For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Kendall let out a breath that sounded half-disbelieving. "You just… used her own system against her."
Rafael picked up his glass, the smile gone now, leaving only clarity behind.
"I used the rules she insisted on," he said. "Nothing more."
Anatoli looked at him, shaken. "She won't forgive this."
Rafael met his gaze steadily.
"I'm not asking her to."
Rafael set the napkin beside his plate and rose without haste.
Chairs scraped softly as Kendall and Anatoli followed his movement with their eyes, neither quite ready to stand, neither certain whether this was an ending or merely an intermission. Rafael took his jacket from the back of the chair and then inclined his head once toward his cousins.
"It was a fun luncheon," he said, tone even, almost wry. "But next time, give me a heads-up before something like this happens."
Kendall let out a weak laugh. "I didn't think she'd…"
