He’s not appeased, but Henry’s the only person Grant wants to keep happy.
“Of course. I’m sorry, sir, that was... uncalled for. Beer obviously doesn’t serve me well.”
The only thing missing is him bowing so low his forehead brushes his bloodied shoes.
“And you,” Henry says, turning to me, voice stern but eyes amused. “That’s some lethal weapons you’ve got there.” He smacks my bicep. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”
“I have six brothers, four older than me. We fought all the time when we were growing up.”
I don’t mention we still sometimes throw the odd punch. It’s been a while, but it happens. The last one was probably Logan clocking Nico when Melody was born.
To be perfectly honest, if he hadn’t, I would’ve. Nico was out of control. He refused to let anyone other than Mia hold the kid, which didn’t sit well with us. We got into a heated argument, but Nico was deaf to all arguments and Logan lost his cool.
It worked. Nico toned down afterward, though he’s still way too overprotective. Melody’s feet barely touched the ground during her first year of life.
“Right,” Henry muses, looking around the silent onlookers. “I think the show’s over.” He motions at everyone to get going before he turns to me. “You should probably check on Addie.”
With a nod, I grab two beers, certain Addie could use one right about now. I expect she’s shaken up, maybe scared, but when I enter our suite, ready to hug her and explain myself, she’s throwing her clothes into a suitcase.
“What are you doing?” I ask, closing the door behind me.
“What does it look like?!” she snaps, tearing dresses off hangers. “We’re leaving. Rightnow.I’ve had enough!”
My eyebrows knot in the middle. “You need to calm down. You’re not thinking straight.”
Her head whips to me fast and she stops pacing. “Calm down? CALM DOWN?! How the hell am I supposed to do that? You just got in afight!” She throws her hands up, then slaps them hard against her thighs.
It shouldn’t. I know it fuckingshouldn’t, given the circumstances, but the sound of her palms connecting with her bare flesh makes my cock twitch.
“This is not how this trip was supposed to go!” she continues, working herself up more with every word. “I wanted a drama-free week. Is that so much to ask for?!”
I flex my fingers and crack my neck, her attitude rubbing me the wrong way. “Take a deep breath, Audrey.”
She doesn’t. Of course she doesn’t.
Not even her full name rolling off my tongue grabs her attention. It should. It’s a sign she shouldn’t ignore, but she looks like she didn’t notice I called herAudrey.
Instead of recanting, she fuckingscoffsat me, arms akimbo.
That’ll cost her dearly.
“Deep breaths won’t help. God! I’m so angry! I thought if I brought you here, Grant would stay away!”
I try to cut in, but before I get a word out, she’s ranting again, working herself up even more. And over what?
Grant?
He doesn’t deserve a single second of her attention.
“But nooooo,” she wails, pacing again. “He’shere, making our lives miserable! He’s such a bloody knobhead! I... I—” She pauses, running out of steam as she closes her eyes. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this.”
I hate seeing her like this. Frantic, unstable, and close to tears. She needs a distraction. She needs to calm down and look at the situation with a clear mind.
And I only know one way to clear her mind.
“You trust me?” I ask, rising from the bed.
“Do I trust you?” She spits out the words like they’re something bitter stuck to her tongue.
