“Hey, I brought some wine,” I said, offering him the bottle.
“Thanks. Toss it in the fridge,” he said, mixing a giant pot of macaroni and cheese or soup. It was hard to tell which.
I went to the fridge and put the wine inside before sitting on the island.
“Can I help with anything?” I asked, watching as Ethan took out plates and silverware and Enzo pulled what appeared to be a pot roast out of the oven. It smelled amazing.
“We got it,” Ethan said, moving past me to set the table.
I watched as they worked, feeling out of place.
Enzo placed the pot roast on the table, which was followed by several other dishes.
“Did you guys do all the cooking?” I asked, knowing Rosalie was one hell of a cook, but I was curious because she wasn’t there.
“Uh, mostly,” Fox said. “I made the mac and cheese. E made the dinner rolls and that green bean thing. Cole tried to make a cake.” Fox pointed to a lopsided cake with a terrible frosting job on the counter. “And Enzo did everything else.”
“You should have said something. I could have brought a dish,” I said. “I make pretty decent stuff from time to time.”
“You’re our guest,” Ethan called out. “You don’t need to bring anything.”
I said nothing, continuing to watch as the guys finished doing everything.
I was just about to ask where Rosalie was when she entered the room, Cole’s arm around her waist. Her green eyes zeroed in on me immediately. The bruises on her face were slowly fading, but were still very much visible. I slid out of my chair and approached her without realizing I was doing it.
Cole stepped in front of her before I reached out to hug her.
“No,” he said in a soft, dangerous voice.
I steadied myself and backed away, offering a smile instead.
“Of course. LeeLee. How are you?”
“I’m OK,” she answered, her eyes on me. “How are you?”
“Uh, good. I’m good.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Sorry, I didn’t text. I was trying to let you rest.”
“It’s OK.” She stepped past Cole and gave my hand a quick squeeze before going to Fox, who pulled her in for a hug and a kiss.
I watched, my heart in my throat. The feeling of being out of place continued to grow.
“You don’t belong here,” Cole said softly, returning my attention to him. His blue eyes flashed with the violence I knew he was barely keeping contained.
“I know,” I answered simply. “Fox invited me. I won’t stay long.”
Cole glared at me momentarily before knocking his shoulder against mine and going to Rosalie. He took her from Fox and led her to the table to sit, ensuring he took the seat next to her.
Fox shot me a sympathetic look. Sighing, I went to the table and sat beside Ethan, who gave me a tired smile. I had to handit to him; despite all the shit he was going through, he still managed to function. I admired that about him. The guy was strong.
Enzo sat at the head of the table on Rosalie’s other side, and Fox took the opposite end of the table.
“Dig in,” Enzo said.
I watched as Cole served Rosalie first. It didn’t take a genius to see the love he had for her, but it bordered on fucking insanity. He was obsessed. I was, too, but I wasn’t a dick about it.
I grabbed a small amount of food, simply wanting to be polite since it was what I was here for. I planned to eat and run. I could slowly ease my way back in. Overstaying my welcome, especially with Cole, wouldn’t help my cause. At this point, I had no idea what my reason was anymore. At the end of it all, I just wanted to be her friend again. I wanted to keep her safe when they couldn’t. Accepting that’s all it could ever be was something I had to do. Keeping Fox alive was starting to trump that, though. His plan to go through with his agreement with my father still wasn’t sitting well with me. When I’d tried to address it with Matteo, he’d held his hand up and told me it was done.
The meal was uncomfortable. No one spoke for the first ten minutes. Finally, Ethan said something.