“Restful,” Lydia answered me. “Pancakes okay for you?”
“Sure. Let me help,” I said, wanting to find a way to keep myself busy. The initial nerves I had felt at the thought of being in the same room as Lucas after last night had dissipated but that didn’t mean I wanted to spend any more time with him than necessary.
“No, no! You go and take a seat at the table.”
I took a deep breath and turned around before walking over to the table, looking anywhere but at Lucas. Every fiber of my being would like to have sat at the other end of the table, putting as much physical distance between us as possible, but that would just continue to make things awkward. Instead, I pulled out the chair across from him and silently took a seat.
“Decided to join us this morning?” he asked sharply, unable to feign being polite.
How could Lydia think this man was kind? Lucas was cold and harsh in everything he did. There was a persistent tension that rolled off him in waves and filled the room until I felt like I was suffocating.
“At Lydia’s request,” I clarified, wanting him to know that it had nothing to do with his demands last night.
Lydia came over and set down three plates at the table, and I felt a surge of relief at the thought that she would be joining us for breakfast.
“Alright, boss? Lyds!” A cheerful voice boomed through the room. My head snapped to the doorway to see a man striding over to Lydia and pulling her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head before releasing her from his grasp. By the way he was dressed, I assumed he worked for Lucas, but he carried himself differently. Less rigid and more relaxed.
“I have a plate all set up for you, Dante,” Lydia told him.
Lucas rose from his seat to hug the fair-haired friend. When they let go of each other the new arrival looked directly at me.
“Who’s this?” he asked Luc, jerking his head in my direction.
I may not have grown up with my mother, but Dad had taught me some manners. From my seat, I extended a hand to him. “I’m Mia Griffin.”
“Dante Atwood. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Griffin,” Dante said, taking my hand. Instead of shaking it, he kissed the back and I felt myself blush. Dante turned his head to Lucas and continued, “Not your usual type, Luc, but she is beautiful.”
The annoyance was evident in Lucas’s voice as he said, “It’s business.”
“Ah,” Dante said, finally letting go of my hand. “Well, that’s a shame.” He gave me a wink before taking the seat opposite me. “No syrup today?”
“I’ll grab it,” I volunteered in a bid to get away from the table and give my face a chance to cool down. I hadn’t anticipated Luc having such friendly people in his life.
Chapter Five
Lucas
Iwatched Mia as she got up from the table. I wasn’t in the best mood last night and it hadn’t improved this morning. Lydia had scolded me for losing my temper at her, Mia was still being a stubborn pain in the ass, and now Dante had joined us for breakfast. He may be one of the only people outside of blood I considered family, and my right hand, but sometimes I wondered if I should have chosen a person who possessed a filter between his brain and his mouth.
“It’s in the cupboard above the coffee machine,” I told her gruffly as she stood frozen by the counter. Lydia had left to start the rest of her jobs and Mia didn’t know a thing about this place yet.
I caught Dante watching her intently and I narrowed my eyes. “Pack it in.”
“What?” he asked innocently. “You said she’s business, but I’d like to know her on a more personal level.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Dante burned through women quicker than I did. I threw a quick glance over to Mia who was struggling to reach the syrup on the shelf with her tiny frame, and couldn’t deny the fact that Dante had voiced the thought I’d had when I’d first seen her. Mia was quite the beauty, if only she would keep her mouth shut.
Dante picked himself up from his seat and joined her by the cupboards. “Let me help you there, sweetheart.”
Pressing up behind her, a hand resting on her hip, he pulled the bottle from the shelf. My jaw clenched, watching them so close to each other. She squeezed past Dante, walked back to the table and placed the bottle down. As she did, I caught sight of the fingerprint bruises around her wrist and felt the guilt creep through me. I had never intended to hurt her, just make a point, but then Mia opened her mouth and I couldn’t control my anger.
“Too much sugar cannot be good for your body,” Mia said, taking her seat as she watched Dante slather his pancakes in the sticky sauce. It was hard to believe that he was 25 and not 15 at times. Dante had barely changed in the fifteen years we had known each other.
He set the bottle down and shrugged as Mia picked up the coffee mug in front of her and drank deeply. I was surprised to see that she didn’t dull the taste with sugar or creamer, but took it black.
“This body’s all good, sweetheart,” Dante told her. “I’ll let you check it yourself if you’re that concerned.”
Mia almost spat out her sip and I slammed my mug down on the table, irritated by Dante’s blatant attempts to flirt, causing them both to jump.
