“Extra bacon, crispy?—”
“Hash browns, the really greasy kind?—”
“Eggs, scrambled, with cheese?—”
I just sat back with a hint of a smirk on my lips, basking in the glow of being surrounded by my family. This was home, not the building but the people filling it.
It took several minutes for the discord to die down. “You guys will get what I damn well order, and you’ll be grateful for it,” Grayson barked out. “And someone help Corvo over there brew some more damn coffee before we have a caffeine-related homicide.”
Grumbles ensued, but I loved it, loved being in the circle of their chaos. This was the only kind of mayhem I enjoyed. “So, what, are you guys like best friends now?” I asked the group.
“I don’t know if the world is ready for an Elite and Crew merger,” Fynn replied, stretching his long arms above his head, flashing a bit of bronze abs.
“But for now, a mutual truce exists,” Raine added from his position leaning against the counter, his fingers tapping the side of his mug.
“I guess that’s one good thing that came out of this nightmare,” I said.
“That and you being a complete badass.” Maddox smirked, softening a look of pride.
“I’m glad you think so.” I took another sip of coffee to hide my smile. “Does that mean no hard feelings about the cocoa incident?”
Maddox shook his head. “Hardly, menace. You’re definitely going to pay for that. I spent all night thinking about how you can make it up to me.”
I sighed. “Do I even want to know?”
Maddox leaned against the counter, giving up completely on the coffee machine. “How about we start with dinner?”
“Wait, you want to take me on a date?”
Hisgrin turned wolfish. “That’s generally what dinner between two people implies, yeah.”
Raine snorted into his coffee. “You must have an actual death wish. Kreed is going to wipe the floor with your face if you try to take her out.”
“Something tells me it would be worth it,” Maddox said with a wink.
I choked on my coffee, the liquid going down wrong and making me cough. Several hands reached toward me in concern, but I waved them off, eyes watering.
“Anyone who thinks about dating my cousin,” Brock piped in, “has to get through us first. And we have a pretty extensive and in-depth screening process, isn’t that right, Fynn?”
Fynn’s boyish grin turned wicked. “Oh, extremely thorough. We’re talking references, credit reports, full psychological evaluation.”
I rolled my eyes. To think I’d been worried things might be weird between us. It was nice to know I could be spectacularly wrong, especially about the Corvo boys.
When the food arrived, the kitchen transformed into an absolute madhouse. The doorbell woke Mason and Micah. The pair stumbled into the kitchen looking rumpled and hungover. The room was big by normal standards, but it was rapidly becoming overcrowded.
“Morning, my little kitten.” Mason pressed a kiss to the top of my head before grabbing a plate.
These damn Corvos and their ability to slide into my heart. I thought I had closed myself off after losing my parents, but somehow, they each found the teeniest crack in my shield and wedged through without me knowing.
A plate materialized in front of me before I could even stand up, piled dangerously high with way more food than I could eat. French toast drowning in syrup, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit.
“Eat,” Raine ordered simply as he dropped into the seat directly to my right.
Two other chairs were claimed in rapid succession, Mason sliding into the one on my left and Maddox claiming the seat across from me. I was completely surrounded by Corvos, minus the one still sleeping upstairs.
The Elite turned from the kitchen island with their own plates in hand, and I watched their collective expressions shift from casual to what the fuck as they registered the seating arrangement. It occurred to me with sudden clarity that Raine, Maddox, and Mason had deliberately taken the seats closest to me, a strategic move designed to send a message to the Elite that I was still under Ravens’ protection, still part of their crew.
My cousin caught my eye from across the room, and I held my breath, half afraid of what would happen next, but Brock surprised me. His mouth quirked in amusement or resignation, I couldn’t quite tell which. He shook his head slowly, grabbed his plate, and walked deliberately into the family room.
