“So, Anton, have you kidnapped any more people lately, or are you content with just the one for now?” Josiah huffs bitterly.
“Oh, don’t start…” I groan.
“How’s it looking up at the top, Josiah? Can you see all the lives you destroyed from up there, or is your head so far up your own ass that you’re delusional enough to think you played a fair game?” Anton snaps.
“Oh, please, you want to pretendyoudon’t destroy lives. You act without ever thinking. I don’t believe there is asingleperson on this planet that you even care about or would have empathy for—”
“That isn’t true at all,” I snap, angrily interrupting Josiah. “I’ve seen his life. I’ve met the people who work for him, and they all have a great deal of respect for him. I don’t care if you two want to continue hating each other, but at least hate each other for reasons that are true.”
Josiah hardly looks at me to acknowledge what I’ve said, and I grumble in annoyance.
The waiter arrives and doesn’t read the tension at the table. He happily pours wine and chats about the specials.
“Four steaks,” Kayla says, making it very easy for him. I’m relieved when she takes control like that, because the men haven’t even looked at the menu. I have no idea how we're going to get through this whole dinner.
After the waiter has gone around the table asking everyone how they would like the steaks done and what sauces they want with it, I let out a breath of relief when he walks away. “Dammit, this is tense,” I grumble to myself as I look between Anton and Josiah, who still clearly want to tear each other to shreds.
Kayla, for some reason, is finding this amusing. “Let them have it out,” she tells me, picking up her wine glass. “Maybe they just need to fight it out in the parking lot and then come back here before the steak arrives,” she muses.
“Don’t encourage them,” I snap at her, shooting her a glare. She giggles and mouths ‘sorry’ quietly to me.
Anton picks up his wine and downs the whole glass.
Josiah laughs bitterly. “Dutch courage?” he mocks.
“Just dulling my senses so I can be on the same level as you. Tell me, Josiah, have you ever played fair in a business deal, or is everything you do underhanded and dirty?”
I kick Anton under the table and glare at him. “Ijusttold Josiah that if you two want to hate each other, at least do it for reasons that are true. And that means I’m saying the same to you. Josiah has been nothing but kind to me in my life. He is like family to me. If you want to sit here insulting him like that, you are insulting my family. Okay?”
Anton sneers.
“And you, one more childish remark from you, and I’m calling this off. You two both need to grow up and start acting like men instead of kids in high school. This is ridiculous!”
Kayla is nodding at me, still amused by it. “Tell them,” she says.
“Ugh, I feel like I’m trying to tame to full grown toddlers who happen to be the size of bears,” I huff, picking up my water and taking a long sip to try to calm myself. “This is not doing anything good for my stress levels,” I groan.
All the other comments hardly earned a blink from Anton or Josiah, but now suddenly they are both looking at me.
“I’m pretty sure you aren’t supposed to be stressed when you’re pregnant,” Josiah says.
Anton has already slipped his hand around my back and is gently rubbing up and down my spine. “Do you want me to order you something else to drink?” he asks.
“When Kayla was pregnant, she drank peppermint tea,” Josiah tells Anton.
“I made Izabel peppermint tea the other day, it helped with her morning sickness,” he explains.
I stare in shock from Anton to Josiah and then across to Kayla, who is rolling her eyes.
The men are suddenly stuck in a conversation about having a baby, and Anton is getting advice from Josiah about how to deal with the hormonal mood swings and what it’s going to be like not sleeping for three months straight.
I open my mouth, wanting to ask them if they’re done fighting now, but beneath the table, Kayla nudges me with her foot, and I glance at her.
She whispers, “Let them keep talking, at least it’s progressed from insults to this.”
“Babies, really?” I scoff.
She shrugs. “Whatever works.”
