Chapter Fifteen

 

 

 

“Thank you, Missy.” Alli handed over the pretty ceramic pot of Angelica atropurpurea, a red ribbon tied around the top of the pale cream container creating an appealing splash of color. “I’m sure your mom will be thrilled.”

“It’s perfect, Alli,” she assured him. “Mother’s been making amulets lately.” Missy paused and gave him a speculative look. “I should see if she would be able to make you a protection amulet.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Alli said. Apparently, news of his problems was spreading. Missy didn’t even live in this town.

Alli’s pasted-on smile didn’t last through the next loud bang. This time, even Missy cast a curious glance to the far side of the store.

“Shouldn’t you check that out?” she questioned.

“Probably.”

Alli didn’t want to, though. No telling what Michael was doing back there. With all that noise? He was probably ripping down a wall.

“Well, I’ll see you soon.”

Missy departed with a cheerful wave, gift clutched in her hands. Alli waited just long enough for the door to swing closed before he rounded the corner. He was at the side door before the bell even stopped chiming.

“This is probably a stupid question,” Alli announced, surveying the room, and his soon-to-be-ex boyfriend, with narrow eyes. “But what are you doing?”

“Moving in,” Michael replied.

The door to the alley was propped open with a large cardboard box. Evan, framed in the opening, waved cheerfully.

“What are you doing here?” Alli asked bluntly.

“Helping.” Evan’s tone said it should be obvious.

Alli really wasn’t in the mood. “Don’t you people ever work?”

“As infrequently as possible,” Evan assured him. “It was a slow day at the office, no one needed suing. Michael wanted some help, so here I am.”

The whole family was utterly insane. Who else drove nearly two hours to help their brother move furniture and boxes on a whim?

Alli took in the chaos before him, for the first time registering the mess. Disassembled pieces of furniture littered the sheet-covered floor. Two of the walls were now painted pale blue. The third wall was covered in streaks of the same blue, an open paint can sitting in a puddle of sticky paint.

“You do realize this is a storeroom?” Alli pointed out.

“Not anymore.” Michael’s grin was cheeky, his words cheerful. “Now it’s my new office.”

Alli pursed his lips and held on tightly to the edges of his fraying temper. “It’s my store,” he pointed out sharply. “Don’t you think you should have asked me first?”

“Nope.”

“Nope?” Alli spat out between ground teeth.

“You might have said no.”

“Michael’s of the ‘better to ask for forgiveness than permission’ school of thought.” Evan added his two cents with the same damn cheerful grin his brother sported.

“Yep.” Michael scrawled something illegible on a box in black marker and shoved it aside to join the other three already forming the basis of a cardboard pyramid.

“Michael, can I talk to you a minute?” Alli asked.

“Go ahead.”

“In private.”

Evan smirked. “Uh oh. Somebody’s going to get yelled at.”

“Keep it up,” Alli advised, “and I’ll have that talk right here.”

“I’m gonna get a snack.” Evan vanished with impressive speed.

“Traitor,” Michael muttered.

Alli crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “Start talking.”

Michael sighed, leaning against the edge of the flimsy table. Alli waited for it to break under Michael’s weight, but the table held firm. And that just was not fair. If Alli tried that move, he’d end up in a pile of plastic, metal and fake wood.

“I don’t like you working here by yourself with this guy running around,” Michael started. “He hit your shop once and—”

“Try again,” Alli interrupted.

“What? It’s the truth.”

Sure it was. But not the whole truth.

“If that’s all you were worried about, you’d just park yourself behind the front counter with your laptop,” Alli pointed out. “It wouldn’t require completely remodeling an entire room.”

“Well…”

Alli realized he still tapped his foot in impatience and made himself stop.

“I need a place to work. My cabin’s only got one room and the living room is small and this gives me—”

Alli’s potent glare worked for once, stopping Michael mid-sentence.

“Not buying that one, either, huh?”

“Sure I am,” Alli replied. “You’ve never lied to me and I doubt you’re starting now. You’re just circling the real reason.”

“Maybe I just want to be close to you, ever think of that?”

Alli’s heart wanted to soften at the earnest expression in those melted chocolate eyes, but he made his face remain impassive. Give this man an inch and that was it. He took off running with whatever idea was in his head and it was nearly impossible to catch him.

“I guess I figured if I work my way into your life enough, you’ll let me stick around.”

Alli’s mouth dropped open. Was that really how Michael felt? A pang of guilt hit Alli. He must have done a better job of keeping Michael at arm’s length than he’d thought. It hadn’t worked, obviously, but it was clear that Alli’s actions had hurt the man.

“What makes you think I’m getting rid of you?” Alli pressed.

“You just—”

The front bell jangled loudly and Alli wanted to yell. Michael’s relief, on the other hand, was plain to see.

“I’ll go see who it is,” he announced. He darted past Alli and out of the door before Alli could stop him.

Alli rolled his eyes as the door slammed shut behind Michael. The cardboard box pyramid slid apart, narrowly missing Alli’s foot. Office supplies spilled across the floor.

“Great,” Alli muttered. “Just great. I’m not cleaning that up. And he’d better finish painting if he wants back into my bed. Blasted bear.”

Alli slammed his palms into the swinging door. It didn’t budge and he nearly smashed his nose on the metal. Why did it always come all at once? He paused, took a couple of deep breaths. They did absolutely nothing to calm him down. With another muttered curse, Alli smacked his shoulder into the door. This time it swung open easily. And quickly. It bounced back and Alli again narrowly missed a facial disaster. He was used to the door’s antics, though, and his palms took the brunt of the blow.

“Alli, I want you to meet someone,” Michael called.

Alli hated meeting new people. Hated it. He gave brief consideration to retreating to his greenhouse, but Michael would just track him down and drag him back out, so he steeled himself and made his way to the front of the store.

A big guy stood next to Michael. Really big. He had to be a good six and a half feet tall, with shoulders as wide as a door frame. Dark piercing eyes, shaved head, tattoos marching up both arms—this was one scary dude.

Alli’s feet halted and refused to move as he eyed the behemoth warily. “Hi?” he said uncertainly.

“Alli, this is my big brother, Tristan.”

Well, at least Alli probably wasn’t about to die. Michael’s brother wouldn’t try to kill him, right? Even if he did look like a scary-ass thug.

Then again, Michael had said he was adopted, so…

Michael’s arm wrapped around his shoulders and tugged him forward. “Tristan, this is Allegro Romani.”

One meaty paw—no pun intended—extended. Alli took it, watching in unwitting fascination as his entire hand disappeared in Tristan’s.

“Nice to meet you.” Excellent. He managed the sentence without squeaking. Go him.

“Hear you’re having a little problem,” Tristan rumbled. Alli had never heard a voice so deep. It sounded like gravel rattling around in a cement mixer.

Yeah. He had no problem figuring out that this guy was a black bear shifter. Alli had absolutely no desire to see Tristan in his other form either. Michael was cute. This guy would be terrifying. And huge. Really.

“Problems?”

“Michael called me, said you had a break-in and an intruder.”

Alli’s nervousness died a quick, painful death. He pulled away from Michael and glared. “You called your brother?”

Michael’s brow furrowed. “Well, yeah.”

“Without telling me?”

“Are we still on this?”

Alli swung, turning his glare from Michael to the now-reappeared Evan. Evan wasn’t looking at him, busy smacking Tristan on the shoulder in greeting. When he finally did look at Alli, Evan took an involuntary step back.

“Dude, who killed your cat?”

“I see you’re as mature as ever,” Tristan growled. “We’re having a conversation here. Go find someone else to play with.”

“The hell with it.”

Three matching sets of dark eyes swung to Alli at his declaration. Alli announced, “I’m done with this conversation. Play away.”

He’d suddenly had enough. Enough of the whole situation, and way more than enough of the Lakkis family. He turned on his heel and headed for his sanctuary. Let the bears work it out. It was clear they didn’t want his opinion, anyway.

Alli latched the screen door to the greenhouse behind him, muttering curses. He kicked at a pot, but all that did was make his toe throb. He grabbed the remote to the stereo in the corner and turned it on, cranking the volume up high.

Maybe a little music and a couple of hours playing in the dirt would calm him down enough to face people again without causing mayhem.

 

The three brothers stood shoulder to shoulder and watched Alli stomp away.

“Feisty, isn’t he?” Tristan commented.

“Actually, he’s usually kind of shy around new people.”

“Pull the other one,” Evan said dryly. “You sure about this? He’s more high maintenance than some women I know. Not Maryanne, of course, because she’d kill me if she heard me, but some women.”

“I like him.”

Heads swiveled to stare in astonishment at Tristan.

“This from the brother who has barely spoken to me since I came out?” Michael demanded.

Tristan’s face actually reddened. Michael didn’t think he’d ever seen Tristan look embarrassed. Tristan muttered something under his breath.

“What was that?” Evan encouraged with a smirk. “Speak up, man, we can’t hear you.”

Tristan growled. “I’m sorry, all right? I was being a stupid jerk. Now can we go back to the reason I’m here?”

Evan opened his mouth again and Michael kicked him in the shin. Now was not the time for Evan to poke. Michael didn’t really want to clean blood off the floors. The last time Evan had insisted on provoking Tristan, Michael had been the one to snap his brother’s nose back into place. Not an experience he wanted to repeat. Ever.

“Why don’t you go calm down your boyfriend?” Evan offered. It was almost a shock, hearing something sensible coming out of his mouth. Michael sometimes forgot that his brother was a brilliant lawyer. It was hard to remember when the man was constantly playing the clown.

“Good idea,” Tristan said. Another shock. Evan and Tristan rarely agreed on anything. “Then I suggest a more private setting for our little discussion.”

“Fine,” Michael said. “But neither of you are leaving until we finish painting my new office.”

With that admittedly off-topic rejoinder, Michael trailed after Alli. He had to pause outside the door to gather up his courage and work up the energy for some more verbal jousting. God, but Alli wore him out sometimes.

The door was latched, but a little pressure and it popped open. Alli didn’t even look up, crouched on the floor and busily digging a new home for a bright red flowering plant.

Michael froze in the doorway, utterly aghast. “Are you listening to opera?” he asked incredulously.

“It’s not opera,” Alli said snippily without turning around. “It’s Therion.”

“Sounds like opera to me.”

“No, listen, there are guitars and—”

“Sarcasm, Alli.”

“Plebeian.”

Michael paused for a long, tense moment. “Still mad at me, huh?” he finally ventured.

Alli’s hands paused in mid-motion and he sighed. “Not mad, exactly. Just irritated.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”

“Not really, no.”

“Didn’t think so. Michael, if this is going to work between us, you can’t keep just doing things without talking to me first. Don’t you think you should have consulted me before you moved into my store and spread my problems to all and sundry?”

“It was family!” Michael didn’t bother to address the moving issue because, well, Alli might have a point there.

“Your family, not mine.”

“They could be your family.”

Alli sighed again and rubbed his hand down his face. His eyes, when he looked up, were sad. “You’re not getting it, Michael.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“No, you’re not,” Alli countered. “I want a partner, an equal partner. I know I seem like I need someone to look out for me, but I don’t need someone to take care of me. There’s a difference.”

Michael had to think on that one for a minute. They seemed like two sides of the same coin to him.

“It’s the difference between holding my hand as I cross the street and carrying me across,” Alli said. “One is helping, supporting. The other is doing for me. I may be a walking accident a lot of times, but I’m not a child.”

This time, Michael understood. He crossed over to Alli and plopped down on the hard concrete so he could look in his boyfriend’s eyes, sprawling his legs out and leaning against the leg of a table.

“It’s not that I don’t see you as a partner,” Michael said quietly. “I do. I want that, more than anything. It’s just that every little thing is a fight with you. I guess I’m just tired of it. So instead of arguing, I went ahead and acted.”

“I’m sorry, too, then,” Alli replied. “But you’re not always the most reasonable person.”

“I’m always reasonable,” Michael retorted. “I’m just stubborn.”

“That’s for damn sure.”

“Alli!”

“Sorry, I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

“Yeah.”

Alli poked at the dirt in the pot in front of him, digging his fingernail into the soil. “I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll try not to argue so much and you talk things over with me first, okay?”

“Do you promise to listen—actually listen—to me?”

“If you’re not being ridiculous.”

“I’m scared,” Michael admitted. Alli’s head shot up, eyes wide. “I just found you and I feel like someone’s trying to take you away. It’s maybe making me a little paranoid. If I’m coming across as overbearing, it’s because I want you safe. I need you to be safe.”

Alli seemed to mull that over. “So this is temporary?”

“I can’t promise that. But I do know I’ll relax once this whole mess is over.”

“But I’m never safe,” Alli said. “Fridays especially can be hell.”

“So I stick close and catch you when you fall. I can’t do anything to protect you from that. I can protect you from this guy.”

“It could be a girl.”

“Alli!”

“Sorry. I guess it’s more of a habit than I thought.”

Michael grinned. “Well, don’t break the habit entirely.”

“That I can definitely promise.”

Alli smiled back and Michael finally relaxed.

Someone on the stereo hit a high note and Michael jumped.

“We do need to discuss your taste in music,” he drawled.

Alli stuck his tongue out. Michael moved fast, catching the tempting morsel with his lips. Alli hummed and leaned in. The kiss was long, full of apology and sensuality.

A cleared throat pulled them apart.

“Why is it someone’s always interrupting us?”

“I told you, it’s—”

“Rhetorical question, Alli.”

Damn, Michael loved that flush. He stood, reaching out a hand to pull Alli up. “Come on, babe. Let’s take a coffee break. I’m sure Tristan has a million questions to ask you. And some of them might even be about your stalker.”

“Oh, goody, more family,” Alli said, giving the large man in the doorway a suspicious look.

Michael laughed. “Get used to it. Since I’m not going anywhere, neither are they.”

Michael could have done a victory dance when his statement wasn’t greeted with an automatic argument. Instead, Alli just slipped his hand into Michael’s as they went to join the other Lakkis brothers.