Page 70 of Full Moon Frenzy

“I can’t believe you had a party I couldn’t go to!” the youngest brother added.

Adriana didn’t know if she was allowed to laugh as an outsider, but she wanted to. Are they all kind of ridiculous?

“Lowell, you sounded like a yodeler getting plowed by a centaur.”

“Grayson!”

“Mom, you weren’t there. You’re just going to have to take our word for it.”

“I still don’t understand why you had to hit me as hard as you did,” Trapp added, scowling at his brother. “I have a fucking concussion because of you.”

At the end of the table, the mayor was laughing in the most unmayoral way, she thought. “Trapp, he laid you the fuck out. I’ve never seen anyone go down so hard.”

“Lowell thought you were dead,” the split-lip brother announced, in a tone she thought could only be considered tattling. “He claimed your cabin before they had even picked you up.”

“This is a great preview of what my wedding is going to be like, isn’t it?” Vanessa sighed, eliciting the first laugh from their father.

“I had to knock you out or else you’d still be swinging. Look at my face, Trapp. I have to go to court like this later this week. Look at my fucking hand, that I have to deal with now for the whole month. And she couldn’t even do an invisible stitch.”

All eyes swung to her. Heat burned up her neck. “You can’t do a ladder stitch on knuckles! Your movement would be impeded, and it would tear!”

“Yeah, you were behind him in school, right? Well, he’s a dumbfuck, so . . .”

“Grayson!” Their mother’s voice was appalled.

Beside her, she could feel Trapp shifting, tightening, getting ready to defend her. Say something! You can’t just sit here. Roast or be roasted.

“Look,” she blurted, finding Trapp’s hand beneath the table. “I know this is probably upsetting for you. You were both the perpetrator and the victim, so there was no ambulance for you to chase, and that manicure looked fresh.”

Vanessa burst out laughing, saving her from her own awkwardness. “It was fresh! Like, that morning!”

Her cheeks warmed when Trapp’s hand squeezed hers, laughter continuing at his brother’s expense.

“Okay, wait, this is serious,” Trapp interjected, waiting until he had everyone’s attention before continuing. “No vendetta against the coffee shop. I appreciate the support, but that’s going to make everything worse.”

“Fuck those sheep,” Lowell pounded a fist on the table. “I’m never stepping foot in that place again.”

“Well, that’s fine, because you live in Tokyo.”

“I can’t agree to that,” the huge brother, Grayson, shook his head. “Because at this point, it’s not even about you, Trapp. It’s the principle of it.”

“Rhonda is too giddy at the thought of sticking it to someone,” their father added, shrugging. “I can’t take that pleasure from her now.”

“Just for the record,” mayor-brother added, “I never agreed to boycott anything. I can’t do that. But I’m not giving back that coffee machine.”

“I’m on a crime spree now,” Lowell continued with far too much enthusiasm. “First the fight. Then I took the whole bowl of suckers from that doctor’s office. We should go rob the scoop truck next.”

“Are you bragging about literally taking candy from babies?” his twin asked, aghast.

“Okay, well, I don’t need an apology from anyone, and I don’t want anyone here insisting that I get it.” Trapp paused, making a face. “But why am I the only one who didn’t get a coffee machine?”

Grayson held up his hand. “The whole month, Trapp.”

“In fairness, you did bust your hand open on his head,” Jackson pointed out. “And to assign blame where it truly belongs—”

Adriana held her breath, wondering if he’d be bold enough to call her out as an outsider in front of them all. Of course he would. They haven’t stopped yelling since you got here.

“Who throws a party two days after the moon and invites a bunch of wolves? You should have known there was going to be a fight.”