I sipped my coffee to conceal my smile. Considering what he’d said earlier, it was obvious he was just needling Monty for the fun of it.
An opinion Eli obviously agreed with, because he nudged Ashworth’s shoulder with his own and said, “Enough.”
Ashworth’s smile flashed, but he didn’t say anything else. Belle rose, squeezed past my chair, and then tucked her arm through Monty’s. “Why don’t you hobble on upstairs and grab a shower to warm up, and I’ll go prepare some scones and a coffee for you.”
“And clothes? Because I’m thinking no one in this room—other than you—wants to see me naked.”
A smile twitched her lips. “What makes you think I want to see you naked?”
“Because we both know you adore this marvelously sculpted body of mine.”
Belle snorted and patted Monty’s arm. “Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. Come along.”
As she and Monty moved away, I returned my gaze to Ashworth. “I know I can’t avoid going to Canberra, but I have no intention of staying anywhere near my family’s compound.”
Ashworth nodded. “Eli’s already arranged for us to stay with his sister.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Would this be the sister who enjoys your wine just a little too much every time she comes to visit you?”
“The same, and she’s a teetotaler at home.”
“She’s also a high-profile judge,” Ashworth said. “Your father won’t mess with her.”
I hoped he was right, but my father was arrogant enough to try anything—especially if the trial didn’t go the way he expected it to.
I finished my coffee, collected the empty plates, and then rose. “I better get back to work. Would you like another coffee? Or more scones?”
A smile twitched Ashworth’s lips. “I’d love to say yes to the latter, but I can feel Eli’s frown without even looking at him.”
“You’re the one who was complaining about the waist of his jeans shrinking this morning,” Eli said, voice mild. “But don’t mind me.”
“I’m telling you, I haven’t put on any weight. It’s the damn hot wash you put them through.”
“To get rid of the grease you’re always complaining about.”
I snorted and left them to it. The remaining couple of hours went slowly. Monty stayed and helped out in the kitchen, cutting the vegetables we needed for tomorrow while Belle and I cleaned the café and set up for the next day.
“What are you doing tonight?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Not sure. You?”
“Monty has some movie he wants to watch. I’ll probably work on getting some more of Gran’s books into e-book format.”
That raised my eyebrows. “You’re still in the first blush of your relationship—why the hell aren’t the two of you fucking like monkeys?”
“Who says we aren’t?” came his comment from the kitchen.
She grinned. “Even monkeys have to take the occasional time out. You want to use the borrowed SUV to get back to Aiden’s? Monty can drop me off tomorrow morning before he heads off for another round of unsuccessfully hunting the hone-onna.”
“No need—I have the Suzi here if I decide to head back to his place.”
“And I am deeply wounded by the implication my spell will amount to nothing,” Monty said.
“You’re the one who told me the odds were against it.”
“Yes, but my wife-to-be should be showing a little more support.”
“Ain’t ever going to happen.”
“You’re obviously referring to the support factor, because our wedding is inevitable.”
“Nothing is inevitable.” But the sparkle in her eyes and her wide smile said otherwise. Her gaze returned to mine. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay here with you? I don’t mind.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “I’m fine. Take Monty home before his inattention ends in a knife wound.”
“I’ll have you know my knife skills have improved vastly,” came his comment.
She shook her head in response and dropped a kiss on my cheek. “Just a reminder, don’t go off anywhere alone, just in case this thing decides to come after you again.”
I smiled. “I won’t. Promise.”
She harrumphed, then grabbed the keys, her purse, and Monty, and headed out. I locked up after them and then, after I finished the rest of the veg Monty had been cutting, headed upstairs to make myself a coffee and do some more reading. It was just going on seven when my phone rang; the tone told me it was Aiden.
I took a deep breath in an effort to calm the sudden acceleration of my pulse and hit the answer button. “Hey, how’s your brother coping today?”
“A little better, but not out of the woods either physically or mentally yet.”
“That’s not surprising, Aiden. It’s a hell of a thing he’s going through right now.”
“I know. It’s just so frustrating that there’s nothing much any of us can really do.”
“You’re there for him. That’s the most important thing right now.” I hesitated. “Are you coming home tonight?”
He sighed. “No. My parents wish to speak to me.”
I closed my eyes briefly, fighting for control. Fighting to keep my voice even. “About your reaction to Mia’s presence, I’m gathering?”
“Yes.” His voice was grim. “I’m not sure how else they expected me to react, though.”
I hesitated. It was tempting—damn tempting—to say nothing. Or better yet, to bad-mouth the bitch. But I couldn’t. If I wanted this relationship to work out long-term, I had to accept his family would always come before me. Because of what I was. Because of what he was. That would never change, even if he did give up his dreams of being the pack’s alpha for me.
“Is it possible your mother truly wasn’t aware of your reasons for sending Mia home? Because from the little she’s said to me, I don’t think she was.”
He snorted. “She’s one of the pack’s alphas. Nothing ever escapes her notice.”
“Even so, I find it hard to believe she’d invite Mia back if she’d known that Mia was a participant—even if unwilling—in an insidious plan to funnel off some of the reservation’s wealth. Your mother is many things, but I don’t believe she’d risk your pack’s security in any way, even to get rid of me.”
He was silent for a long moment. “I’m told Mia visited the café yesterday. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It’s not my place to say anything. I’m not pack, remember.”
The slight intake of breath told me the barb hit home. But all he said was, “I’m thinking her appearance at your café was no coincidence.”
“No. But I also don’t think she was aware that you and I are an item.”
“You can’t be that naive.”
I smiled. “Belle checked, Aiden.”
“Ah.” He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “More of my mother’s machinations, I take it?”
“I’m afraid so.”