Page 87 of Jagged

Reagan frowned at her then looked at me.

"She's kidding. Want me to punch her?"

"A little." Reagan watched expectantly.

In slow motion, I balled my fist, and bopped Frankie in the shoulder. "Don't tease Reagan."

"Don't teach her violence!"

"I already know about violence. It's mostly not the answer except for you." Reagan narrowed her eyes and tossed Frankie the darkest glare ever.

I about died on the spot.

"Well then! I'm getting the hell out of here today!" Frankie stomped her way out of the room while holding up her corset, but her laughter followed with her. "Nikita! I need help."

"She literally doesn't care that this is her place of business," Nikita said loudly to her customer as we followed Frankie out. "Please hold. The boss calls inappropriately."

"Used to it. All good," the woman in her chair replied with a chuckle.

I found Tatiana standing with Wyatt and Mrs. Silva by the coffee station in the corner. Reagan and I looked on as the three of them chatted animatedly. Mrs. Silva, with her warm, accented tones, seemed genuinely happy to be talking to them, and that cooled off my worried insides. It wasn't long ago where Tati's mom struggled with her coming out, but she overcame the ingrained history and religious upbringing to love her kid anyway.

"Jagger." She turned to me when she saw me, arms outstretched, and welcome me into a hug. I leaned in, embracing her with one arm while balancing Reagan on the other. "Como estás?"

"I'm good. How are you?" I returned her double cheek kiss that followed, then set Reagan down when she wiggled.

"Em Português, por favor." She cocked a brow at me under her thick mane of black hair that matched her female bloodline standing beside her.

I glanced at Wyatt who gulped and pushed his hands deeper into his pockets. His anxiety seemed to spike with the expectation, but I managed.

"Muito bem, e você?" I replied, with a terrible American accent per usual.

Mrs. Silva chuckled and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "I'm very good. Excited to see Tatiana's gallery showing next week."

"How come you get to talk in English?" I folded my arms over my middle and huffed dramatically.

Reagan giggled her head off beside me, then hugged her mother around the middle. She gave Wyatt a high-five and a cheeky grin.

"Because I'm learning English and you're learning Português." She grinned and tossed me a wink.

Everyone chuckled at that, and I shook my head. "Forever busting my chops."

"Ignore her," Tatiana said to Wyatt. "She's not learning English. She lived here for twenty years before moving back to Portugal."

That did it and Mrs. Silva burst out laughing. "She's not wrong."

"Oh." Wyatt smiled as he seemed to catch on to the teasing. "You all freaked me out."

"I'm about to freak you out more." Mrs. Silva patted his shoulder. "When I visit, we have a family dinner all of us together. And I would be very happy if you joined us."

"Wyatt's coming to family dinner!" Reagan through her hands in the air, then looked right over at Frankie. "And Frankie's not."

"Hey!" Frankie frowned at her while Nikita yanked her around the middle, finishing off the ties of her corset before returning to her client. "Rude."

"You're rude," Reagan tossed back.

"Hey, now." Tatiana stepped up as always. "Reagan, that was rude. Stop it or you're not coming to family dinner."

"No fair!" Reagan shrieked, her eyes wide.

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