Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
When I get down to breakfast, everyone is at the table.
I guess having meals in the dining room is going to be a new thing with too many people to hang out in the kitchen.
I need to check in with Suzy and Ben to see if I need to hire a chef now that we’re feeding five extra mouths with three of them being boys.
There’s a huge spread of fruit, pastries, and pancakes set out, but I hear Sage whining.
“Where’s the meat, Suzy? You know I like my meat.”
Suzy scoffs indelicately. “That’s what she said.”
Tristan chuckles and holds out his hand for a fist bump, which she indulges as she places a platter of bacon and sausage links on the table. “There, are you happy now? Make sure you eat some fruit to go along with all that meat. You need a better diet.”
“Oh, I’m starving. I’ll have some meat too,” Vienna, who is sitting next to him, says, holding out her plate to Sage who places a couple of pieces of bacon on it and a sausage.
“Who the fuck are you and what did you do with Sage?” Gio gapes at him in surprise. “You usually get stabby with your fork whenever I ask for some.”
“That’s because you don’t deserve any. You are an asshole, but Vienna needs it for brain power for school, although I am almost certain Vienna has already had her protein this morning.
” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at her, and she blushes prettily.
Casey chokes on her juice, carefully placing her glass on the table.
Sage leans in and inhales deeply near Vienna’s neck, making her giggle.
“Yup, someone had a workout this morning and needs to replenish her energy.”
The table falls into an awkward silence before Gio grabs a pastry and throws it at Sage. “Shut it, I’m fucking eating. I don’t need any details of whatever kinky shit you have gotten up to.”
Colton and Tristan are ignoring the commotion and talking quietly between them, so only Xavier has noticed me paused in the doorway. I wink at him before grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee off the side table. I sit down next to him. His hand finds my thigh, and he gives it a squeeze.
“Good morning,” I say cheerfully to everyone else before grabbing a Danish to go with my coffee. I love Suzy’s strawberry Danishes. They are my biggest weakness. I take a big bite and groan. “This is so freaking good.” They are still warm and the perfect balance of flaky pastry and sugary filling.
Tristan smirks, and Xavier’s hand tightens on my thigh. Colton and Vienna stare at me with undisguised desire. I guess they are still riding the high from our little session.
Sage leans back in his chair and looks at me, his eyes sparkling. “Well, someone seems to be in a good mood this morning. I wonder why that is?”
“You’ve finally joined us. I want to discuss what you’ve been up to this week,” Gio says, and I can tell by his tone he’s grumpy. Is he really looking to pick a fight this morning? What is his fucking problem?
“You know we don’t talk business at the table,” Suzy says, slapping him on the back of the head before retrieving an empty platter and returning to the kitchen. He glares at me, and I shrug.
“I don’t want to piss off the person who makes our meals.
You can come see me at the office after school if you want and we can talk there,” I tell him, and I practically see steam pouring out of his ears.
I know he can’t because he and Casey have a prior engagement.
All I’m doing is pissing him off, but it’s time he’s gotten a taste of his own medicine.
Oh well, he will get over it. It isn’t like he has shown any interest lately anyway.
“Here, you left this at the range yesterday.” Tristan reaches behind him, pulls my gun out of the waistband of his pants, and passes it to me over the table.
“Oh good, thank you. That saves me from having to retrieve it.” I tuck it into the holster in my corset and take a sip of my coffee.
“What the fuck? Who are you, and what have you done to my sister?” Gio asks the same stupid question he asked of Sage. “You never go anywhere without that gun.”
I flip him off and ignore his question. He doesn’t deserve to know anything.
“I guess she was completely mesmerized by my and Xavier’s marksmanship. We totally kicked her ass,” Tristan crows, and I didn’t think Gio’s eyes could get any wider, but he continues to surprise me.
“You beat Tori at shooting?”
“They cheated,” I grumble, remembering the taunting words Tristan and Xavier whispered to one another.
“Don’t be a sore loser. You still won in the end,” Xavier says quietly in my ear, “and I kicked her ass on the mats this morning,” Xavier adds louder for everyone to hear.
I feel my cheeks heat as everyone turns their attention to me. “What? I’m freaking tired, okay? I’m working my ass off, unlike some other people,” I say, pointedly looking at my brother. “It’s been a few weeks since I’ve worked out with Lorn and Castiel.”
“We should have a spa day and get some massages and a facial. That will make you feel better and more refreshed.” Vienna bounces in her chair with enthusiasm.
My cheeks heat even more. “I’ve never had a spa day before,” I tell her. I’ve had manicures and pedicures, but none of the other fancy things.
She claps her hands together. “It’s a date. I’ll organize it. Are you free tomorrow? I don’t have any classes.”
I think about my schedule. It’s hard to know, because I don’t know what the meeting with the guys will yield today.
“Yes, she can clear her schedule,” Sage states firmly, and I frown at him.
“I don’t know if I can.”
He waves a hand at me. “If something comes up, I can handle it. Go get pampered. You have been working overtime and deserve it.”
I sigh. “Fine, why don’t you make an appointment at the Lucky Diamond? We won’t have to pay for it, and apparently, the spa there is excellent,” I suggest to Vienna.
“Oh, I’ve heard really good things about it. I’ll call them today.” She’s practically vibrating with excitement.
I hear Gio grumble under his breath, and Sage glares at him. What the fuck is his problem? I decide to take one day off in I don’t know how long, and he gets pissy.
Casey puts her hand over his and whispers something to him, and he shuts up. Huh, she must have some magical powers to be able to get my brother to stop whining. Maybe just a magical pussy.
“Okay, well, on that note, I have to go. Sage, are you ready?” I ask him, and he stands up and stretches. His shirt rises, leaving a patch of bare skin between the hem and the waistband of his dress pants. He grabs a suit jacket off the back of his chair and pulls it on.
“Yup, I ordered the limo for this morning since I knew you were tired. You can nap between meetings if you need to, and no driving.”
Wow, that was thoughtful of him. I thought I was hiding how exhausted I was, but I guess I’m not fooling anyone.
Gio stands as well. “Good, you can drop us off at school on the way. Saves us all from driving.”
“I’m not sure how long my meetings are going to be,” I warn him.
“But how will we get to our appointment and then home?” Casey asks, biting her lip with worry.
“I’ll have another driver pick us up. Tori isn’t the only one with access to family perks.” Gio glares at me again, and I narrow my eyes and glare back. Neither of us want to break the stare down.
“Well, that’s all settled. Shall we get moving then?
” Sage says loudly, interrupting our stare down.
The others hurry to finish their breakfast. Suzy offers to prepare to-go cups of coffee for those who want them while everyone grabs whatever they need for the day.
I head into the kitchen to talk to Suzy and Ben.
“Have we heard from Mickey about that background check yet?” I ask Ben quietly, and he shakes his head.
“No, we haven’t heard from him since we gave him the information.”
“I’ll give him a call today. I might even go out and see him. It’s been a while, and I miss him.” I turn my attention to Suzy. “Should we hire a chef to give you a break?” I ask her, but she shakes her head.
“Absolutely not. Finding one that passes the background checks will be a pain in the ass, and I like having this many people to cook for. It gives me something to do. Our lives were so lonely for so many years, it’s nice to have people to take care of.” I see the sadness in her eyes.
Ben and Suzy tried to have kids of their own for many years, but it just wasn’t in the cards for them, and because of Dad’s choices, they missed out on seeing me and Gio grow up. I think they are making up for all that lost time and trying to fill the void Dad left behind.
“Okay, but if it gets to be too much, let me know,” I tell her, placing a kiss on her cheek before doing the same to Ben. “I’m going to see what Sam and Dean learned about Lorenzo. I’ll fill you in later.”
“Gio is getting annoyed at being shut out,” Suzy points out, and I shrug.
“He knows the deal. We don’t discuss family business around nonfamily members.
He shouldn’t have asked about it this morning or last night.
If he wants to know what’s going on, he can come into the office or approach me privately.
We can always use the secret meeting room, but he keeps bringing it up around the others. ”
Ben sighs. “That boy needs to get his head on straight and decide what he really wants. If he wants to have a white picket fence kind of life with a wife, two point five kids, and a dog, then he should really step down as the head of the family. I mean, he’s basically just a figurehead now.”
“I don’t remember the last time he came into the office for work. I know he has college, but it’s like he’s completely forgotten he has other responsibilities. He was good right after Dad died, but for months now, he’s been shady as shit. I guess that was when Casey came back into his life.”