I bet Wylder wouldn’t be happy about that.
Dalton seems like the only calm one, but then again, you can never trust him when he’s quiet like this.
“Hm, things are taking a turn, aren’t they?” Ansel says more to himself than anyone else. Because even though he doesn’t quite know us or what we’re truly capable of, he seems to read the room—that we’re seconds away from exploding and tearing this entire night apart.
“No worries,” he says loudly. “I’ll eat it, then.” He leans forward and grabs the plate, dragging it across the table. He puts it right in front of him and sticks a fork in the fish. “I have a great metabolism and can manage another plate. I get why you’re on a diet.”
He shoves the fish into his mouth and groans, his snark getting me hot and bothered. His behavior isn’t hitting the rest of the table in the same way it is me, but there’s more than one smirking face watching him.
“Well,” Candace huffs, staring at Ansel as he devours her food. “You make me sound ungrateful.”
“You are,” Ansel replies around a bite, the wine obviously making his tongue loose. I like it. I fucking love this bratty side of him. “You have an amazing meal cooked by an amazing chef, and you won’t eat it. You’ve done nothing but complain all fucking night. That’s ungratefulandrude, if you ask me.”
I bite back a laugh, and so does everyone else, barring Wylder, who seems to be trying to defuse the situation, murmuring in low tones to Candace.
Dalton smirks down the table. “Can I marry Ansel?”
Ansel chokes on a bite of his fish. I glare at Dalton warningly. He just winks. Fucker.
Ansel’s mine. I don’t share.
Thankfully though, Ansel’s snark soothed Samson’s rising temper, because the tapping of the dagger under the table stops and my grumpy brother proceeds to eat. And the rest of dinner continues on as best it can, everyone raving about the main meal while Candace stares angrily at my boyfriend.
I try to ignore it. Ansel certainly is. He’s not bothered at all.
Wish I could say the same. I tolerate it though, for Wylder’s sake.
We all behave ourselves until dessert. That’s when the tether of civility seems to snap. We’ve held it together far too long, the string tightening with each minute until it gave up the ghost.
It’s the tarte tatin that does it.
Jules brings it out with a flourish, making Ansel clap his hands as it’s set before us. I grin at the easy joy he displays. When was the last time I was that excited over something as simple as dessert?
“A work of art,” Harley drawls, directing his gaze to Candace, daring her to say anything to the contrary.
She peers at the dessert and sips her water. “Apples? Seriously? How passé. I think you need a new chef, Matthias. This one is obviously not up to par.”
It’s quiet for a second. You can almost touch the silence, the weight of it hanging over us.
Then Harley explodes.
His chair hits the floor with a resoundingbangas he leaps to his feet. His palms smack into the table as he glares at Candace. “Say one more word, bitch, and I’ll slice you open like the fucking apple pie!”
Jules gasps, a hand fluttering over his chest. “Harley, it’s more than apple pie, it’s tarte tatin.”
Harley mumbles an apology, but doesn’t take his gaze off Candace. He’s watching her like the predator he is, waiting to strike.
“I mean it, Wylder,” he says softly. Too softly. I stiffen alongside the rest of my brothers. As much as we hate Candace, it’ll upset Wylder if we let Harley gut her. “If I have to hear this cunt criticize Jules’s food one more time, I’m going to go nuclear.”
“Seems you already have,” Candace says coldly. “I was under the impression you were raised to behave better than this.”
All of us freeze, even Wylder. He’s staring at Candace like he’s never seen her before.
Harley slams his hands down on the table once more. Forks rattle and a cup falls over, spilling water on the wood. “Trust me, I’m actingexactlyas I was raised.”
Wylder is apparently at his limit. “Candace, perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere more private.”
Ansel watches it all with wide eyes, and I bring the tarte over to him and give him a slice.
