Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 83

The first night back in Chicago, Zelina Vega and Raquel Gonzalez had been invited over to the apartment shared by Sylvie Brett and Deonna Purrazzo. It was pretty obvious to everyone that Brett wanted to have her own little occasion to hear all about the wedding since she hadn't been able to attend.

Vega and Gonzalez had arrived with a bottle of wine, which Brett had taken through to the kitchen, where she was preparing the smoked salmon dish that she was going to be serving for dinner.

"Tell me how it is that the Italian doesn't do the cooking in your relationship," Gonzalez said. She was sitting at the dining table with Vega and Purrazzo, and they were already working on the bottle of wine that had been on the table when the guests arrived.

"Oh, I cook. Just not today. Sylvie wanted to do the hosting," Purrazzo said.

"Thanks for inviting us over," Vega said to her. "Other than the wedding, it's the first time we've been invited out as a couple. Although I'm surprised you wanted guests after being away from Sylvie for a few days. Would have thought you would be otherwise occupied."

Gonzalez sniggered. "Z! Don't say that to her. Not everyone is as obsessed with sex as you are."

Purrazzo shrugged, an amused smile on her face. "Who says we can't have dinner and a few laughs before Sylvie and I get it on later?" All three of them laughed.

"Good point. That's definitely the best plan," Vega said.

"We're sorry we didn't spend more time with you when we were in the Bahamas," Gonzalez said. "Hope you didn't get lonely, being there by yourself? We kind of got caught up in doing our own thing."

Purrazzo waved her concerns away. "It's fine. You sat and got drunk with me at the reception. Other than that, I had a nice time exploring on my own. I'd have much preferred Sylvie to be there of course. I'm never going to stop being mad at her stupid supervisor for not granting her leave."

"You're not the only one," Brett said, coming into the room. "Dinner won't be long, it's almost ready. I'm so glad you guys could come over. We need to start seeing more of our friends."

In truth, Vega was the friend of Purrazzo and Brett. Gonzalez hadn't spent long enough with Intelligence before going undercover for Purrazzo to form much of a connection with her, and Brett had barely met her before tonight. Getting to know Gonzalez was part of the reason that the invite had been made.

"Thanks, Sylvie. We'd like to see more of you guys, too. We'll have to do dinner at my place," Vega said. "Raquel makes some mean Mexican food. You'll love it, assuming you like food that's hot."

"I can eat hot food," Brett said openly.

"The hotter the better for me," Purrazzo said after sipping some of her wine.

"Oh, don't say that to her. Those will be famous last words," Vega said.

"My hot food is hot hot," Gonzalez warned them.

"Bring it on. I'm not scared," Purrazzo said.

"Might have to ask you to make me something a bit tamer," Brett said with a smile. "For tonight, you'll have to make do with my smoked salmon. I'll be right back."

Shortly, Brett was serving everyone with plates of delicious-looking smoked salmon and pasta.

"This is incredible," Gonzalez said after digging into it. It was fairly clear that she felt a bit awkward being around people she didn't know, and in unfamiliar surroundings. Or maybe it was simply that she didn't have much experience of forming real friendships. Either way it was quite ironic for someone who specialised in integrating into new, unfamiliar surroundings.