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

J.C. “Did you start dating him the day after Kate and Ten’s wedding?”
    Libitz raised her chin, looking straight into his eyes. “Yes.”
    J.C. nodded, his expression frosty as he took the glass back from Kate and sat down in the chair beside Libitz, though there were six others to choose from. “Interesting.”
    “Kate says he runs a bakery,” said Étienne, grabbing a piece of cheese as he took a seat beside his wife.
    “A bakery,” said J.C., his voice thick with sarcasm. “How glamorous.”
    “It is ,” insisted Kate. “It’s the largest kosher bakery on the East Coast.”
    Libitz gave J.C. a sidelong glance, raising her eyebrows in challenge.
    Game on. He grinned at her. “Does he do a great short bread?”
    “Nope. He’s known for his long baguettes,” Libitz shot back.
    “Kosher bakery, right?” asked J.C., sipping his wine as he stared at Libitz over the rim.
    She nodded, unable to keep her lips from trembling, because, truth told, at some point she had started to look forward to his quick retorts and whip-fast wit.
    “So no pork in the pie, huh?”
    Without being able to help herself, she snorted with laughter, grateful that she hadn’t risked a sip of wine before his comment, because J.C. and his brother would have had a second shower.
    He was quick. Goddamn, but he was quick. And fuck, but she enjoyed it.
    Staring up at him, she watched the last of his iciness thaw to warmth as his shoulders shook with laughter. “Good one, huh?”
    She nodded through giggles. “Good one.”
    Finally able to take a deep breath, she turned away from J.C. to look at Kate, only to find her best friend staring at her with wide, worried eyes and parted lips.
    “KK?” prompted Lib.
    “What is going on here?”
    Libitz sobered. “Huh? What do you—”
    “Mean? You just giggled, Lib. Giggled . You do not giggle. You occasionally chuckle like it hurts. What the—what the hell is going on between you two?”
    “ Chaton —”
    “No, Étienne! I need to say this!” Kate looked back and forth between Libitz and J.C., and Lib had known Kate long enough to know that her friend was truly upset. “You two are not allowed to have a fling! Do you hear me? You can’t! Because it won’t work out, and you’ll end up hating each other, and then Noelle won’t have—I mean…sh-she won’t…” She stood up from the table, knocking the chair down behind her as she rushed from the kitchen.
    Libitz bolted up to chase after Kate, but Étienne blocked her way. “Let me go.”
    “I didn’t meant to upset her!”
    “I know.” Étienne reached for Libitz’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Nothing’s going on between you two, right?”
    “Right!” said Libitz. “Nothing! We barely tolerate each other!”
    “He gets it,” said J.C. quietly from behind her.
    “She’s just”—Étienne shrugged—“pregnant. Superemotional. Worried about the party on Sunday. Still trying to get the house the way she wants it before then. And in about ten minutes when she stops crying, she’s going to be so embarrassed…Please, just—”
    “We’ll act like nothing happened,” said J.C., who stood up behind Libitz. “Tell her not to worry.”
    “Thanks,” said Étienne, giving them a grimace before heading for the door. “It’s not you. It’s her.”
    Libitz watched the door swing back in Étienne’s wake, then reached up to press her hands against her hot cheeks. It had been a long time since she’d seen Kate so upset, but it was a good reminder that no matter how handsome or charming she found Jean-Christian Rousseau, nothing was allowed to happen between them. Absolutely nothing.
    She turned to face him, uncertain of what to say in the wake of Kate’s exit.
    “I feel terrible.”
    “We didn’t actually do anything.”
    “I know,” said Libitz. “But she’s pregnant.”
    He cringed, shrugging his shoulders before sitting back down in his chair. “I didn’t see that coming.”
    Nor had she. “It