J.C. and the Bijoux Jolis: The Rousseaus #3 (The Blueberry Lane Series Book 14) by Katy Regnery Page A

away from a sprinkler that suddenly shot a blast of water into the air. She turned to Kate and they giggled at the men, who were trying to sprint toward the sprinkler but were getting caught in showers every time.
    “What in the world are they doing?”
    “I mentioned something to Étienne about having a sprinkler set up for Caroline English, Fitz’s daughter, and he’s been at it all afternoon.” Her shoulders trembled. “I don’t think he’s ever set up a sprinkler before.”
    “Why don’t you call Jax’s boyfriend to come over and give him a hand? Isn’t he a gardener?”
    Kate gave Libitz a look as she stuffed another cracker sandwich in her mouth and stood up to look out the window. “What’s the fun of that?”
    Libitz cackled as J.C. reached down to hold the sprinkler in place while Étienne leaned down to fiddle with the controls, which rewarded the brothers with a sudden stream of water that drenched them both.
    “P-p-points for t-trying?” stuttered Kate through giggles, swiping at her eyes.
    J.C. sprang up, gesticulating with his hands while yelling something that looked suspiciously like “Merde! Merde! Merde!” and Étienne kicked the sprinkler across the lawn while shaking his hair free of droplets.
    A moment later, they heard the sound of water being turned off, and a few seconds after that, both men stood in the kitchen doorway with wet hair and soaked shirts, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
    “ Pourquoi ne pas le tenir ?” Étienne demanded of his brother.
    J.C. screwed up his face in annoyance. “ Est-ce que tu me le reproche ?”
    “English, s’il-vous-plaît ,” said Kate, heading for the door and leaning forward to peck her husband on the lips. “Don’t drip on everything. I’ll grab some towels.”
    Libitz smiled at the men, holding up her wine in cheers. “Well done!”
    “Why don’t you try it?” asked Étienne, putting his hands on his hips and looking pissy.
    “No, thanks,” she said, taking a sip and trying not to notice the way the Rousseau brothers looked with droplets in their dark hair and their shirts molded to their cut chests like second skins. “I’m a city girl.”
    “The fucking thing is slippery, and there are no goddamn instructions!” said Étienne. “What if the water comes shooting out like that at Caroline on Sunday? She could lose an eye!”
    “How ’bout pouring two more glasses of wine, Elsa?” asked J.C., still standing behind Étienne on the kitchen mat, looking wet and delicious.
    “ Qui est Elsa ?” asked Étienne over his shoulder.
    Libitz grinned at J.C., placing her wine on the table and fetching two more glasses from the chrome rack hanging from the cabinets near the sink.
    “ Ne t’en fait pas .” Don’t worry about it.
    “So, Lib,” said Étienne as she approached them with the wine glasses. “How’s Ned?”
    Why she flicked a guilty glance to J.C. was a mystery for the ages, but she did, and his eyes narrowed, searching hers, as he raised the glass to his lips.
    “Who’s Ned?” asked J.C. after a sip, his tone chilly.
    She cleared her throat, swapping J.C.’s intense gaze for Étienne’s more cordial one. “Do you mean Neil?”
    “Yeah! Neil,” said Étienne, nodding. “Kate says he’s great.”
    “Kate says who’s great?” asked Kate, returning with two towels, which she handed to her husband and brother-in-law, taking their wine glasses and setting them on the table.
    “Neil,” said J.C., the way someone else might say “dog shit.”
    Libitz sat back down at the table, wondering about the clenching feeling in her gut, the way her heart clamored as though in denial of something she’d never admitted. She gulped anxiously, finishing her glass of wine.
    “From what you’ve told me, he sounds super, Lib,” said Kate, sitting across from her friend. “What’s it been now? A couple of months?”
    Careful not to look up at J.C., Libitz nodded. “Yeah. About, um, five weeks.”
    “Five weeks?” asked