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Why am I arguing with a child?
This was a new low. Kids usually loved him. Not this kid. He was glaring up at him like he wouldn’t mind kicking him again. Nico fought the urge to step back.
“Don’t you touch me! Who the fuck are you?” the kid demanded.
And Lottie had told him off for swearing. Seemed this kid had a worse potty mouth than he did.
“Ace!” Lottie said, aghast. “Language.”
The boy looked at Lottie then back at him but didn’t back down.
Good for him.
“You get away from my Lottie,” Ace demanded, moving in front of her. “I’m not gonna let you touch her, you asshole.”
“Ace!” another woman said from the doorway. This had to be Thea, Jardin’s girlfriend. “Watch your language. Where do you hear this stuff? And what are you doing?”
Another boy stood with Thea, watching everything with a calmness that surprised Nico. Then a sneer appeared on his face as he appeared to find Nico wanting.
Amusement filled him. One kid was threatening him with bodily harm, while the other one was looking down on him like he was the back end of a cow.
“He got in my way when I was trying to get to Lottie.” Ace pointed at him. “Then he grabbed me.”
Everyone turned to look at him. Thea eyed him warily.
He offered her a smile. “Hello, I’m Nico.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Lottie said, sounding flustered. “Nico is a friend of Regent’s. He’s staying here with his husband, Liam. Nico, this is Thea, Ace, and Keir.”
“I’m afraid I did grab your little brother, but only because he was going to fall over,” Nico explained to Thea.
“You stepped in front of me,” Ace exclaimed again.
“You were running full speed at Lottie. I didn’t want you to knock her over,” Nico told him in a low, stern voice.
He wasn’t letting a kid get the best of him.
Thea placed her hands on her hips and gave her brother a stern look. “Is that so? What did I tell you about running in the house?”
“But we always run in the house. Lottie doesn’t care.”
“I care. There’s a lot of expensive stuff in this house that I can’t afford to replace.”
“But Reggie got rid of all the expensive stuff,” Ace told her.
Reggie? His lips twitched. Why hadn’t he thought of calling the very stiff and proper Regent, Reggie?
“That’s not the point. What did I tell you after you pushed Lottie over yesterday?” Thea said sternly.
Nico ran his gaze over Lottie, but she wasn’t looking at him. Christ, a stiff wind would blow her over. Was she hurt anywhere?
That kid was solid. He had a good kick on him too.
“That I wasn’t to race at her to hug her. That I have to be gentle ’cause she’s a girl.”
“Poor Lottie probably has bruises on her bottom from that fall yesterday,” Thea scolded.
The boy’s face went from suitably chastised to interested. “Really?”
