She slid cucumbers and tomatoes onto the lettuce, then carried the bowl to the table. A few minutes later, Ken carried plates with the fish and the aromatic sauce sitting on a bed of couscous to their spots at the table. Her mouth watered as she took his hand and bowed her head, listening to his voice as he asked God’s blessing over their meal.
At the first bite, the salty, rich flavor filled her mouth in a beautiful way. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed it, then opened them to watch Ken staring at her with a very stoic expression on his face. “It’s so good,” she said, gesturing at the fork halfway to his mouth. “Taste it.”
He smiled and nodded. “I plan to.”
Heat flushed her face, but she didn’t reply. She just kept enjoying her dinner.
An hour later, with the kitchen clean and the sun setting around them, Daisy sat nestled against Ken on the swing on her front porch.
“I really enjoyed going to church with you yesterday.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “It was nice to sit next to you.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Think you can sit through a sermon again this Sunday?”
She chuckled. “I could be persuaded to if you were sitting next to me.”
“Hmm.” His arm squeezed her close. “Your place or mine?”
“Either or both. I’m good.” Despite not wanting to, she shifted away from him. “It’s getting late.”
“Yeah.” He moved slowly as if fighting against a force trying to keep him down. She stood with him so she could kiss him goodbye. He cupped her face with his hand, giving her the slowest, sweetest kiss. “Good night, Daisy.”
Nestling her head under his chin, she said, “Good night, Ken.”
After squeezing her shoulders, he set her away from him and walked to the stairs. Before descending, he paused and turned back to her. “You free tomorrow night?”
She thought about it. Nothing came to mind, and the idea of spending more time with Ken definitely appealed. “I’m free. Why?”
“We’re getting together tomorrow at Brad’s to plan Jon’s wedding. I hoped you’d want to come.”
“Me?” She slipped her hands into the pockets of her shorts and leaned against the porch railing. She’d met Alex briefly yesterday. She and Jon had come home from New York as Ken walked her out. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Because we’re together.” He tapped his chest above his heart. “Also, thought you might want to recommend Camila for the flowers. I checked with Jon today. They hadn’t looked at florists yet.”
Ken’s thoughtfulness astonished her. It shouldn’t have at this point, but he continued to surprise her. Camila would flip for the chance to do the flowers for a Dixon wedding. Ken was so quiet, but a lot was going on beneath that calm exterior. He was so thoughtful and observant. She realized she hadn’t answered him. “Sure. Of course. What time?”
“After work. I’ll pick you up.”
“I’ll meet you. That way I don’t have to leave my car at work.” She pulled out her phone. “What’s the address?”
Anticipationmade jitters run up and down Ken’s spine. He and his brothers shared a bond born of the special circumstances of being identical triplets that most siblings would never understand. They knew how the others thought, reacted, felt.
Brad had married the girl he fell in love with as a young man. Right before their freshman year of high school, Valerie and her uncle moved out of the guest house on his parents’ estate and into their own home, causing Valerie to change schools. It ripped her away from them, and they went from seeing her daily to seeing her on holidays. The day before they moved, they all wrote their secret wishes down, placed them in sealed envelopes, and hid them in the gazebo.
At Brad’s wedding, he pulled out the box that contained the wishes and read his. “To marry Valerie…”
Ken saw Jon the day after he met Alex. He could see the change in his countenance, in the look of his face, in the tone of his voice. When he spoke of Alex, everything softened, and the pain that Jon carried with him from his time in Egypt just fell away as if removing a cloak. Knowing his brother, knowing how he felt and what he thought, he knew that Alex was the woman for him, the person who would complete him and make him whole.
Ken knew that Daisy was to him as Valerie and Alex were to his brothers. At this moment, his heart’s desire was that the women would all become friends in a way that would eventually bind them all as sisters. If he had his way, Alex and Valerie would be aunts to Daisy’s baby, and Daisy would be an aunt to his brothers’ children. He prayed all last night and throughout his day today. Would Daisy like them? Would she want to spend the rest of her life with them and be a close part of it?
As they entered Brad and Valerie’s kitchen, he immediately smelled coffee and cinnamon. Everyone sat around the table, slices of cake and steaming cups at their elbows. Valerie came forward and hugged Daisy. “I’m so happy you came with Ken!”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
Alex stood and walked over to them. “It’s good to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you again. I’m excited about y’all’s wedding.”
“Me, too. But as we’re planning, I realize we might should have pushed it back a week. Back home, I could throw together a do in a week. Here, I started with two weeks, but one is half up already, and I don’t know the local caterers or florists.”
