Chapter 329 Dinner Preparations

Chapter 329 Dinner Preparations　　"Where did they all go?" Tom asked Samantha with a concerned frown after he dropped his and Lucy's bags in the bedroom and returned downstairs, but there was no trace of their parents.

Samantha shrugged, "They didn't say. They just seemed pretty excited to go out, and your mother asked Adolf to drive them in the limo. They took Jamal along with them," She said, and Tom exchanged a look with Lucy.

"Did you tell your dad about the surprise?" Tom asked, and Sonia, who had just joined them, gave Lucy a questioning look.

"You told him that your dad asked us to remind them?" Sonia asked incredulously, eyeing Lucy like she was a traitor.

"Yes."

"No," Lucy and Tom said simultaneously, and Sonia rolled her eyes at Tom, who was trying to cover for Lucy.

"She didn't need to tell us. She only confirmed what we already knew. We are smart enough to figure it out on our own. Maybe if just one of you had reminded us, it would have been less suspicious than the both of you doing it at around the same time after speaking with Andrew privately," Tom told Sonia, and she rolled her eyes. 

"If you were that smart, then you wouldn't have forgotten your dad's birthday in the first place," Sonia said with a tsk, and Jade, who just joined them, laughed while Samantha and Lucy struggled to keep a straight face. 

Tom scowled at Sonia, "In case you missed it, your boyfriend is the least smart amongst the Hank siblings," Tom fired back, and this time both Lucy and Samantha joined in Jade's laughter since the joke wasn't at Tom's expense.

"And that proves my point," Tom said, pointing at Bryan, who was walking in their direction, hugging the bag containing the bottle of wines to himself and using his chin to balance it while also carrying the two bags containing all the snacks they had gotten, and from the looks of him some of the snacks had fallen out of the bag, and he couldn't wait to set it all down.

"What proves what?" Bryan asked as Sonia took the bags of snacks from him. 

"Carry all of that alone proves that you are not very smart. Because if you were, you would have come in with just Jade's duffel bag and asked any of the household staff to bring in the rest stuff from the car," Tom pointed out, and Bryan scoffed as he dropped the bag of wine on the dining table, while Samantha retraced his steps to pick up whatever must have fallen out of the bag on his way in. 

"Yeah, I'm the same not very smart brother you asked for advice on how to woo your girlfriend," Bryan said dryly, and Lucy looked at Tom while Sonia snickered at him.

"Yeah, the same advice that almost blew up in my face..."

"No, brother. It wasn't my advice that almost blew up in your face. I never asked you to lie to her. I may not be smart, but I'm not a liar. Right, baby?" Bryan asked Sonia.

"You're smart, baby, and you're definitely not a liar, my love," Sonia said with a grin as she kissed his cheek, and Tom eyed the both of them irritably. 

"Tom isn't a liar, and I'm sure whatever advise you gave him must not have been very good either since you obviously didn't advise him to tell the truth," Lucy said in Tom's defense, and Tom smiled at her. 

Sonia and Lucy scowled at each other while Bryan and Tom glared at each other. Jade, who had been enjoying the banter, shook her head, "C'mon, children. No fighting!" 

"Nobody is fighting. It's just a harmless... debate," Tom said, and Bryan scoffed.

"Oh, wow! A couples debate, I wish I wasn't so single so that I could join in," Jade said dryly.

"I doubt that Harry would have anything interesting to say if it's not about work. You called him boring after all..."

"Harry is not boring," Jade and Tom snapped at him simultaneously, and Bryan shook his head. 

"It is no wonder that Tom is your favorite sibling. All three of you are boring," Bryan said, and without waiting for their response, he looked around, "So why is the place quiet? Where are mom and dad?" He asked curiously, reminding them of the reason they were all standing there. 

"Samantha said they all went out," Tom informed him before turning to Lucy, "So? Did you tell your dad anything about our plan? Maybe he found a way to take them out of the house so that..." 

"No, I didn't say anything to him," Lucy said before Tom could finish, and he gave her a nod.

"When did they leave the house?" Jade asked Samantha, who had returned to join them.

"Sometime around Eleven, I think," Samantha said.

"Does that mean they went out to celebrate his birthday? Without us?" Bryan asked, and Jade pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"I think so. This is probably for the best. Let's organize the place and freshen up before they get back," Jade suggested, clapping her hands to get them started.

"The cake and food are ready, I hope?" Tom asked Samantha.

"Yes, sir. Everything is ready," Samantha said with a polite smile.

"And I can trust that Adolf isn't aware of the surprise plan?" Tom asked since he had counted on the fact that Samantha and Adolf were always at loggerheads before entrusting her with the secret.

"I made sure he didn't come anywhere close to the kitchen," Samantha said, and Tom nodded in approval. 

"We can have dinner out on the patio, right?" Jade asked, and Tom gave her a nod. 

"Patio?" Lucy asked, realizing that there were still so many parts of the house that she was yet to see. She hadn't even thought that there was a patio. 

"Yes, the patio.

I think it'll be more intimate if we all sit outside and enjoy the evening air," Jade explained, considering that Lucy was asking because she didn't hear her correctly.

"You don't have to worry about setting the table. We will set the table ourselves," Jade assured Samantha before looking around, "Where is Candace?"

"She is in the guestroom, Miss Hank. Your parents wanted her to go with them, but she insisted on staying back," Samantha explained, and Jade nodded. 

"Please send someone to let her know that I'm here now," Jade said as she took off her shoes, "Let's meet down here in ten minutes to set the table. I need to get out of these clothes," Jade called to the others as she headed for the stairs.

"I didn't know the house had a patio," Lucy whispered to Tom as they both headed upstairs to get out of their work clothes.

"I will give you a tour of the place tomorrow," Tom promised as he took her hand.

Once they got into the bedroom, Lucy walked into the closet with the shopping bag and discreetly transferred the tampons into her box before returning with the bag.

"What is your dad's shoe size?" Lucy asked as she took out the shower gel from the shopping bag and placed it on the dressing table before going to drop the shopping bag on the bed.

"I think he wears a size ten," Tom said thoughtfully as Lucy came to stand in front of him with her back to him. And as though he had been trained to do it all his life, he reached for the zipper of her dress and unzipped it to reveal her white lace bralette and matching pant.

"Thanks," Lucy said as she stepped away from him, "I think this will fit him," she said as she took out the memory foam slippers from the shopping bag and showed it to him.

"You got my dad a birthday gift?" Tom asked, surprised and pleased by the gesture as he admired the slippers.

"I got a pair of these for my dad two years ago, and he really loved them. I think your dad will like it too. What do you think?" Lucy asked as she returned the slippers to the bag and shrugged off her dress.

"I think I'm jealous of my dad," Tom said, and Lucy laughed as she stepped out of her office dress and placed it in the laundry basket. 

Tom watched her in surprise since she didn't seem embarrassed as she usually was to take off her clothes in front of him. He didn't comment on it and just followed her movement with his eyes as she walked into the closet to find something to wear.

"No need to be jealous. Don't worry. I promise to get you something better on your birthday," she called out to him, "What do you think I should wear?"

"Something comfortable. I could give you one of my t-shirts," Tom offered as he walked into the closet to join her. 

"Why haven't you taken off your clothes yet?" Lucy asked when she raised her head and noticed that he was still fully dressed, apart from his shoes which he had taken off the moment they walked into the bedroom.

"Because I'm waiting for you to do it. I told you it's your duty to undress me until you can look at my naked body without feeling embarrassed, remember?" He said, and she raised a brow.

"You said you would undress me too, but I just did so myself," she pointed out. 

"I could take off your undies if you want me to, but what I can't assure you is that we will make it downstairs in time to set the table with the others," Tom said with a naughty smile, and Lucy laughed.

"And you believe I have more self-control than you do? Take off your clothes," Lucy ordered as she unzipped her suitcase and took out a black mini jean skirt and a floral patterned t-shirt.

"That sounds hot," Tom joked, and Lucy giggled.

"What is going to be hot is your sister's temper when she gets there before you. Join us when you're ready," Lucy said as she walked out of the closet with her clothes in hand and went to dress up in front of the mirror. 

She was glad that she and Tom had been able to put the unpleasantness of earlier behind them. Now the major thing on her mind was how she was going to tell Lucas about Rachel. 

She was going to have to tell him about it at some point that evening, as she doubted that she would find the courage to tell him about it if she kept it to herself for much longer.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked as he stepped out of the closet, already dressed in a white t-shirt and jean shorts, while she was just buttoning her t-shirt.

"Yeah. If you were Lucas, would you want me to tell our parents about Rachel first before telling you?" Lucy asked curiously.

"The wise thing would be to tell your parents so that you all find a way to tell him about it as a family, but the best thing for him would be to tell him about it first. I'm not sure I would appreciate it if either Jade or Bryan went behind me to tell my parents something about you," Tom said, and Lucy nodded.

"So I have to tell Lucas about Rachel before telling my parents," Lucy said, and Tom nodded. 

"We could just tell our parents together at the same time. Why don't you stay back and give Lucas a call right now? Then we can tell our parents about Anita and Rachel after dinner tonight?" Tom asked, and Lucy shook her head.

"It can wait. I have to join you guys in setting up..."

"It shouldn't wait. I will do your share of the work. I'm sure the others will understand. Just give him a call right now, and join us when you are done," Tom said as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead before walking out of the bedroom.