“Did you say broccoli and rice casserole?” Arvid interrupted, Astra’s words penetrating his brain.
“Yes.”
Arvid dropped the footrest of the recliner, making Hella gasp, and got to his feet, his wife in his arms. “Let’s go eat, woman. Your daughter made my favorite.”
Hella rolled her eyes as her husband carried her toward the door. “You know damn well she was going to because you asked her!” she argued.
“Yeah, well, with all that beating I did on her man, I forgot.”
Sylvie moved out of the doorway, knowing that her father would mow her down if she didn’t move herself. Then, she looked at Astra and shook her head. “That man is obsessed with food.”
“That’s the truth,” Astra answered.
Sylvie came into the room, letting her left hand drop to her side, the plate still in her grip. “Are you okay?”
Astra blew out a long breath. “I think so.”
“How was the conversation with Mom and Dad? I came to your rescue as quickly as I could.”
Astra gave her sister a droll look. “Not too quickly since you, Devorah, and Sirena cleaned out the snack tray.”
“Hey, Claudia helped.”
“I’m sure she ate a reasonable amount, unlike the three of you.”
“If you didn’t want us to eat it, you shouldn’t have brought it.”
Astra rolled her eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
Next time there was a family meal, she would make two trays. One for her sisters and one for the rest of them.
“So, Mom and Dad?” Sylvie prompted.
“I think Mom is willing to keep an open mind. Dad already likes him because of the way he looks at me and the fact that he’s a sneaky bastard in a fight.”
Sylvie grinned. “I know. Damn, I knew Dad wouldn’t hurt him, but I figured he’d get the upper hand pretty quickly. Instead, it was like watching two MMA champions go head-to-head.”
“I was surprised myself. He never moved like that when we were sparring.”
“Probably because he wanted you to tackle him,” Sylvie said, wagging her eyebrows like a weirdo.
Astra rolled her eyes. “Will you stop being a perv?”
“Never!”
Astra shook her head and gave her sister a little shove. Which, of course, turned into Sylvie giving her a shot to the shoulder. Then, they were wrestling in the doorway of the office until they heard footsteps on the stairs to the left. They stopped tussling to watch as Rune descended the steps, once again fully dressed in his freshly washed and dried pants and the shirt he’d removed before the fight.
“I’ll just, uh, go set the table or something,” Sylvie said, vanishing down the hall into the kitchen, the empty plate still in her hand.
“Why was she carrying a plate?” Rune asked as he reached the bottom step.
“I have no idea,” Astra answered. She stopped a few feet from him, realizing this was the first time they’d spoken alone in nearly a week. “How are you feeling?”
“Warmer,” he murmured, tucking his hands in his pockets, and rocking back on his heels.
She clasped her hands together in front of her. She needed to come right out and say what she needed to say. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you this week. I…” she trailed off and then cleared her throat because it suddenly felt too tight. “I was embarrassed by the way I acted, and I wanted to rectify the situation with my parents before I spoke to you again. I wanted to be able to tell you that I’d explained everything to my parents.”
Rune came forward and reached for her hands. He paused before he touched her, as though he feared she would pull away. Astra reached out so their fingers touched and then laced together.
