Page 100 of Breached

“All right,” Nicole sighed. “He said it was because it was his and Abby’s anniversary.”

“Oh, my God, of course.” Cole smacked his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together.”

“He wouldn’t have reminded you of it,” Ivy chimed in with a kind smile. I figured she didn’t want Cole to carry that.

“Are we veering off with a side story?” Mark glared at Ivy, then back to Nicole, “Or are we sharing a secret that you all seem to have kept from me?” I chuckled with the rest of the table.

“Mark.” Mia smacked his arm to get him to settle, but we all knew that never worked.

“I have a right to know if there’s going to be side stories,” he muttered and then flicked his wrist for Nicole to go on.

Nicole licked her lips, trying to contain her smile as Mark sulked.

“All right.” Nicole’s eyes gleamed. “Well, apparently, Doc wasn’t always so straightlaced.” She grinned as Mark perked right up. “Yup, seems he dated a Las Vegas showgirl once. She even convinced him to do a dance for ladies’ night, and not only that—he won!”

Mark’s chin jutted out. “I’m sorry, come again?”

“Oh, my God.” Savi’s eyes went wide and innocent. “Is that why he left that vase of peacock feathers in the corner of his office?” She glanced at Cat as Mark’s face took on a horrified look. “Do you think he did that dance for Abby, too?”

“The hell you say?” Mark snapped as the women warmed to the topic.

“You know,” Cat leaned over the table, “I bet he does that dance for their sex-iversary.”

Mark shoved a finger at her. “So help me Jesus, if you ever give me that mental image again, I will burn this place to the ground and force Cole to rebuild it in Florida. Fedoras for all!” He waved his finger at Keith. “Mandatory.”

“Abby did have some kinks.” Cat shrugged, and Mia had to hold down Mark as he lunged for her. Mark’s reactions were worth their weight in gold and could turn any sad situation into comedy.

The series of emotions that ran over his face was magical. Shock, sadness, disbelief, rage, disgust, anger, then came the mood shift when he looked at Cole. Maybe, just maybe, his brother knew about the secret?

“Did you?” Mark glared. “Cole, really, did you know about this?”

Cole, calm as could be, kept eating like we were all talking about the weather. “Who do you think gave him the feathers?” He pulled out all the cards. Impressive.

Nicole grinned at me. “Cole’s correct. I know feathers were a part of it.”

Mark dropped his fork and cleared his throat. “And how would you know such a detail?”

Nicole gave a light shrug as she leaned back. “Maybe because I found the footage.”

The entire room went silent then erupted into laughter as everyone screamed, “Show us!”

Cole said something to Mark, and he jumped out of his seat. “You son of a bitch tit!” Mark leapt from the table and went for Cole, but his brother was ready and raced out the door with him hard on his heels.

The place erupted in cheers and laughter, and it was as if the elders themselves were there and had made the moment happen. We slipped into old times.

Nicole leaned in and grinned at me. “Should we wait to tell them?”

I ran my hand over her tummy. “You know what? Let’s wait a little longer. Maybe we slip the positive test into Mark’s bathroom some morning and watch him freak out on Mia.”

“Oh, I love that idea.”

The End