Page 21 of My Dream

Pirate shrugged, unbothered. “Just means I’ll have more room for cake later.”

Adalee’s voice floated over from the kitchen. “I can make you some eggs if you want, Pirate. The cake’s in the oven, so we’ve got a few minutes.”

Pirate bowed dramatically in her direction, playing up his gratitude. “Thank you, darlin’. That sounds good.”

“Keep that ‘darlin’ shit to yourself,” Fade called out from across the room, his tone sharp but teasing.

Pirate grinned and was unfazed. “Afraid I’m going to steal your girl?”

Fade flipped him the bird. “Sit and spin, asshole. You don’t have a chance in hell with Adalee.”

The room broke into low laughter, but the humor drained away in an instant when a knock sounded at the door.

Everyone went still.

“Anyone else not like when there’s a knock at the door?” Poppy asked and shifted uneasily on the couch.

“Yeah, same,” I muttered and set my fork down.

Yarder growled, his expression darkening as he rose from his seat and stalked toward the door. The tension in the room thickened, and every pair of eyes locked on Yarder as he swung the door open.

Clay stood on the other side.

Fucking hell.

“Yarder!” Clay said brightly, as if he didn’t feel the heavy, unwelcoming air radiating from the room. “Just the man I was wanting to talk to.”

In the kitchen, Fallon had gone quiet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her move behind Adalee and peek around her to watch the exchange.

“Oh yeah?” Yarder said, his tone flat.

Clay, oblivious or just plain stupid, took a step forward like he was going to walk right in. Yarder didn’t move.

“You ever hear of calling before you come over?” Yarder asked. His voice was like a low rumble of thunder.

Clay gave him a once-over, clearly unimpressed. That was when I knew the guy was a damn idiot. “Last I checked, I’m the one who’s in charge here,” Clay said, his tone smug. “We need to get our footage, and you guys need to be ready whenever I am.”

“Good lord,” Aero whispered from beside me. “Yarder’s going to fucking murder this guy, and I’m not even done with my breakfast.”

I snorted and picked up my fork. “Nothing like breakfast and a little bit of entertainment.”

Clay either didn’t notice or didn’t care about the storm brewing in Yarder’s eyes. “We just need to go over a few things today, and then we’ll start filming. Do you have a place we can talk?”

Yarder didn’t say anything for a long moment, and the silence was louder than any words. I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel the raw anger radiating off him. Finally, he broke the silence with a bellow. “Church!”

I groaned and glared down at my plate. “I didn’t even get to start my breakfast,” I complained.

Aero clapped me on the back as he stood. “You can always eat your cold eggs when we’re done.”

I reluctantly pushed my plate away and stood up. Clay was still standing in the doorway and looked slightly less cocky but still clueless.

Yarder stepped back, and his voice was sharp as a blade. “You’re coming too,” he told Clay.

Clay looked like he wanted to argue, but one glance at Yarder’s face must’ve convinced him otherwise. He nodded and stepped inside, his eyes flicking uneasily to the rest of us as we moved.

As I followed the others to the meeting room, I cast a quick glance back at the kitchen. Fallon’s eyes met mine, wide and uncertain, and I gave her a small nod. She had been tasked to help handle Clay, but it seemed like, first, Yarder wanted to lay down some ground rules.

We filed into Church with a mixture of tension and irritation hanging in the air. Yarder walked in last, towering behind Clay, who seemed awkwardly out of place as he stood just inside the door. He glanced around the room like a new recruit in boot camp, unsure if he was about to get a welcome or a verbal beatdown. Spoiler alert: it was going to be the latter.

---