The Housewarming - a fanfic
Title: The Housewarming
Author: nancygrew
Rated: G
Disclaimer: characters belong to ATWT
Notes: Futurefic. AU after Reid drives off to Bay City to pick up a heart for Doogie. Takes place ~late August 2012, about a year after my fic Reid and Emma Have Lunch at the Mona Lisa. You do not have to read any of my other fic in order to understand this one.
Warnings: No plot
Summary: Reid and Luke have the family over for dinner at their new home
Since Reid was closest to the door, he was the one who opened the door to greet Lily, Holden and Luke’s younger siblings as they arrived for his and Luke’s housewarming party. He immediately noticed that Faith, Natalie and Ethan all carried overnight bags. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is there a reason you’re carrying overnight bags?"
"Natalie, Ethan and I are spending the night," Faith informed her brother’s husband. "Now that you have guest bedrooms, we can stay over ALL the time." She ignored Reid’s appalled look. She was pretty good at differentiating between his fake appalled look and his genuinely appalled look. The appalled look he sometimes threw at her and her younger siblings was generally his fake appalled look. The appalled look that he often threw at everyone else was generally his genuinely appalled look. Neither his fake appalled look nor his genuinely appalled look should be confused with his disgusted look. That look was generally followed by a lecture that made the recipient cry like a teething infant.
Reid sighed and stood aside to let Luke’s family enter the home. Although he and Luke had moved into the house the previous weekend and spent the evenings during the workweek receiving furniture and art deliveries, this was the first time that they had anyone over to the house. As he had expected, Luke’s brother and sisters were obviously enthralled by the home that he and Luke had arranged to have converted from an old warehouse into a sleek, modern showplace. The first floor was a mainly open space with high ceilings and was perfect for entertaining either large or small groups. There were various seating areas, an industrial chef’s kitchen and a long dining room table with chairs. The black leather furniture was streamlined and modern yet comfortable. The French doors and windows facing onto the courtyard brought in lots of light. Brightly colored art hung on the white walls. As he had expected, Luke’s parents were very polite about Luke and Reid’s home. Holden had a preference for the cozy, country décor that he had grown up with. Lily had a preference for the traditional décor that she had grown up with. Neither had an affinity for modern design. Reid suspected that Luke’s preference for modern décor was some sort of secret rebellion for him. Reid thought that as rebellions went, decorating rebellions were pretty lame but it was better than drugs and polka.
"Hey guys," greeted Luke as he waved to them from the kitchen island where he was putting together the food that he was going to serve buffet style for the party. He had decided to go for a soul food theme with fried chicken, biscuits, sweet potatoes, and stewed okra with onions, tomatoes and corn. He had chosen peach cobbler as the desert and sweet tea as the beverage. As Luke was a firm believer in trying to synchronize the food and music when entertaining, he had some delta blues playing on the sound system. Currently, Big Joe Williams was belting out Baby Please Don’t Go.
"Reid, can you show Faith, Nat and Ethan the guestrooms so that they could put their overnight bags away?" asked Luke sweetly.
Faith, Natalie and Ethan followed Reid as he led them up the steel and glass staircase to the guest bedrooms on the second floor. He took them to a guestroom where one wall consisted mostly of windows that looked out over the courtyard. The walls were white. The luxurious bedding was a rich dark purple with gold accents. The bed, wardrobe and bedside tables were as modern in design as the furniture in the rest of the house. On the bedside tables rested LED lamps. There were 6 large canvas prints hanging on the walls that depicted cover illustrations of various vintage girl detective novels. Penny Parker Mystery Stories: Tale of the Witch Doll. Nancy Drew Mystery Stories: The Secret of the Old Clock. Puzzle in Purple: A Connie Blair Mystery. Beverly Gray’s Island Mystery. The Strange Echo: A Kay Tracey Mystery. Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion.
"Oh my God!" squealed Faith. "I love girl detective novels. When I was little, Luke used to read to me all the time and the girl detective books were always my favorite. I remember that even after I learned to read, I liked to cuddle next to him on the couch and make him read to me. I was pretty old by the time I outgrew that but Luke never complained about it."
"You would not believe how much time your overly-sentimental brother spent fussing over which covers to select to have printed on canvas," said Reid rolling his eyes. "He wasn’t sure whether he should get the oldest editions made into prints in order to get a more vintage look or whether to get prints made from the more recent editions that you would recognize from when you were a kid."
"You mean that you guys decorated this guestroom with me in mind?" asked Faith with a huge smile lighting up her face. Reid briefly thought about how much Faith had changed in the two years that he had known her. She had rarely smiled when he first met her. Between the dysfunction of her parents’ relationship, being bullied at boarding school and being ignored at public school, Faith had built up the Walls of Jericho around herself as a form of self-protection. She had often been angry and bitter and felt no compunction about explaining to people what their myriad faults were. However, Faith had blossomed once she graduated high school and started attending Oakdale University. She had found a wide circle of friends and a variety of interests. She was happy and thriving, albeit with a cynical streak that came out on occasion.
"Don’t let it go to your head or anything," huffed Reid. "We also tried to put some touches in the room that would make Natalie and Katie feel comfortable to spend the night. Not that we particularly want you people spending the night except in rare emergencies. We’re very busy and you all can be very annoying." Not even Ethan paid any attention to Reid’s disclaimer. Faith gave him a big hug and he patted her on the back. Natalie looked around the room for signs that Reid and Luke had thought of her during their decoration process. She suddenly squealed.
"The lamps are double helixes like DNA strands," stated the scientifically oriented twelve-year-old with a grin. "They’re stealthily geeky, just like me. You and Luke are really awesome. Thanks." As soon as Faith released Reid from her hug, Natalie was there to take her place. Reid withstood the physical demonstrations of affection with a stoic calm. He had become used to this hugging business.
"Natalie, I hate to break it to you but there’s nothing stealthy about your geekiness," advised Reid with a frown. Natalie giggled. "We chose the purple bedding because that’s Katie’s favorite color. Don’t tell her that, though, or she might get all teary-eyed."
"What about me?" asked Ethan worriedly. The sweet six year old boy normally didn’t have a jealous bone in his body but the idea that Luke and Reid might like Faith and Natalie more than him was very upsetting.
"You’ll be sleeping in the other guestroom," said Reid. "We did one guestroom thinking about the females in our life and one guestroom thinking about the males in our life. While Faith and Natalie are unpacking, I’ll show you the room we had done with you in mind." Ethan grinned.
"Wait a minute," said Faith. "We want to see the other guest bedroom. The rest of the house, too. It’ll just take a minute for us to unpack." Reid huffed impatiently as though he had been asked to wait for eons instead of a minute.
When Faith and Natalie had finished unpacking, Reid showed them to the other guestroom via the shared bathroom between the rooms. This guestroom had the same layout as the first room. It had the same white walls and similar modern furniture. The bedding was dark green, however. And there were plush stuffed dinosaurs atop the bed. On the walls hung a series of dinosaur illustrations.
Ethan wasted no time in making his pleasure known. He grabbed onto Reid’s waist and squeezed like a boa constrictor. Reid wondered if the kid was displacing some of his internal organs.
"That’s a triceratops," Ethan said excitedly as he started to name the species pictured in the various pictures. "That’s a diplodocus. That’s a stegosaurus. That’s an allosaurus . . . " Reid let the kid go on and state the different names of all of the dinosaurs. It wasn’t like Reid didn’t know the names but he completely understood the desire to show off and he let Ethan have his moment in the sun demonstrating his vast knowledge of prehistoric animals. Natalie and Faith oohed and aahed appropriately to let Ethan know that they were impressed. They were very good big sisters.
Once Ethan had told them the names of the different animals, Reid suggested that they head back downstairs. Luke’s siblings informed him that he should offer to give them a tour of his and Luke’s new home. Reid agreed to show them the rest of the house. He showed them the tricked out home offices that he and Luke were going to use when they worked at home. He showed them the hedonistic master suite that he shared with their brother. He cleared his throat menacingly when Faith made a move to open the drawer of one of the bedside tables. She shot him an amused grin but forwent opening the drawer. He showed them the rooftop terrace with outdoor kitchen.
When Reid and the others returned downstairs, Robert Johnson was singing Terraplane Blues. Luke’s cousin Lucy had arrived while he had been giving Luke’s siblings the house tour. Lucy greeted her cousins with hugs and Reid with a polite nod and smile. Lucy had recently returned to Oakdale and was working as an emergency room physician at Oakdale Memorial where Reid was Chief of Staff. As someone who worked for Reid, she respected and feared him in equal measure. Reid wasn’t one to coddle any of the doctors that worked at his hospital and Lucy was no exception. She still had trouble reconciling her stern, arrogant boss with the man who smiled sweetly at her younger cousin Luke and listened patiently to Ethan when he talked about his favorite cartoon characters.
Natalie and Ethan immediately volunteered to give Lucy a house tour. Natalie advised her that she would get the family discount on the cost of the tour. Lily and Holden decided to join the expedition to see the rest of the house. Faith sat down at a stool at the kitchen counter to talk to her brother about his and Reid’s recent vacation to Egypt. Reid poured Faith an iced tea and then stood beside Luke and rested his hand on Luke’s lower back.
The doorbell rang and Reid went off to answer the door. Emma Snyder, her eldest daughter Iva Snyder and her three-year-old granddaughter Eliza Ryan arrived. Reid greeted them and led them over to Luke and Faith. The women made sincere exclamations about Luke and Reid’s home being amazing. He poured each of them an iced tea.
Lucy and the others returned from upstairs while Son House sang Death Letter. They greeted the new arrivals.
Lucy turned to Reid and Luke and exclaimed, "Oh my God! It was such a great idea to have those girl detective mystery covers made into pictures for the wall. I loved Trixie Belden so much when I was growing up. She wasn’t as perfect as Nancy Drew so I could identify with her more. She was so smart and capbable. One time, her little brother Bobby was bit by a snake and she sucked out the venom." She was closest to Reid and had grabbed his arm excitedly as she had momentarily forgotten her wariness of him in her joy over recalling the adventures of Trixie Belden.
"I loved Nancy Drew!" exclaimed Iva. "Especially the earlier editions where she was more independent and less boy-crazy."
Lucy grabbed Iva’s hand. "You have to see The Girl Detective Room."
"We’re not naming the guestrooms," Reid informed the woman. Lucy ignored him. Reid assumed that this meant that Lucy was now thinking of him as family as opposed to the Mean Old Man of the Hospital. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
"I’d love a tour," said Emma.
Natalie said, "I’ve volunteered to be this evening’s docent. Come on, I’ll show you and Aunt Iva around. Reid, did you stamp their hands?"
"Yes," replied Reid. "But you can only see the stamp under ultraviolet light."
Natalie led Emma away while Lucy and Iva followed closely behind while arguing the relative merits of Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew. Ethan held Eliza’s hand as he led her after the women. Ethan just knew that Eliza would like the dinosaurs just as much as he did.
The doorbell rang again. Reid went off to answer it. It was Luke’s Uncle Jack, Jack’s wife Carly and their kids, Parker, JJ, and Sage. Reid waved them all in. He made sure that they all had beverages. Luke had been very specific about assigning him the job of Beverage Dispenser. It was a huge responsibility but Reid knew that he could handle it.
The new arrivals made the appropriate exclamations over the house. Carly went to sit with Lily and Faith at the kitchen island. Parker volunteered to help Luke with the meal. The ever so earnest Jack sat on one of the couches with his cousin, the ever so earnest Holden. They were quietly discussing something. Earnestly. Reid had noticed that Holden and Lily had not made eye contact with one another since they had arrived. He assumed that their latest reconciliation wasn’t going to last any longer than any of their previous reconciliations. He just hoped that they both kept Luke out of their problems. Luke did not have the free time to babysit his parents.
Natalie led her tour group back downstairs to the first floor. "Thank you for visiting the Snoliver Estate. Please stop at our guest shop before you leave." Iva pulled out a five-dollar bill and tipped Natalie who giggled and tried to give the money back. Iva winked at Natalie and told her to keep it as she had done a great job as tour guide. Ethan and Eliza had brought down several of the stuffed dinosaurs and brought them over to one of the couches to play. Ethan instructed Eliza carefully about which dinosaurs were carnivores, which were omnivores and which were herbivores. She seemed to be more interested in making growling sounds than in learning the eating habits of prehistoric animals.
"Are you going to give out more tours?" asked JJ asked Natalie.
"Of course," said Natalie. "Who else would like a tour of the upstairs?" Carly, JJ and Sage all raised their hands. "Please follow me. And don’t feed any wild animals that you may see during the tour. And by wild animals, I mean Reid." Reid snorted as Natalie led her next tour group away.
Parker and Faith went out into the courtyard to discuss college life. Parker was studying Criminal Justice at Oakdale University as he was hoping to follow in the footsteps of his fathers. Faith was still undecided about a major but she wasn’t worried about it. Faith and Parker had been close growing up. Perhaps too close, as for a brief period of time they had believed that they were in love. Reality eventually set in and they realized that their relationship was about the safety of familiarity and that although they weren’t related by blood, they were family in all ways that mattered. They were now best friends who often tried to set each other up on dates.
Luke’s grandmother, Lucinda Walsh arrived with her new husband Dr. John Dixon and John’s son Dr. Duke Kramer. John was currently the Chief of Cardiology but was going to retire next year. John had recommended to Reid that he hire a cardiologist out of Denver named Dr. Annie Stewart as his replacement. Reid was excited to learn that Dr. Stewart was a world-renowned cardiologist who was looking forward to moving back home to Oakdale with her husband, a brilliant surgeon named Dr. Jeff Ward. He had been less excited upon learning that Dr. Stewart and Dr. Ward were the parents of his extremely capable administrative assistant Lowell Ward. It looked like it was inevitable that Reid follow in the footsteps of Dr. Bob Hughes in running the most incestuous hospital in the world. Duke was the Chief of Pediatrics. Hiring Duke Kramer was one of the best decisions that Reid had made as Chief of Staff. Even if Reid did find Duke to be a tad arrogant and conceited.
People greeted each other with hugs and kisses and questions about their lives.
Reid noticed that Duke and Lucy greeted each other awkwardly. Reid looked at them with suspicion. He sincerely hoped that he was witnessing dislike instead of sexual tension, unresolved or otherwise. He could handle staff disliking each other.
Natalie brought back Carly, JJ and Sage who thanked her for the tour. Memphis Minnie was on the sound system singing Me and My Chauffeur Blues. Carly was explaining to Sage that the woman who wrote the Penny Parker mysteries was the same woman who had originally written most of the early Nancy Drew mysteries under a pen name. The author had actually preferred the Penny Parker mysteries to the Nancy Drew mysteries.
JJ went outside to the courtyard to talk with Parker and Faith about college. He was going to be starting college the next year and was wondering if Oakdale University was someplace that he should consider. Sage decided to help Natalie with her next tour group of John, Lucinda and Duke.
Carly hooked her arm around Reid’s arm. "This place is amazing. It’s something out of Architectural Digest. I didn’t realize you guys had hired a decorator."
"Luke and I are way too stubborn to want to have someone else tell us what furniture to buy," said Reid with amusement. "Luke ended up picking out most of the furniture. I think his selection criteria was ‘What’s the most money I can spend on a piece of furniture without causing Reid to give me a lecture on conspicuous consumption.’"
Carly laughed. "Well, he did a great job. Did you guys have an art consultant for picking out the art?"
"No," said Reid. "We didn’t want some stranger picking out art for us either. Art is too . . .personal, I guess. However, neither one of us had the time to actually study art and learn about art as an investment or anything like that. We just visited some art galleries in Chicago and picked out pieces that we liked by unknown artists."
Just then the doorbell rang and Reid excused himself so that he could answer the door.
At the door was Katie Peretti who was arriving with her three-year-old son Jacob. The previous year, Katie’s husband had committed adultery within months of their marriage. Her husband had decided to run off with his lover to New Zealand instead of trying to save his marriage. Chris Hughes had always been an idiot, now he was an idiot on the other side of the planet. Katie was still raw about the failure of the relationship. She had decided to concentrate on being a mother to Jacob and on her career as a talk show host on WOAK. One day, Reid had overheard Katie’s frenemy Barbara Ryan lecture Katie about not giving up on love and trying to convince her to start dating again. Reid advised Barbara that she was an idiot to think that anyone other than Katie was suited to make the decision about whether Katie should be dating yet. He started lecturing Barbara on the fact that women could lead rich and fulfilling lives whether they had a man or not. He quoted feminist philosophy from John Stuart Mill and Mary Wollstonecraft. Katie had been amused by what she referred to as Reid’s ‘Sister-Womyn-Goddess Dancing Skyclad Under the Full Moon During the Summer Solstice’ lecture and had assured him that she wasn’t going to rush into a relationship just for the sake of being in a relationship. She had learned a valuable lesson from marriage number six. From here on out, it was going to be anonymous sex in bus station restrooms. Reid knew she was joking but it still creeped him out.
After gifting his Uncle Reid with a wet kiss, Jacob toddled over to Eliza and Ethan to play Flying Dinosaurs of Death. Natalie grabbed hold of Katie’s hand to show her the Girl Detective Room and the rest of the house.
Luke’s Uncle Seth Snyder and his wife Angel arrived next. Seth was a novelist who was now teaching creative writing at Oakdale University. Reid found Seth’s novels to be trite, naval-gazing pablum but he liked the sensible Seth enough that he didn’t give him his opinion of his work. Reid actually preferred the romance novels that Emma Snyder had written under the pseudonym Amber D’Amour. They weren’t great literature by any means but they had a realistic take on love that Reid thought must be unusual in romance novels. Seth had become one of the most popular teachers at Oakdale University in a short period of time and was on the fast tract to tenure. Angel was the perfect faculty wife, charming and supportive. Reid had once made the mistake of suggesting to Luke that it might me nice to have a spouse without a career of his or her own. Luke had laughed in Reid’s face.
The final arrivals were Luke’s older siblings, Aaron Snyder and Abigail Williams. They had both recently returned to Oakdale and were staying at the over-crowded Snyder Farm. Reid hadn’t had the chance to get to know them well as they had been living out of state for years and rarely returned to Oakdale. Aaron was Holden’s son with Julie Wendell Snyder. Abigail was Holden’s daughter with Molly Conlan. Reid had first met Abigail during the disaster that had been Molly and Holden’s aborted wedding. Upon meeting Reid, Abigail had incorrectly assumed that he was Luke’s former boyfriend, Noah Mayer, but Reid had forgiven her for believing him to be a passive aggressive barista with daddy issues. Abigail had recently started working in the Grimaldi Shipping public relations department; Luke was thrilled with her work. Reid hadn’t met Aaron until Reid and Luke’s wedding in Iowa nearly nine months ago. Aaron and Reid didn’t have anything in common but Aaron greatly admired Reid for having once given up his dream job in order to be able to date Luke and Reid liked Aaron for having the Snyder decency without any of the Snyder self-righteousness. Aaron was currently working at Metro as a bartender.
By this time Luke had completed the food preparation. Luke and Reid placed the trays of food on the dining table so that everyone could help himself or herself.
Reid found himself sitting on a couch next to Luke. He had a plateful of food and his husband next to him. Life was good. He looked around and noted that Ethan had gotten a blanket from somewhere and had set it out on the floor. He was keeping a responsible eye out on his younger cousins, the active Jacob and the rather feral Eliza. Sage, JJ and Natalie were seated at the table out in the courtyard avidly listening to tales of college life from Parker and Faith; Reid hoped that Faith and Parker were telling them about the exciting challenges that could be found in academia instead of telling them about keggers. Duke and Lucy were sitting at the kitchen island whispering furtively. Lucinda and John sat near Angel and Seth and were discussing the various pleasures of New York City. Emma, Iva, Abigail and Katie were discussing whether the girl detective Judy Bolton was more of a feminist role model than Nancy Drew. Jack and Holden were discussing something that related to their moral superiority; Reid couldn’t actually hear what they were talking about but he assumed that they were discussing something related to their moral superiority. Carly, Lily and Aaron sat in the grouping of chairs nearest Luke and Reid.
"So, Luke," asked Aaron. "How are your evening classes going?"
"Pretty good," replied Luke. "In fact I wanted to talk to you about a class I was going to take next semester. It sounds like it’s going to be pretty time-consuming so I thought I’d take only one class this fall."
"What kind of class is it?" asked Aaron.
"It’s an entrepeneurship class," explained Luke. "I have to devise a new business venture and create a business plan. It could be theoretical only but if it seems like a good idea after I do all the necessary research, I might actually create the business and I can get some extra credits for the venture initiation."
"That sounds interesting," said Aaron. "But why did you want to talk to me about it? I’ve managed a nightclub but I’ve never started a business from scratch."
"Well, I was wondering if you still had that dream about opening up a motorcycle repair shop," said Luke. "I thought that if you were interested, I could pick you brain and create a business plan. Then after the semester, we can decide whether we want to actually start the business."
"Wow," said Aaron. "That’s amazing. Thank you for thinking of me for this. But I really don’t have enough money to start my own business."
"I’d be the financial backer if we decide to go through with the business. I’d have to be in on the planning and setting up stages of the business," said Luke. "But if we can make a go out of it, I’d become a silent partner."
"Going into business with family is never a good idea," insisted Lily. "I think that it would be a bad idea for you two to go into business together." Reid rolled his eyes. Lily didn’t exactly have the best business record in the world. The hotel that Lily co-owned was successful because Lisa Grimaldi was hands-on at running the Lakeview Hotel. The television station that Lily co-owned was successful because Kim Hughes was hands-on at running WOAK. Lily had briefly taken a turn at running World Wide Enterprises a couple of years ago and had lost the company a great deal of money before her mother, Lucinda Walsh, had rather forcibly taken back the reins and fixed the problems that Lily had caused. Reid wasn’t sure but he thought that there might also have been a poisonous baby food business that Lily had owned.
Aaron nodded sadly. "As much as I appreciate the thought Luke, I’d feel like a leech if I didn’t put up the money. Do you think that if I take a few years and save up enough money that you still might be interested in starting a business with me? Would you still be able to get school credits?"
"Sure, there’s no rush," Luke assured his brother. "If you want to save up a nest egg, we can start up a motorcycle repair shop in a few years. I don’t want to pressure you but you do know that I’m more than happy to be your financial backer whether you want me as a silent partner or not, right?"
"Thanks, Luke. But most small businesses fail and I’d really want the onus of the financial loss to be upon me."
"Oh, Luke," said Carly excitedly. "I’d love to start a business with you. Ever since I started making quilts for you, I’ve been thinking of starting a new business. Making the quilts have really reinvigorated my creative energies and I’ve been considering starting a designer bedding company. " Luke had been doing a lot of traveling for Grimaldi Shipping over the last couple of years. He had impulsively bought large quantities of exotic textiles when he was in Bangkok and Singapore. When he had arrived home from each of the trips, he had contacted Carly in order to request that she design and make some quilts that he could auction off for charity. He felt that with her history as a designer that she could create something really gorgeous and she had. Her quilts had raised a lot of money for the Luke Snyder Foundation. She had accepted some of the extra material as payment for her work and had made quilts for everyone for Christmas.
"I don’t know Carly," said Luke apologetically. "I had pretty much decided that if Aaron didn’t want to start a business that I was going to plan a neighborhood blues club/barbecue place. I realize that clubs and restaurants are risky but I think it would be a lot more fun than co-owning a quilt factory. And there aren’t any blues clubs or good barbecue places in Oakdale so there might actually be a market."
"I would love to go into business with you and Carly if you decide to start a designer bedding company," said Lily conveniently forgetting her previous opposition to going into business with family. Reid rolled his eyes and grinned at Aaron when he heard Aaron smother a laugh.
"Mom," whined Luke. "I can’t go into business with my mother. I’m pretty sure that being in business together running the Bates Motel is where it all went wrong between Norman Bates and his mom."
"Lily, even if you hadn’t betrayed me the last time we tried to do business together," snarled a peeved Carly. "There’s the fact that you don’t actually bring anything to the table. If I’m the creative side and Luke is the business side, there’s no need for you." Seeing Carly light into the self-absorbed Lily was pretty darn funny to both Reid and Aaron. Luke just found it uncomfortable. He understood the residual anger that Carly felt towards Lily for tricking her into going into going into business with the unscrupulous Craig Montgomery but he loved his mother and didn’t want to see her humiliated. Lily slowly stood and walked over to sit with Jack and Holden.
"Carly, why don’t you come over for brunch tomorrow," invited Luke. "I’ll make pancakes for everyone and you and I can talk about whether the two of us starting a business is a good idea. I can’t make any promises because I really don’t have much of an interest in bedding but we can talk about the concept."
"That sounds fair," said Carly cheerfully. She felt confident that she could convince Luke to be her partner. She had recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding some of the changes that Luke had made at Grimaldi Shipping in the past year and knew that Luke had become a capable and intelligent businessman. He was also incredibly honest and loyal and she would feel safe being in business with him.
Reid would be supportive of whatever type of business venture Luke chose for his entrepeneurship class. But co-owning a blues club/barbecue restaurant would be so much cooler than a bedding company. "Carly, didn’t you previously co-own a couple of nightclubs?" he asked her.
"Yes," she said warily. She liked Reid but he wasn’t a pushover when it came to people who he thought might be trying to take advantage of Luke.
"Luke wants to plan a blues club/barbecue restaurant," Reid said. "Why don’t you think about whether you’d be interested in that instead of trying to convince Luke to do your business idea? He doesn’t need pressured into a business that he isn’t interested in just because he wants some college credits. If he does plan a club and eventually open it, he’ll be too busy with Grimaldi Shipping to run it so he’ll need a manager for it."
"Actually, I think that I could come up with some really great ideas for a blues club," said Carly thoughtfully.
"Reid," Luke asked. "Was that about you being all sweet and gooey and looking after me or was it about you wanting free barbecue?"
"I don’t see why I can’t look after you and get free barbecue," huffed Reid.
Luke smiled at his husband and bumped shoulders with him. Reid grinned back.