Invisible String | Emily Prentiss x Reader

thirty seven

𝐘/𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕

"Florence! I'm so glad you guys could make it!" Juliette smiled as she pulled me into a hug, followed by Luke. She had invited us over to her house for dinner, and we were finally going to meet her husband, Winston. 

It had been a little over a week since the get-together at our house, and unsurprisingly, absolutely no progress had been made in the case. It's like every lead we have turns to a dead-end.

Luke and I had been out to several dinners and events, but there wasn't enough time to get to know everyone on a personal level. 

So, at Fields' suggestion, we were going to spend time with individual couples instead of large groups. Juliette and Winston were an easy start since Juliette and I had gotten to know each other pretty well over the last couple of weeks. I was still suspicious of her husband, so hopefully, we'll get some new information today.

"Thank you for inviting us," Luke said.

"Of course! My husband, Winston, is in the kitchen, so why don't I give you guys a tour of the house?" She asked as she took our jackets to hang by the door.

"That would be lovely." I smiled. 

She walked us through the house, which was probably double the size of our safe house. That made sense, though, Juliette told us that Winston owned a furniture company, so he brought in a lot of revenue. 

"Oh my god, can I be buried in here!" I gasped as we walked into the library. There had to be thousands of books in the room with floor-to-ceiling shelves. Luke chuckled as he stood behind me.

"I know, right? It's my favorite room." Juliette smiled as she stood beside me, giving me a wink before guiding us into another room. 

After another 10 minutes, we made it to the kitchen, where her husband was at the stove stirring a pot. 

"Florence and Richard, this is my husband Winston." Juliette smiled as she introduced us, causing Winston to turn around. He was about the same height and build as Luke. He had dark hair and even darker eyes, with a genuine smile as he turned to greet us.

"Ah, the infamous Florence. I've heard a lot about you." He smiled as he walked over and shook my hand.

"All good things, I hope." I chuckled as I looked up at him.

"Of course!" He smiled before turning to greet Luke. 

We all served ourselves the food Richard had made before heading to their dining room.

"This is delicious, Winston." I complimented after a minute of content quietness. 

"It's my Abuela's recipe." He said with a smile that I could tell was genuine. So far, he seemed like a normal guy, but sometimes the worst people are the best actors, so I couldn't dismiss anything. 

"Before she died, she made a book of all the recipes she learned from her family and gave it to me. I'm trying to make every single one before I die." He continued and found it oddly enduring even though I wanted to hate him. 

"That's a lovely goal." I nodded, not knowing how to keep the conversation going, so I just focused on my food. Thankfully, Luke came to my rescue and brought up the fact that he and Winston surprisingly (not really) play at the same gold course.

The rest of dinner was filled with small talk and nothing incriminating or odd, so I needed to find a way to get Luke and me to stay longer. 

"Juliette mentioned that you have a lot of plants," I said to Winston as we took our plates to the kitchen.