Page 182 of Mad As Hell

Royal snorted a laugh and grabbed a few of the side dishes. “Finally, someone else who doesn’t have a silver spoon shoved up their tight little ass.”

Ryan hurled a spoon at his head. “Talk about her ass again.”

Royal simply smirked, ducking the flying utensil. “I was talking about your ass, pretty boy.”

I giggled and sidestepped Ryan’s reach as I helped carry the dirty dishes to the kitchen.

Ms. Flounders watched me curiously as I set the plates on the counter near the sink.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” she asked me, obviously amused.

“Helping,” I replied, stepping aside so Royal and Bishop could set their dishes down. Knight and Bex followed them, and then the rest of the boys. It was adorable how uncertain they looked carrying dirty dishes and bowls of food.

“Lord have mercy,” Ms. Flounders murmured, shaking her head. “This is a sight I never expected to see. But you kids go have fun. We can handle the cleanup.”

“You’re sure?” I pressed.

She smiled and nodded, then looked at Ryan with a scowl. “This one might be too good for you.”

He grinned. “She absolutely is, but I licked her, and Cori says if you lick something you get to keep it.”

My jaw dropped open as my cheeks flooded with heat.

“Licked her where?” Knight asked, a gleam in his eyes.

Ryan turned and started to talk, but I spun around and pointed a finger at him. “If you plan on licking me again, I suggest you not answer.”

With a laugh, he shook his head. “We both know you like my tongue too much for that threat to really matter. Take a walk with me?”

“A walk?” I echoed.

“It’s a thing you do with your legs,” he explained slowly. Then he started to smile again. “And we both know how much you like doing things with your legs. Personally, I like—”

I clapped my palm over his mouth with an outraged cry. “I swear, Ryan Cain…”

His eyes were practically sparkling with mirth as he dared me to do something.

“Fine,” I groused, lowering my hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

The early evening air was still cool when we stepped outside, and I was glad I’d brought a jacket with me. Even still, I gripped Ryan’s hand and leaned against his arm for warmth as we headed toward the stables.

“Cori seems happy,” I murmured as we walked past the barn.

He nodded. “She loves it here. So do I.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” I teased. In fact, I loved the more playful, relaxed Ryan I got to see here. All the guys seemed more at ease. Hell, even Royal had laughed a few times.

“I don’t know if it will be the same when Grandpa’s gone,” he sighed a few moments later.

My hand squeezed his. “What happens to Brookfield when he’s gone?”

“It goes into a trust until his great-grandchildren come of age.” Ryan’s lips quirked into a rueful smile. “He knew my dad would convince me to sell it off.”

I glanced back at the house. “Yeah, I’d imagine the house is worth a lot.”

He snorted. “The house is only worth a couple million, it’s the vineyard that’s worth eight figures, easy.”

“You say two million dollars like it’s nothing.” I glared at him, irrationally irritated at his indifference to that amount. “That’s a freaking fortune.”

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