“This way,” I said, pointing toward the dining room, even though of course they’d been in there many times before and knew the way just as well as I did.
The briefest incline of her head from Margot and a furrowed brow from Bryce were all I got in reply. Great. If they were going to be this difficult now, when I’d barely said hello, how were they going to react to the rest of what I had to say?
Chin up, I led them to where Connor and Lucas were already waiting. They sat on the side of the table opposite the doorway, with Connor closest to where I would take my seat at the head of the table. As soon as the elders spied the two Wilcoxes, it was like watching the fur on a cat’s back bristle. Bryce went ramrod straight, Allegra’s eyes widened, and Margot’s mouth tightened.
Speaking quickly, I said, “You’ve already met Connor, but this is his cousin, Lucas Wilcox. Lucas, this is Bryce McAllister, Allegra Moss, and Margot Emory.”
As I said Margot’s name, I could see Lucas’ gaze linger on her, and I held my breath, praying he wouldn’t do or say anything inappropriate. Flirting with the waitress was one thing, but Margot? She’d rip his head off.
However, he only smiled, the slow, lazy smile that most of the Wilcox men seemed to share, and said, “Very pleased to meet you.”
For one long, horrible second, none of the elders replied. Then Allegra, bless her, said, “Very nice to meet you, Mr. Wilcox.”
“Lucas, please.”
“Lucas,” she responded, a fluttery little smile playing around her lips.
Margot only tilted her head and then sat down, while Bryce said nothing at all, gruffly pulling out a chair with a brusque movement that surely would’ve scratched the wooden floor if it hadn’t been protected by a rug.
“Well, then,” I began, after everyone was watching me with expectant eyes. Well, except Connor; he knew most of what I wanted to discuss, and although he hadn’t completely agreed with all of it, saying he thought the elders weren’t going to react well to what I had to say, he’d told me he would support me in whatever I decided to do. Pulling in a breath, I continued, “There’s been a lot going on lately, and since it affects both our families, I thought it was high time we sat down and talked about it like rational adults.”
A sniff that might have come from Margot greeted this statement, but since she didn’t actually say anything, I decided to just plow ahead.
“Our two families have been in — well, maybe not an all-out war, but definitely a cold war, for far too long. Maybe there was a reason for it once — ”
“You damn well know there was a reason,” Bryce cut in.
“—But now that Connor and I are together,” I went on doggedly, “it’s silly for us to keep acting like the Hatfields and McCoys or something. You all know that Connor and I are having a baby. Well, we recently found out that it’s not just one baby. We’re having twins.”
Since Lucas already knew that, he didn’t react, but only watched the other three. Both Allegra’s and Bryce’s eyes widened, while Margot’s narrowed, as if she were trying to determine what such an unprecedented occurrence might actually mean.
None of them said anything, though, and I glanced over at Connor, unsure what to do. I hadn’t exactly been expecting congratulations, not from this group, but I also hadn’t expected to get quite so completely stonewalled.
Goddess help me, I could really use a drink right now. Since that was out of the question, I took a sip of ice water, then said, “Because these babies — these children — will belong to both clans, Connor and I think the best way to manage things is to have homes in both territories. We just made an offer on a house in Flagstaff yesterday.”
That got their attention. Margot let out a shocked “what?” before she could stop herself, Allegra gasped, and Bryce spluttered, “You should have consulted with us before taking a step like that!”
“Why?” I said coolly, somehow relieved that they’d reacted in such a way. Now I could act like a calm and collected adult, rather than a transgressing child. “So you could have said no and given me a bunch of silly reasons why it would never work?”
“It’s a very big step, Angela,” Allegra began tentatively, only to have Margot override her, saying,
“I doubt any of our reasons would have been silly.” She shifted in her chair, seeming to pin Lucas down with a sudden flash of her dark eyes. “Was this your idea?”
If it had been anyone else, I would’ve questioned how she could have possibly known that. Margot had said numerous times that she was not psychic, but I was beginning to have my doubts.