She returned her attention to her stew and tried not to think about where their brother was and whether he was safe.
“So, little mouse,” Reaper sidled up to her, sliding into the chair next to her, studying her. “I completely forgot to ask. What did you do to make my brother laugh?”
“He laughed?” Knight asked, one brow arching.
“Yes, the big beast laughed. I heard him with my own ears.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“He. Laughed. I’m going to win the bet.”
Calliope glanced between the brothers. “You’re wagering against your brother?”
Reaper winked at her. “Always.”
“He actually laughed?” Knight pressed. “Did you see it?”
“No.”
“Then it didn’t happen.”
Reaper scoffed. “You were there, little mouse. He laughed, didn’t he?”
Calliope thought for a moment. Had he laughed? Could it be considered a laugh? A light chuckle perhaps. Needless to say, she wasn’t going to enter this conversation, this bet, whatever it was. “I can’t recall.”
Knight snorted.
So did Reaper, his eyes narrowing on her. “Well, you’re no fun,petite souris.”
“Don’t think calling me mouse in French will endear you to me.”
He scowled, then smoothed out the lines and smiled again. “Come, little mouse. Just what did you do to make my brother laugh in a way I’ve never heard from him?”
Knight took a sip of something, watching her.
Calliope set her spoon down with a sigh. He wasn’t going to let this go. And the one with thestarewas even worse. “I hit him in the nether regions with a boot.”
Knight spit out the contents in his mouth all over the bar counter, coughing.
Reaper’s mouth dropped open.
Well, they asked.
“You did what?” Reaper asked astonished. “And you haven’t been shipped off?”
“Should I have been?” she challenged.
Both men fell silent.
“Do you not own a gown?” a low voice growled from the doorway.
Maxen.
Calliope glanced over at him, her heart fluttering at the sight of him removing his cap and tossing it at Knight before striding over to her table. Once again, she had the odd sense that the man was a storm cloud straining to split open. However, she no longer saw that as danger. Rather, just the man.
She grinned. “Why yes, I do. Several.”
He yanked Reaper from the chair beside her and took his spot. “Smart mouth.”
