I Get A Kick Out of You

Chapter 9

She called for dinner once everything was perfect and everyone filed in to find their seat. Joel sat at one end of the table, while Cassie sat at the other. She made sure to put Cillian, Ben and Eleanore near her. Thank goodness she did because Ben and her brothers were getting along insanely well.

Her brothers had flown down from Boston, Michigan, California, and Nevada just to be here. There wasn't anything they wouldn't do for their little and only sister. As much as she loved them and loved how much they were getting along with Ben, she did note that they were never like this with Joel.

As a matter of fact, they hated him, but would never tell her that.

Cillian and Ethan were off in their own world, but she did notice Eleanore speaking with her cousin and being a bit too friendly with him. With Ben being distracted by cracking jokes with the brothers, he didn't notice. Cassie did, however, and she was not going to let it slide.

Joel made his usual speech before dinner with Cassie adding a few things at the end, then everyone dug into the delicious meal Cassie had prepared. She's been slaving away since four in the morning and was glad to see it was all worth it. Her brothers were praising her cooking, as was Joel's parents and everyone else.

"It's great, honey," Joel told her with a small smile. She gave an insincere smile back, then continued to eat her food. It was quiet while everyone ate, but conversations started up again when everyone was almost finished.

Eleanore and Cassie were even having a decent discussion! Although, Cassie suspected it was because of all the wine Eleanore had, she was still intrigued. She's only heard of her work through Ben, but to hear it from her was much more interesting. The fashion industry did not seem like a great place to work.

Once dinner ended, everyone took their dishes into the kitchen and tried to help washing up. Cassie was banned by her brothers so they could clean everything up. She was not about to argue with that. However, she would have liked to argue to Joel that, while her brothers are helping out, his were causing a ruckus over the football game and creating a mess.

Thankfully, Joel's mother was a decent woman and scolded them for it.

"Your brothers are the best," Ben's voice said as he approached Cassie. "Tucker, Charlie, Keith, and Casey. I even remembered their names! Did your parents name you Cassie to purposely confuse people with Casey?"

Cassie laughed as she told him, "Sometimes I think so! We're not that far apart in age, so when we were in school, kids would call us each other's names on purpose. It's what made us the closest, though. We consider each other twins."

"That's amazing," he told her. "I've always siblings, but was never lucky enough to get them. I hated being an only child. I'm hoping to give Cillian a brother or sister...well, hoped. I doubt we'll be having anymore, unfortunately."

He looked to Eleanore, who was drunkenly talking to some guy. He noticed she was being just a bit too friendly. "Who is that?" He asked, his voice a bit on edge. Cassie gulped, then told him, "My cousin Alex." He humphed, then took a long swig of his drink.

After a little while, dessert was set out with some coffee and wine. Cassie praised Ben and Cillian for their pie and even helped herself to seconds. As she took her time with that piece, she decided to speak with her cousin Alex while Eleanore was distracted.

He had no idea she was married, or even to Ben for that matter, and felt horrible for playing along with her games. He wanted to go over to Ben and apologize, but Cassie advised against that plan. She just made him promise to keep away.

One by one, people started to leave. First, it was Joel's work friends, then his parents. His brothers, then Cassie's cousins soon followed, and finally her brothers with their families. Soon, it was just the Edgerton's and the Cumberbatch's.

"Today was really something," Ben said as all of the adults sat in the living room, sipping on wine. "Thank you so much." They all clinked glasses as Joel told him, "It was our pleasure. Of course, it wouldn't have been anything without my wife's cooking."

Cassie ignored him and took a sip of her wine. "Wish my husband praised my cooking," a now slightly drunk Eleanore said. Ben gave her a double take, then started to laugh. "Since when do you cook?" He asked. "If anything, it should be the other way 'round."

She scoffed at him, but he ignored her. He noticed Cassie smirking into her glass and he couldn't help but smile.

"I am going to check on the boys," she announced. Ben stood up with her as he said, "I'll go with you." They walked up to Ethan's room, where they saw the boys knocked out on the floor with game controllers in their hands.

Ben and Cassie couldn't stifle their laughs.

They each leaned up against the doorway and smiled fondly at their boys. Cassie then raised her glass up to Ben and said, "Happy Thanksgiving." He clinked his glass with hers and said, "Here's to many more."