Page 194 of Ex Somnis

“You’re an animal,” Ridge tells him, piling a load of fries just as huge onto his plate.

I laugh, and my heart swells. Not only by the fact that they’re enjoying my cooking, but because they’re eating the same food Paul is, piling it high and fighting over the noodles.

They understood the assignment, making his safe foods look like the most wanted ones on the table, and the bright, loud stuff is a sideshow, an accessory. Nobody says safe food. Nobody says texture. They accept that the center of the table is Paul’s by default, and I love all three of them so much in this exact second that I have to take a long drink of water to keep from bursting into tears.

Nevan and Ridge are still fighting over the noodles when my phone goes off against the table, and I nearly snort out my water when I read Jasper’s message.

Jasper

Ok but watching Mabel fire Simon WITH the cops there was the most fun I’ve had all week!!! 10/10 would witness again. She didn’t even raise her voice.

I read it twice, and the text doesn’t change, meaning I’m awake. The check I now do on reflex.

“Oh, this is priceless.”

Three heads turn in my direction.

“What is?” Paul asks.

“Mabel fired Simon today. With the police there.”

“What?” all three of them say, more or less on top of each other, and it would be funny if my stomach didn’t drop, because right.

Right. I forgot to tell them.

I put the phone face down like it’ll lessen the impact of what I’m going to say. “Okay, so, when I wanted to go wait for you guys at the car yesterday, I witnessed how Simon wouldn’t take a no as an answer from Sydney.”

My gaze drifts to Nevan as I say it. I don’t decide to. I just do, because there’s a little voice in my head that is worried Sydney’s name will do something to him, and I want to know. To see.

But it does almost nothing.

He’s concerned. He’s frowning like a normal person when they hear that someone wouldn’t take no for an answer. His jaw is set, but it’s the concern of a man hearing about something that happened to a person he knows. There’s no second floor to it. No trapdoor with Sydney still living down there.

But then his eyes drift over all of me, as if he needs to make sure I’m not leaving anything important out, like I might have been harmed somehow.

Oh, I think, and the oh has its own warmth. I’m not proud of that, but I’m not going to pretend it isn’t there either.

“Wait.” Ridge frowns the same way Nevan does. “Who are these people?”

“They work at the inn. Reception and restaurant,” Nevan provides, but his eyes are still on mine. “What do you mean? What did Simon do?”

“He pressured her into kissing him, so I pressured my knee into his balls.” I shrug, trying to make light of it.

“You did what?” Paul’s fork clatters to the plate while Nevan laughs and Ridge almost chokes on a fry.

“You’re a violent little thing, aren’t you?” Nevan teases, grinning as he grabs the back of my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. “I’m proud of you.”

“I’m not for violence, but it sounds like he deserved it, and to be honest, I never liked him,” Paul says, calmly cleaning his hands with a napkin.

“You don’t like a lot of people,” Ridge counters.

“I liked him less than that.”

“Yeah,” Nevan says, taking my hand as his eyes turn apologetic. “I shouldn’t have hired him.”

“That’s not your fault,” Ridge says, eating another fry. “Don’t you dare put him acting like an asshole on yourself.”

“No, I know. I know that.” Nevan rubs the back of his neck. “And I don’t want to excuse him. There’s no excuse. But I needed help at the inn, and he had recently lost his job. I knew him from school. He had a hard time there, too, as a kid. Doesn’t make it okay. Nothing makes it okay.”