Chapter 47

“Oh, my God,” Gavin lifted both hands to his face and stared, wide-eyed. “You said a bad word! So…it takes Miss Swift to bring that out in you, does it?”

“Good heavens, that’s not a bad word!” Matthew said around a laugh. “Now, go!” He put up his left foot and nudged Gavin’s chair with it. “Music, maestro!”

Gavin stood, flourished a bow, and trotted off to the living room while Matthew topped up their wine glasses and peeked at the clock. It was already almost four P.M., although how they’d managed to sink almost three hours into two games of Scrabble was beyond him. He imagined that the sun was starting to dip, but with the closed up drapery it was impossible to tell. In the Strauss-Dietrich household, it was always nighttime.

As if heralding his thought, the symphonic sounds of classical music began to swell through the house.

“Nice choice,” he said when Gavin skated back into the kitchen, using the tile floor as a Slip ‘N Slide.