I laughed and went back to stirring the pot of soup.
A group of four large men entered the cottage, and my jaw nearly dropped. They were, of course, incredibly good looking and built like brick houses. I turned the stove off and wiped my hands on the apron before setting it aside as William greeted each of them.
He held out his hand for me to take. “Nairie, these are a few of my old friends.”
The one with dark blond hair and light blue eyeshad an Irish accent. “Old? Speak for yourself. Hi, Nairie. I’m Finn, and might I say, it smells divine in here.”
He stuck out his big hand, and I shook it gently. “It’s so nice to meet all of you. I thought you guys might be hungry, so I cooked some dinner.”
Finn squeezed my palm. “We appreciate the hospitality. I can see why William likes you so much. Gorgeous and she can cook.”
William growled and separated our hands. “Enough.”
Finn winked, and I chuckled. Clearly, he was the flirt of the group.
The next man had dark brown hair with a five-o’clock shadow and gray eyes. He was James Bond personified.
“I’m Theo,” he said in a British accent.
The third man had light chestnut-brown hair and glasses that magnified his kind brown eyes, which crinkled when he smiled.
“I’m Archer,” he said in a Scottish accent slightly different from William’s. “Well, the boys call me Archie but you can call me whatever you want.”
Finn let out a chortle and I giggled.
Archer’s eyes went wide. “I meant whatever you’re most comfortable with.”
William pointedly steered me away from Archer towards the last man.
He was the most intimidating, but he stood forward politely. He had a few scars across his face and wore his hair in a buzz cut with tattoos from his skull to his arms.
Not one to mince words, he let out a grunt, “Noah.”
Definitely not the name I expected for him. Helooked more like a Spike or Jameson.
I smiled nervously. “Thank you all for coming. Please, sit. Dinner is ready.”
We made our way to the dining table, which seemed tiny now that five burly men took up the whole space, and I quickly got everyone’s dishes prepared as they tucked into the meal. I sat next to William at the head of the table and smiled warmly up at him as he gripped the back of my neck and brought me in for a sweet kiss. When I looked back at the table, his friends were staring at us with spoons halfway to their mouths.
Finn cleared his throat. “Sorry for staring. We’ve just never seen William so... affectionate.”
Archer pushed his glasses up. “Yeah, he’s usually twisting necks in more violent ways.”
William cleared his throat. “Alright.”
Theo chuckled. “You’re good for him, Nairie. I always knew he was a teddy bear underneath it all.”
I smiled, and we continued eating. “How long have you guys known each other?”
Theo dabbed his mouth with a napkin like he’d had proper etiquette training. “Over a decade. We all kind of grew together through the ranks and went on a few missions as a team. We’re all out now though. Doing odd jobs here and there.”
His accent was aristocratic, but there was an air of danger about him.
Noah remained silent as the rest of them talked, but he finished his soup the fastest, so I quickly got up to refill his bowl. He looked up at me in surprise and quietly thanked me.
Finn was the most jovial, but he looked like a Viking. “He talked a lot about his time in La-La Land whenwe were on tours.”
I looked back at William. “Did he?”
