Teasing My 7 Hot Alpha Stepbrothers at the Royal Academy novel · Chapter 30 of 32

Chapter 30: Sunday Dinner

"Yes," I said. "I'll write you one."

That was Friday.

On Sunday, the cook made dinner for sixteen.

There were only twelve of us, but he said a table that size looks sad with gaps.

Roxy came with her boyfriend, who walked in holding a bottle of wine in front of him.

"They don't bite," Roxy told him.

"Some of them do," said a twin.

The other twin pointed at my shoulder.

Roxy threw a bread roll at him.

The cook had done a goose and two kinds of potatoes and a pie that took up most of the counter.

The Commander carved, slowly, with his sleeves rolled up.

He hadn't coughed once in three weeks.

Mom sat at his right hand and kept touching his wrist when she thought nobody was looking.

Taking his pulse. She'd picked that up from me.

I sat between Hadrian and Nero.

Titus sat across from me, where he could see my face, and told me I'd done the Queen's pup's follow-up wrong.

"I did it perfectly."

"You did it perfectly," he agreed. "I wanted to see you argue."

Nero stole the crispy potato off my plate.

I stole it back.

He stole it back again and fed it to me off his fork, which made the twins groan.

"There are rules at this table," said the cook.

"Name one."

"Not that."

When the goose was gone, the twins stood up together.

One of them set the red cloth ledger in the middle of the table.

The other one tapped a glass.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said. "The pool is closed."

Everybody clapped except Titus.

"Final results," said the first twin, opening the ledger. "Nero, forty to one. Paid out to four cadets and a nurse."

"Titus, twelve to one. Paid out to one bettor." They both bowed to the cook. "Who has never bet before and will never bet again."

"Correct," said the cook.

"Hadrian, five to one. Paid out to Roxy."

"I'm a scientist," Roxy said, and kissed her winnings.

"And one more line," said the second twin.

He turned the ledger around.

At the bottom of the first page, in both their handwriting, dated the night of the wedding dinner, was one bet.

"All three. Five hundred to one. Ten dollars."

"You bet on all three," I said. "That first night."

"We're the control group," said one twin. "We were watching very carefully."

"Hadrian sat next to you," said the other. "Nero winked. Titus said he couldn't stand you."

"Classic," they said together.

"So what do you win?"

"Five thousand dollars." The first twin pushed an envelope across the table, toward the end where Mom sat. "For something nice."

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