Page 20 of Lords of Misrule
Ten
Charlotte
After going to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients they don’t have, I come back to the house with what I need to make pasta, garlic bread, and salad for the four of us. In part to live up to the promise I made about cooking a couple of meals a week as rent, and in part to try to ingratiate myself with my hosts. Rowan is probably immovable on that front, but I still have hope that Finn and Hudson might come around to my side—especially Finn. And in addition to the fact that I genuinely like him, he’ll be a good asset to have on my side against Rowan.
I check the time, seeing that I have about forty-five minutes left before they’re done with practice, I send a text to Finn to let them know they don’t have to pick up food on the way back. Then I set to work, buzzing around the kitchen. It’s bare bones in here, barely a colander in sight, but it’s enough to make do.
By the time they get home, I’m getting dinner on the table, and the fresh garlic bread is coming out of the oven that I’m fairly certain hasn’t seen anything but a frozen pizza as long as they’ve lived here.
“Holy shit! It smells good in here. What are you making, Charlotte?” Hudson asks, tossing his bags down near the door as Rowan and Finn follow him in and do the same.
“Pasta and garlic bread. Thought we could all have dinner together.” I glance up at them with a smile as I go to drain the pasta in the sink.
“Surprised you know how to cook,” Rowan quips right before Finn elbows him in the side, frowning at him.
“Thank you. It smells amazing. Just give me a second, and I’ll set the table,” Finn offers.
“That would be great. Thanks.” I flash a smile at him, ignoring Rowan before I return to my task.
“I can help too. Just let me change,” Hudson volunteers. I nod and smile as they both run upstairs.
Rowan keeps quiet and wanders into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of the garlic bread and taking a bite. His eyes light and one brow raises.
“Not bad.”
“I work at a diner. The cooks have taught me a thing or two.”
“Trying to win them over with a family dinner?”
“Maybe. Mostly just trying to work toward some sort of peace. We’re all going to have to get along, right?”
He shrugs. “As long as we don’t fuck each other over, I don’t know that we have to get along.”
“Doesn’t that require trust?” I glance back over my shoulder as I start getting the final things ready for the meal.
“Trust is complicated. The only rule is no lies in the house. We all tell each other the truth, then we don’t have to worry about trust.”
We stare at each other for a moment as I ponder that thought, only breaking the connection when Finn and Hudson reenter the room and start the chaos of rooting through the cabinets to pull out dishes.
“By the way, we need to get more paper plates and cups for the party.” Hudson looks to Rowan as he pulls salt and pepper out of the pantry.
“What party?” I ask because no one has mentioned it to me. I imagine it means I’m going to lose my couch if they’re hosting it here.
“Saturnalian party this weekend.” Hudson grins.
“More like Bacchanalian party.” Finn laughs as he starts putting plates down on the dining table.
“Saturnalian party?” I repeat, looking to Rowan who ignores me, instead nibbling away at his garlic bread and going to the fridge for a beer.
“We have one every year. Kind of like St. Nick’s Day. But wilder and uh… more intimate.” Hudson has an amused look on his face.
“Intimate and wild sounds like my couch is going to get defiled.”
“Oh, it definitely is, Duchess.” Rowan smirks.
“So where am I supposed to sleep?”
“There isn’t much sleeping.” Finn flashes me a look from over the table that makes my stomach twist.
