55. Anson
FIFTY-FIVE
ANSON
I adjusted my leather jacket and knocked on the door to the horsemen’s place.
I hadn’t spoken to Rosalie since she’d left Matteo’s.
I hadn’t said much to her while she was there.
We stayed in the same room, me sleeping in a chair beside her bed.
She did a lot of sleeping, which was fine with me.
She needed the rest. I had a lot to say to her, but now wasn’t the right time to do it.
Going to dinner at her place had me on edge. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t fight. She didn’t need the stress.
I breathed out and made to reach for the doorbell, but the door opened, and Ethan greeted me.
“Hey,” he said, immediately pulling me into his arms.
I froze for a moment before hugging him back.
“Thank you. For saving her,” he said in a rough voice as he pulled away. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” I answered, giving him a wobbly smile. “Anything for her.”
He studied me for a moment before nodding. Ethan typically looked like he had been hit by a bus. Today, he looked worse, but his eyes were bright. I knew the guys had been stressed about her being with me at Matteo’s, so I’d give him that one. His eyes, though. He seemed pretty happy but exhausted.
He let me step into the house before closing the door behind me.
“Listen, Cole is in one of his moods?—”
“It’s not an issue.” I cut him off. “I’m not here to fight. Fox invited me over, and I want us all to get along. For Rosalie. She doesn’t need to be dealing with this bullshit.”
“I agree.” He gave me a quick smile. “But Cole is… Cole.”
“I know. I promise I won’t take his bait tonight.”
“Good.” He clapped me on the back, and I followed him into the kitchen, where Fox and Enzo were cooking.
“Hey,” Fox greeted me with a quick smile.
“Hey, I brought some wine,” I said, offering him the bottle.
“Thanks. Toss it in the fridge,” he said, mixing a giant pot of macaroni and cheese or soup. It was hard to tell which.
I went to the fridge and put the wine inside before sitting on the island.
“Can I help with anything?” I asked, watching as Ethan took out plates and silverware and Enzo pulled what appeared to be a pot roast out of the oven. It smelled amazing.
“We got it,” Ethan said, moving past me to set the table.
I watched as they worked, feeling out of place.
Enzo placed the pot roast on the table, which was followed by several other dishes.
“Did you guys do all the cooking?” I asked, knowing Rosalie was one hell of a cook, but I was curious because she wasn’t there.
“Uh, mostly,” Fox said. “I made the mac and cheese. E made the dinner rolls and that green bean thing. Cole tried to make a cake.” Fox pointed to a lopsided cake with a terrible frosting job on the counter. “And Enzo did everything else.”
“You should have said something. I could have brought a dish,” I said. “I make pretty decent stuff from time to time.”
“You’re our guest,” Ethan called out. “You don’t need to bring anything.”
I said nothing, continuing to watch as the guys finished doing everything.
I was just about to ask where Rosalie was when she entered the room, Cole’s arm around her waist. Her green eyes zeroed in on me immediately. The bruises on her face were slowly fading, but were still very much visible. I slid out of my chair and approached her without realizing I was doing it.
Cole stepped in front of her before I reached out to hug her.
“No,” he said in a soft, dangerous voice.
I steadied myself and backed away, offering a smile instead.
“Of course. LeeLee. How are you?”
“I’m OK,” she answered, her eyes on me. “How are you?”
“Uh, good. I’m good.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Sorry, I didn’t text. I was trying to let you rest.”
“It’s OK.” She stepped past Cole and gave my hand a quick squeeze before going to Fox, who pulled her in for a hug and a kiss.
I watched, my heart in my throat. The feeling of being out of place continued to grow.
“You don’t belong here,” Cole said softly, returning my attention to him. His blue eyes flashed with the violence I knew he was barely keeping contained.
“I know,” I answered simply. “Fox invited me. I won’t stay long.”
Cole glared at me momentarily before knocking his shoulder against mine and going to Rosalie. He took her from Fox and led her to the table to sit, ensuring he took the seat next to her.
Fox shot me a sympathetic look. Sighing, I went to the table and sat beside Ethan, who gave me a tired smile. I had to hand it to him; despite all the shit he was going through, he still managed to function. I admired that about him. The guy was strong.
Enzo sat at the head of the table on Rosalie’s other side, and Fox took the opposite end of the table.
“Dig in,” Enzo said.
I watched as Cole served Rosalie first. It didn’t take a genius to see the love he had for her, but it bordered on fucking insanity. He was obsessed. I was, too, but I wasn’t a dick about it.
I grabbed a small amount of food, simply wanting to be polite since it was what I was here for.
I planned to eat and run. I could slowly ease my way back in.
Overstaying my welcome, especially with Cole, wouldn’t help my cause.
At this point, I had no idea what my reason was anymore.
At the end of it all, I just wanted to be her friend again.
I wanted to keep her safe when they couldn’t.
Accepting that’s all it could ever be was something I had to do.
Keeping Fox alive was starting to trump that, though.
His plan to go through with his agreement with my father still wasn’t sitting well with me.
When I’d tried to address it with Matteo, he’d held his hand up and told me it was done.
The meal was uncomfortable. No one spoke for the first ten minutes. Finally, Ethan said something.
“Sweetheart, there’s a package for you on the counter.”
She looked up at him. She’d barely eaten anything.
“There is?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I ordered something for Cotton.”
A genuine smile lit up her face.
I relaxed. I’d been worried I’d never see it again.
“Thank you. I can’t wait to open it with him.”
“Who’s Cotton?” I asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.
“Rosie got a kitten,” Fox said.
“Enzo took me,” she added. “He’s sleeping in my room. Maybe I can show you after dinner?—“
“He’s not going to your room,” Cole cut in. “Not fucking happening.”
Rosalie poked at her food, a frown on her face.
“It’s fine. Maybe he’ll wander down, and I’ll get to see him before I leave,” I offered, hating how sad she looked.
She gave me a quick smile. “Yeah. Maybe.”
We all went back to eating. Enzo’s phone buzzed, and he sighed before pulling it out and looking at the screen.
“I thought we weren’t doing phones at the table,” Rosalie said, glancing at the phone he held.
“It’s my father.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead quickly. “I have to take it, baby.”
She nodded and went back to pushing her food around on her plate.
“You need to eat,” Cole murmured. “Please?”
She forked some pot roast into her mouth, her movements listless. I watched her for a moment before eating my food. I hated seeing her this way.
I chewed quickly. The food was good. I’d tasted Enzo’s cooking before, and he knew his way around a kitchen. Rosalie said he often made dinner with her when he was home.
The mac and cheese, though, left something to be desired. It was clearly from a box, and Fox had added too much butter and milk. It was a soupy disaster on my plate, touching all my other food.
“These dinner rolls are good,” I commented, swallowing a bite of one.
“Thanks. It’s my mom’s recipe,” Ethan said. “I’m not much of a cook, but I can follow the directions if there’s a recipe. Usually.”
“Except when it comes to homemade pie,” Fox said, grinning at him.
Ethan let out a laugh. “Corn starch? In pie? No.”
“Thickens it,” Fox said. “Flour wasn’t a good idea.”
“Bad?” I asked, eating more food.
Fox nodded as Ethan continued to laugh.
“Yeah, man, he kept trying to fix it with sugar, but it just kept getting worse,” Fox said, his eyes sparkling at the memory. “It caught on fire.”
“I’m just going to buy canned pie filling from now on,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “Or just not ever try to make a pie.”
“Cake is better anyway,” Cole chimed in. “Right, baby?”
“I like cake.” She nudged him with her elbow, which only lit his eyes. There was definitely no denying his feelings for her. Initially, I thought he was the way he was because he was possessive. Now that I knew him, I knew it was far deeper than that—obsessed and hopelessly in love.
If she were my girl, I was sure I’d be a feral dog around other men, too, when it came to her.
I’d still let her breathe, though. Cole liked to suffocate.
“I made one,” Cole continued.
“It looks terrible,” Ethan called out.
“Man, shut up.” Cole threw a dinner roll at him. Ethan laughed and dodged it.
I smiled at the interaction before catching Rosalie’s eye. Her lips quirked up slightly, making me relax a bit.
Enzo returned to the room and sat again.
“Everything OK?” Cole asked immediately.
Enzo cast a quick look at me before answering.
“Yeah. He was calling to make sure Rosalie was doing OK.”
Cole nodded and didn’t pursue the subject. We continued to eat, silence descending again. Once we were done, I got up, took my plate to the sink, and rinsed it before placing it in the dishwasher.
I turned to find Enzo behind me. Stepping aside, I let him go to the sink.
“I’m going to head out,” I said so only he could hear.
He rinsed his plate and turned to face me. “Why?”
“Uh, six is a crowd, man. I don’t want to impose.”
“It’s not an imposition. I want to talk to you.
Come on.” He put his plate in the dishwasher and gestured for me to follow him.
I looked around the kitchen quickly, noting no one else was paying attention to me.
Cole tried to force-feed Rosalie his lopsided cake, and Ethan was flicking peas at him while Fox laughed.
I didn’t fit in there.