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“Welcome to the family, son.”
The words were similar to the ones Anastasia had said to me, but with none of the emotion behind them.
And of course, my dad tagged on, “We need to get together and talk business soon.”
“I don’t mix business and family, but I appreciate the sentiment.” He was still smiling, and thick, heavy appreciation welled in my chest.
I couldnothandle any more time with my family in my life, even if it was about business. After the party was over, I would most definitely return to coming up with excuses for why I couldn’t attend the vacations that were thinly-veiled attempts to convince me to start living the way my family wanted me to live.
“We’ll have to talk about that, too.” My dad grinned, but there was no humor behind it. Only the sharp hunger of a man who had realized he was outmatched, and decided he was going to fight his way to equality.
Considering Rafael’s family had been around for an undefined amount of time, I didn’t think he had a shot.
Rafael grinned back, though there was no humor in his expression either. He was acting charming, but there was none of his usual warmth in anything he’d said since he started interacting with my family.
“Come meet your sister’s fiancé, Maximus,” my dad commanded. A few heads nearby turned at the volume of his voice.
I wanted to cover my face and hide, but obviously, that wasn’t an option.
Max finally set his own phone down and stepped up to the group. “Seems like Tatum has finally brought some money to the table,” he drawled, offering Rafael a hand.
Rafe’s eyes narrowed, ignoring Max’s outstretched hand. “Excuse me?”
Once again, I wanted to cover my face.
“Oh, he’s just joking. Max is the funny one in the family,” Alena said, giving an over-the-top laugh. She put her hand to his bare chest, and nudged his outstretched hand down.
My mom laughed with her, and I fought the urge to cringe at the discomfort.
And, well, the insult.
“I don’t see how that was a joke,” Rafael said, his voice calm and his gaze relaxed once again. He tucked me tighter to his side, bending down to brush a kiss to my forehead.
My brother’s face reddened. “She went toculinary school.”
“So did my mother. Are you suggesting that people who can cook don’t deserve the same amount of respect as those who can run a business?”
His face reddened further.
“Of course that’s not what he meant,” my father put in. “But we raised our children with plans to succeed greatly, in a lot more than cooking. If she’d agreed to put her hand in the family business, she—”
Rafael’s voice was still calm as he said, “Tatum has been incredibly successful with herownbusiness, managing to make more than enough money while also creating unique recipes that may as well be art. If you don’t respect my mate, it would be wise to leave now. You’ll find that demons have little tolerance for those who mistreat their own blood relatives.”
My dad blinked.
No oneevertalked to him like that.
Max’s face was still getting redder.
Honestly, I was so damn stunned by how the conversation had turned, I didn’t even know what to think or say.
“Oh, they were both just joking,” my mom said quickly, forcing another laugh. Alena joined her, but this time, Rafael didn’t smile.
“Excuse us, we have guests to greet,” he said instead. “It was truly a pleasure meeting you.”
I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, but it was subtle enough that I doubted my family would catch it.
“Holy shit,” I whispered to him, as we strode away together.
