Page 82 of Crushing Clover

“Then stop being a dick,” the man shot back. Apparently, he wasn’t afraid of losing his job.

“Ran is my cousin,” Rush explained as he passed behind me. He started scrubbing his hands at the sink.

“Randal is going to be a fucking corpse if he doesn’t keep his eyes to himself.”

“Innocently chopping vegetables here, captain. You don’t have to be worried about me stealing her. I wouldn’t want to interfere with true love.”

“Why are you such an idiot?”

As soon as Rush was done washing his hands, he high-fived Ran while Saint John continued to scowl.

“You keep frowning like that, Saint, and you’re going to need Botox soon,” Rush said sweetly.

“Have I ever mentioned I hate it when the two of you work at the same end of the kitchen?”

“Let me give you a tour of the front before Mr. Crabbypants forbids it,” Lucky whispered. He grabbed my hand and tugged me in that direction, and I followed him while the others continued their not-so-good-natured nattering. They were funny to listen to, and even though Saint sounded sour, I got the impression he was enjoying himself, too.

“Rush never mentioned he had a cousin,” I mused.

“Rush doesn’t talk much if he can help it—especially not about himself. The two of them were raised by their uncle. They’re basically brothers.”

“Does Ran know about…” I raised my brows.

“If you’re asking whether he knows how we got you, the answer is no. If you’re asking if he knows about the three of us, then yes. He’s a good guy. Open-minded. I’m glad Rush has some decent family.”

He led me up a set of stairs and into the coolest venue I’d ever seen. Rather than trying to disguise the fact that their restaurant was in a church, they had leaned into it. If anything, they’d gone out of their way to make it more gothic. Black, with bottle green accents, it was gorgeous and an obvious reflection of the guys’ aesthetic.

“You like?” Lucky said, grinning. “Saint and Rush designed it. Everyone told us a goth restaurant would go under within a few months, but we started turning a profit in no time.”

“I’m sure it’s less about the atmosphere and more about what the kitchen offers.”

“That’s a nice thing to say, especially since you hate our food so much.”

“I don’t hate it. It’s just taking me a bit to get used to it. I know a lot of women would pay to be in my position.”

“And what position is that?” Lucky asked suggestively.

I glanced up at him, grinning, expecting him to make a flirty suggestion. Instead, he made a gagging sound.

Oh. Not Lucky.

I turned to look behind me, and Saint was standing almost on top of me. “The two of you are so hard to stomach sometimes.”

“Then maybe you should hold your nose and take bigger bites,” I shot back.

He grabbed me roughly away from Lucky, and before I could react, he sank his teeth into my shoulder. I squeaked an objection but heat zinged through me.

Why did I have to have such strong reactions to his manhandling and assholery?

He released his bite and grabbed me by the hair, turning me in a circle so I could get the full effect of the restaurant.

“We finally have something you appreciate?”

“I appreciate everything you guys do for me,” I said, meaning it. I rubbed my shoulder where he’d bitten me. The stuff they didn’t do for me sucked, but I had to admit things could be so much worse.

“Rush told me to send you to do errands, Luck. This is going to take longer than he thought.”

“Can I take her with me?”

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