Page 49 of Midnight Dissonance

Sean relaxed in his seat. “Good. Colin’s thinking of expanding again. I swear he’s got one of the best heads for business. He can sniff out a new opportunity and make it shine.”

“Aye, that he can, but so do we.”

“True, but he’s added to the number of restaurants I oversee since my slate has increased revenue by fifty percent. All the changes I implemented worked like a charm. And my restaurants constantly have a wait list.” Sean toasted himself and drank deeply from his beer.

“Fantastic, Sean. Proud of you. Aiden, how goes the construction?”

“Can’t complain. Brody’s a grand boss. We’re breaking ground on a new project next month building a new outdoor mall.”

“He got the bid?” Josh asked, surprised because there were a few legal snafus along the way.

“Aye. It’s a massive project. We’ve had to bring on extra crew. And it’s one that will last a year or more, given the size and scope. Brody’s happier than a fly on shit.”

“I can imagine.” Brody didn’t make it into the club as often anymore. But he and his wife Reegan had welcomed twins last spring, and he knew family life was dominating his days.

“What about the acquisition? Jase mentioned in passing that you guys were working on acquiring that local beer brewery that Dean will wind up overseeing.” Aiden asked.

“It’s still in the works. My team and I are hashing out all the final legal details of the contract and will wind up working with their attorneys. But the deal will make RMD a fuck ton of money. And Dean will wind up overseeing the company in addition to his duties at the distillery.”

“Are you hungry? We should order some food,” Aiden said, but then, he was always hungry.

Josh sighed. He loved his brothers. But it was clear they had no intention of leaving soon unless he kicked them out. And one of them would tattle to their mum in jest, and he would never hear the end of it. “I’ll order us some pizzas, but then you’ve got to leave.”

His brothers grinned. “Are we cock blocking you?”

“Aye. And while I enjoy hanging out with you, I’d rather be doing her than shooting the breeze with you feckin’ eejits.”

“Pizza sounds good. Get one loaded.”

“Like I don’t know what you feckers eat on pizza.” He was already entering their order on his phone. He didn’t know what type of pizza Lexi liked. But considering the sheer amount of food his brothers and he could put away, he was sure she would find something in their order she would like. But he added a salad, two orders of breadsticks, and some hot wings just to round it all out.

Just when he was getting worried about Lexi, she came strolling down the stairs in one of her new outfits with makeup on and her hair styled. Even in something as simple as jeans and a soft cashmere sweater in electric blue, she took his breath away.

“Hi, guys.” Lexi smiled at his brothers, her earlier embarrassment vanished as if it had never existed.

“Lexi, nice to see you,” Aiden said, toasting her with his beer bottle.

“Sorry about the interruption earlier,” Sean apologized sheepishly.

At his comment, she blushed. “It’s all right.”

He held out his hand for her. She took it and let him pull her down next to him on the couch. He settled his arm around her shoulders, worried she might reject him. But she leaned in like they had been sitting this way together for years. “I ordered dinner. Hope you don’t mind pizza.”

“Who doesn’t like pizza?” She snorted and smiled.

“I’m not sure what toppings you prefer,” He explained, ignoring his brothers' stupid smirks.

Lexi shrugged like his ignorance was no big deal. “Pizza is pizza. Mainly pepperoni. But I can eat most toppings.”

“We got a loaded supreme, a pepperoni, and a Hawaiian. Plus a bunch of sides as well. These bloody feckers eat like they’ve not been fed all week.”

She inched away and stared with a concerned expression. “Please tell me you’re not the one who likes pineapple on your pizza.”

He chuckled. “Nah, that would be Sean.”

“Okay, good, because you’d lose some serious brownie points.” She settled herself back against his side.

“What do you have against pineapple?” Sean asked her.

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