“You didn’t need to do that,” I said through gritted teeth. Axel grinned broadly. Obviously, he thought he did. He’d thrown me off guard, and I wasn’t one who liked to be surprised. He wasn’t giving up on that date. I knew he wouldn’t, but I had my hopes.

“Oh, but I did.” His sly smile irritated me even though I was flattered.

Teagan clasped her hands to her heart and sighed. “Giving Aunt Geneva flowers is so romantic.”

I rolled my eyes. Axel laughed, not discouraged in the least. Even Teagan and Jock had a good laugh at my expense. Teagan reached out, and I gladly gave her the bouquet. She plucked a card from within the depths of this huge bundle of flowers and handed it to me, after which she fussed over arranging the flowers in the vase.

I read the card and sighed dramatically.

Will you go out with me?

“Thank you, but I’m not interested in dating you.”

Axel shrugged. “I’ll wear you down.”

“You will not.”

Jock grinned like an evil bastard, getting way too much enjoyment out of my discomfort. “My money’s on Axel. I’ve seen him on the ice.”

I did a double take, and so did Axel. Was my brother actually encouraging his nemesis? “Keep your money in your wallet. I’d hate to see you lose.”

Jock and Axel exchanged glances and erupted into another roar of laughter. I was bristling with indignation yet oddly amused. I’d never had a guy pursue me in such a manner. Not that I hadn’t been pursued. I’d been pursued plenty, but they’d all been in-your-face propositions from bikers and biker-adjacents. They weren’t known for their subtleties.

“I’m stubbornly persistent. If you haven’t figured that out yet, you soon will.”

Jock, still chuckling, checked the lasagna in the oven. “Time to eat, gang.”

Esme and Eunice were off today. We’d bought the lasagna at a local deli that delivered, and we’d heated it ourselves. Neither of us was a great cook, but I was getting better thanks to Eunice’s tutelage.

“I’m starving,” Axel said. “Smells incredible.” His eyes found mine, and he winked with sparkling eyes and a cocky tilt to his head. He was too confident he’d wear me down. I’d show him. I was tougher than he’d bargained for.

We sat down at the table and dug in, the group quiet for a while as they chewed their food.

“Who made this salad? It’s wonderful,” Axel asked as he used the tongs to scoop large hunks onto his plate.

“I did.” My face grew hot with embarrassment. I wasn’t one to take compliments well. They made me uncomfortable.

“I made the dessert,” Teagan gushed.

“I’m sure it’ll be as good as this salad.”

“Better!” the twins yelled in unison.

Dinner was pleasant and tension-free. For the first time, Jock wasn’t shooting daggers at Axel throughout the entire meal. Axel praised Teagan’s dessert, and she cooed like a dove at his compliments. After dinner, he read a book to the younger kids while I hovered in the background. Teagan excused herself to do homework, which I doubted she was really doing.