, a divine watermelon and strawberry sorbet served with lemon wafers, after which the guests were invited to enjoy cocktails at the bar. Luke hung back, waiting to pull out Lexi’s chair.

“I was hoping you could introduce me to Chef Lorraine,” he said. “I’d like to give her my compliments.”

“Lexi, let’s set up the backgammon board before all the good seats are taken.” James made his own request as if Luke’s comment didn’t register.

It seemed diplomacy would be needed again, and Lexi did her best to assess the urgency of their expressions. She couldn’t deny that she’d been a beast to all the boys since the weekend started, and she ought to be civil to at least one of them. James had earned points just by making it through dinner without annoying her, but she also wanted to nurse Luke’s ego back to health after that blow on the croquet court.

Ultimately, it was her dad’s CEO advice that she decided to follow: If you try to please all the people all of the time, you end up pissing everyone off. It’s best to choose what works for you.

Lexi gave Luke her undivided attention. “I would love to introduce you to Chef Lorraine. But timing is important with the chef. If I bring in a guest before the staff has cleaned up, she’ll mount my head in the meat cellar. Would you mind waiting through a game of backgammon?”

Luke smiled, showing no sign that he’d been put out. “Well played, once again. The kitchen tour can wait.”

Riding the wave of another success, Lexi ushered James into the living room, and they set up the backgammon board on a high-top table. James took Lexi’s drink order and walked over to chat with Cherry, who poured him something from the bottle she’d retrieved from the study. With a wineglass in one hand and something stronger in the other, he slipped onto the bar stool across from Lexi.

“What is that you’re drinking?” she asked. “I noticed it came from my dad’s special occasion cabinet.”

James bit the edge of his lip as if ashamed of the contents in his glass. “It seems my dad and your dad both appreciate scotch whiskey. I’ve been drinking this brand for about three years.”

“Wow. There are a lot of scotch whiskeys on the market. What are the odds he’d have your brand in his collection?”

“It was your dad who recommended it to my dad way back when. They’ve known each other as long as I can remember.”

“Really?”

Lexi tried to avoid situations that made her feel stupid. She managed this by paying attention to her surroundings. So, why hadn’t she heard of James and his family? Had their names just blended in with the random names that echoed out of her dad’s study? She knew his web stretched pretty far. Even Rod had mentioned something about their dads investing in stocks that were finally paying off twenty years later.

“So, is it just you and your brother at home?” she asked.

“And a sister. They’re both older. You might say I’m the spare.” He laughed nervously as he fiddled with the game pieces.

“I’m sure that’s not true. Your parents brought you all the way across the ocean for a party. I’m sure they did that for good reason.”

When Lexi noticed the blush coloring his cheeks, she realized he must have figured out the reason, just like she had, and she hurried to roll her die so they could start the game. As fate would have it, she won the opening move, and she took full advantage of the six-five count.

During James’s turn, she made a quick check over her shoulder to locate Luke. He’d taken a seat next to Nora. Lexi noticed he spent more time with her than any of the others. Who wouldn’t? Nora never ran out of interesting things to say. Exactly the reason Lexi liked her. So, why was she imagining Nora on a runaway horse bound for the gorge?

James made his move, and Lexi had to force herself to focus on the game. Despite what James believed, the strategies needed for croquet were not the same as for backgammon, and he moved deftly across the board, leaving her struggling to keep up. It was especially difficult with Nora’s singsongy voice tinkling above the drone of conversation.

James picked up a pip and tapped against the board it as he studied his options, a determined and admittedly attractive set to his lips. If she wasn’t already infatuated with someone else, Lexi would have given him serious consideration—a thought that lasted only a second before her attention wandered back to the couch.

“Hey, Lexi. It’s your turn,” James said, and Lexi failed to suppress a flush of heat that took over her cheeks as she turned back to the table. “You seem distracted. I understand if you want to stop and give Luke a tour of the kitchen.”

“No, no. I’m sorry. It’s unforgivably rude of me to neglect you, James.”

Lexi rolled the dice, shaking her head at the terrible position she’d put herself in. Dion would have eaten her alive by now. He was much better at backgammon than croquet.

Alas, Lexi’s obsession with the sexy Luke Carrington ultimately caused her to break her streak, and three moves later, James finished with the win. But rather than gloat, he offered an apologetic shrug as he reached his hand across the table.

“You’re a tough competitor, Lexi. I’ve been watching you take down your opponents one by one. I have to admit, when you ran that race against Will, it looked like you and your horse flew across the finish line. That is, before you really did fly. How are you feeling now?”

“Sore, but I’ll heal.”

“Unlike Will’s ego.” James chuckled. “He’ll come up with some reason to excuse his behavior. I might have to miss his calls until he’s had time to cool off and think about it.”

“You and Will are friends?”

“Yeah. We’ve known each other a while.” His gaze flicked to his father standing with her dad, likely bonding over their appreciation of scotch whiskey.

James put away the backgammon pieces while Lexi sipped her wine and put her thinking cap back on. Something covert was happening. It felt like a scheme that everyone was in on except her. Although James seemed like a reasonable person, with manners the other boys didn’t have, that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved. It seemed her parents’ plot went deeper than she’d initially thought. And she was going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another.

~

Luke had a difficult time controlling the burning sensation in his chest as he watched Lexi and James make a love connection. He knew it was the best course of action for her. It was high time she enjoyed herself fully. Perhaps, if she’d been allowed to date sooner, she would have men at her beck and call, possibly snubbing him for a more practical choice. She deserved a man who could stick around longer than an extended weekend. Someone to adore her. To nurture her.

Was Z right to suggest that Luke was taking advantage of her vulnerability? Was he letting his own feelings win over practicality? Would it even matter after tonight? He feared Lexi’s feelings would be severely tested when she learned what he really did for a living. She could very well tell him to go to hell and stay there.

Luke waited for Nora to reach the end of her retelling of Antony and Cleopatra in verse form before he excused himself to visit the bar. The route he chose took him past Lexi and her new admirer. She offered him a wave and a half shrug, which looked like an apology. Did she feel guilty for enjoying the company of another man?

Luke cursed himself for his impatience before presenting a smile to Cherry. “Gin and tonic, two limes, no ice.”

He knew Cherry was clued in, and almost certainly knew who he was as she handed him his drink with a shy smile that was anything but. He considered making conversation with her to give Lexi and James more time, but Lexi appeared at his shoulder.

“Thanks for being so patient, Luke. Are you ready for that tour?”

Lexi’s enchanting eyes had him blinking over his glass, and he drank deeply, giving his body a rejuvenating blast of alcohol.

“Only if you are. Don’t cut your conversation short on my account.”

“It’s fine. James and I can talk later. We ended up having more in common than I thought. Let’s go see what Chef Lorraine is up to.”

Lexi threaded her arm through Luke’s elbow, guiding him as she spoke about the chef’s illustrious career in France before she accepted the position with the Maxwells. Lexi’s growing comfort level around him was amusing. Had she been emboldened by their kiss?

Inside the kitchen they found the chef hunched over a cookbook, commanding her staff of white aprons from a stool. “Are the potatoes fresh? We need two dozen for the hash browns.”

“Oui, Chef,” came a reply from the depths of a walk-in pantry.

Chef Lorraine glanced up when she noticed them, and a broad smile quickly replaced the serious expression she wore for her staff. “Ah, mademoiselle Lexi. Avez-vous apprécié le repas?”

“ Oui, beaucoup, Chef. The meal was excellent, as usual. I would like to introduce you to my new friend, Luke Carrington.”

Luke offered a polite nod to the petite woman, who barely stood higher than the countertops. She reminded him of his own head chef at home, and he tried not to stare at the blotch of flour on her cheek.

“I want to give my compliments on a superb meal. Trés délicieux .”

She blinked at him, possibly in recognition, although he didn’t recognize her. “ Merci . Do not hesitate to compliment my fine apprentices. One person cannot accomplish such greatness alone.” She waved an arm toward the bodies, then barked again. “Tomas, what of the eggs? Can we make six quiches?”

A man with his body half inside a refrigerator called back, “Oui, Chef.”

“I can see you’re busy with tomorrow’s preparations,” Lexi said. “We’ll leave you to it.” She leaned into the chef’s face and kissed both cheeks. Then she wiped the smudge of flour off with her thumb.

The chef shook her head as her cheeks reddened. “You are growing up too fast, petite fille .”

“Feels like an eternity to me.”

Lexi left the chef with a playful smile that stayed with her until they reached the formal dining room. All evidence of the evening meal had been cleared from the table, and lively chatter echoed through a closed door at the other end. They were quite alone.