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“Untoward?” Donovan groans and rolls his eyes. “You really need to stop reading those old-fashioned, Gothic romances. I know you started because Keziah loves them, but fuck, they make you sound old.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is educated,” he counters, not bothering to look up from the menu. “My extensive vocabulary makes me sound educated.”
Felix steps in before their bickering can get any worse with a question of his own. “Kaleb does bring up a good point. How much do we want to know about, ya know, between all of us?”
Nolan taps his lips with his fingers. “I wouldn’t mind knowing.”
Donovan shrugs. “I don’t care either way.”
“I don’t need to be told,” Connor answers quietly.
My blush burns brighter, embarrassed by just how much information he collects through his senses and mate bond. I know the farther apart we are, the less things are transmitted through the bond, but what he doesn’t feel in the moment, he clearly scents on me later. Crap, does that mean he knows what Donovan, Nolan, and I got up to the night Nolan tried to kill Gina? I peek over at him through lowered lashes, but his expression gives nothing away, and there aren’t any clues of stronger emotions through our connection.
Felix considers his answer to his own question for a moment, playing with my fingers as he thinks. “If you want to tell me things, I’m okay with that, but you don’t have to.” He turns his attention to Kaleb expectantly.
He looks up, his expression a cracked mask of indifference, and swallows heavily before speaking. “Callie and I aren’t romantically involved, so it’s none of my business.”
It hurts to hear it stated so bluntly after all that’s been said and done between us. Afraid my bruised heart will show on my face, I look down at the menu before me, and my hair cascades around my face in a gentle curtain of safety.
Felix huffs with frustration. “Hypothetically then. Would you want to know?”
“No,” Kaleb answers, his voice a low rumble. “What my partner and I do together is private, and I wouldn’t want it shared. Furthermore, our time together is better spent focusing on ourselves.” Despite my eyes remaining riveted to the menu, I can’t help but feel the burning intensity of his gaze as it falls onto me. “In this hypothetical situation, when she is with me, she is mine alone. The last thing I want to discuss is the rest of you.”
His words conjure the memory of his kiss, and the way the whole world disappeared under his demanding lips. I look up into his eyes, and my belly does a low flip. His storms are just within my reach, and I’m begging to be swept away. Make me yours.
“Okay,” Felix chirps. “Thanks for, uh, clearing that up.” He looks eagerly down at his menu. “So what are we ordering this time? I couldn’t eat last year, so I plan to eat double to make up for it.”
“This is so stupid,” Donovan grumbles, his gaze shifting back and forth between Kaleb and me.
“How many sampler trays should we order?” Nolan interjects loudly while jabbing Donovan with his elbow.
He ignores the hit and continues, “Seriously, what’s your hang-up?”
“I think at least three,” Felix answers Nolan with a tight smile. “And maybe an extra order of pot stickers. I love those!”
Kaleb shifts his attention to Donovan, his expression cool and controlled. “My hang-up is none of—”
“My business,” Donovan finishes with an eye roll. “Yeah, you keep saying that, but that’s not how our shit works. Your shit—”
“Is our shit,” the rest of the table says in chorus and then laughs.
“Exactly.” Donovan leans forward and points at Kaleb. “You’ve had months to deal with your shit on your own. You didn’t.” He taps the table with his pointer finger. “No more bullshit. We’re dealing with this right now.”
“It’s Connor’s birthday dinner,” Kaleb responds, his hands curling into fists on the table. “This isn’t the time nor place.”
“K, I fucking swear, we’ll get all of this shit to go if you don’t start talking,” Donovan replies stubbornly.
Nolan looks over as his eyebrows climb toward his hairline. “Are you legitimately asking someone to talk about their feelings?”
“Should we prepare for the apocalypse?” Felix jokes with a crooked smile. “The end times must be nigh.”
Donovan glares at both of them. “You know how much I hate fucking around instead of getting to the damn point.” He gestures to Kaleb and me. “This ‘will they, won’t they’ between the two of you isn’t doing anyone fucking favors. We’re a family, and we’ll deal with this shit as a family.”
Connor nods his agreement. “We are pack.”
At that moment, our drinks arrive, and Kaleb has a moment to collect himself while we order food family style. The guys order like they’ve been starving for years, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to require extra tables to hold it all. The waitress is an older woman, and she smiles indulgently as she writes everything down.
“It’s good to see some new faces around the table,” she comments when we’ve finished and gently pats Connor’s arm. “Happy birthday, young man.”
