Page 13 of Why Cheese?
Cam and Roq reach for him at the same time, catch the other, and snarl before turning away. Confused, Bree weaves forward with a hunk of sausage in his hands. “For the bruise,” he says nearly placing it on my head. I reach for the sausage, uncertain if ancient cured meat will help, and my fingers brush over his.
Bree’s face turns pinker than the mortadella. He turtles into his collar and scuttles back.
“Thank you,” I say. Even if they are strange, partially naked men trespassing in my uncle’s cheese shop, there’s no reason to not be polite.
“You’re welcome,” Bree breathes before he joins the others in a huddle and repeats his question. Cam whispers the answer in his ear and sweet Bree’s entire face crumples. “But he was so nice.”
“Death rarely cares for the character of a man,” Cam says with a shrug.
They gather together in a small circle, hands clenched and heads bowed. I can’t tell if they’re mourning my uncle or celebrating his death. Maybe both?
“How?” Roq asks. His gruff voice softens and a lilt slips out. I can’t place the accent beyond somewhere European. His steel eyes sharpen with such intensity, I forget how to make my tongue go. “How did he die?”
“His liver, it…it died.”
“Oh no, do you think it was my brandied ciders?” Cheddy cries out.
The others pat him on the shoulder in comfort. Only Roq sneers at his innocent reaction. “Use your brains. We were out for nearly twenty years. He would be geriatric by now.”
“That’s no reason to spit on his memory. We need to plan a wake,” Cam insists.
“A wake for the man who betrayed us.” Roq glares at them before winnowing back on me. “And what do you know of him? You claim to be a niece.”
“Grand niece.”
Cam breaks from the huddle. His eyes cut down my body like a measuring tape. “At a guess, not a day over twenty…five?”
I blush so bad I watch it creep down my arms. He licks his lips and groans out, “Oh.”
After giving a disgusted snort, Roq zeroes in on me. “You are the next of kin, then? Come to take ownership of this shop?”
“I… I didn’t even know he left it to me. One day lawyers called, which I didn’t answer because it had to be a scam. But they kept calling so I answered to get them to stop. Which is stupid because it just lets the scammers… They said I had to get here quickly to take ownership or else the land would default to the city. I never intended to own anything.”
Roq’s hefty eyebrows peak in surprise. Every man stops what he’s doing to focus on me. “You speak as if you have no intention to continue the store.”
I shrug, uncertain what to say.
“Are you saying you do not wish to be our new mistress?” Cam asks.
The mere question churns my stomach, but the way he says it while tapping his lips rising in a laugh causes a whole other box of fireworks to go off inside.Mistress to four strange men living in the basement of a cheese shop? Sure. Why not?My mind toys with the idea of me in head-to-toe black leather cracking a whip on four chained men.Oh my gosh! Delete that image, now!If I so much as picked up a whip, I’d be more likely to take out my own eye than hit any hard buttocks…
“Don’t think about their butts!” I cry out, forgetting to keep it in my head. “Um…”
Roq doesn’t respond. Bree pulls more of his hair in front of his face. Cam gives a teasing wink, then turns to the side to show off his muscular derriere. It’s Cheddy who spins fully around and clenches both of his glutes with a laugh.
Why isn’t the ground opening up and swallowing me whole?
“We need to make arrangements,” Roq says like I didn’t just make a fool out of myself.
Cam rolls his eyes. “Not again. We’re finally settled.”
“If Miss Reely…” Roq says my name with a hint of disdain, his gaze daring me to challenge him. “…has intentions to put this place on the market then we are no longer safe.”
That statement catches all four of them. They touch their foreheads, then their lips before shooting me rather judgmental glances. I didn’t even know they existed twenty-four hours ago and now I’m supposed to be their…mistress?
“Unless.” Cam dances toward me and stops just before he glances a hand to my shoulder. “The angelic lady would deign to take us on as her obliging apprentices.”
“The…what?” I gulp, fully lost.
