“Take it easy on her, okay?” he said to them. “Let her talk.”
A muscle twitched under Charles’s eye as he said curtly, “Don’t tell us how to handle our sister.”
“She doesn’t need handling,” Logan said, a little terse. “That’s the point.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Pierce said. “But we know that.”
“I love getting advice on how to deal with my sister,” Dane said, “from someone who barely knows her.”
“I don’t know what I love more,” Tess said from her seat. “When people talk about me like I’m not right here, or when my clueless brothers are rude to my friends.”
“Looks like more than friends,” Dane noted.
She bristled, and opened her mouth to speak. But Logan spoke first.
“Whatever we are,” he asserted, “it’s none of your business. Last time I checked, Tess was a grown woman with her own life.”
“You’re starting to get on my nerves,” Dane growled.
“I’ve always liked you, Logan,” Charles rumbled. “But you’re on thin ice at the moment.”
“Really.” Logan didn’t move a muscle, but the vibe emanating off him was raw power. “How so? Enlighten me.”
“Push me and find out,” Charles replied, his stare and voice like steel. “Maybe I don’t like the shock of walking into my house to find the house manager half-naked with my sister.”
“Maybe it’s not our business,” Pierce pointed out, “and everyone should calm down.”
But Logan glared at Charles. “And there we go,” he said. “It’s down to that, huh? The house manager.” His chiseled arms crossed over his broad chest, making his biceps bulge a little. “Tell me, how’s your wife doing? The one who started out as your nanny. Or should I say, the nanny? Must be a nice view from that high horse of yours.”
Charles’s face flushed with rage and he opened his mouth to speak.
“All of you shut up!” Tess shot to her feet, shoving her chair back with a scrape against the tile floor. “Jesus, this is just . . .” She looked to Logan. “I don’t need defending, but thank you for wanting to. I’ll call you later, okay?”
His jaw set tight, he simply nodded and walked out of the kitchen.
“What the hell, Tess?” Dane asked. “This is your big secret? Why you’re staying away from home, not returning calls? You could’ve—”
“This is my life!” she yelled. All three men stilled, eyes again widening with shock. She hadn’t shouted at them in anger in years. Blood pumping through her veins, she pulled the sash on her robe tighter before advancing on them.
“I don’t have to tell you anything if I don’t want to! I don’t have to answer to anyone on this goddamn earth!” She felt the blood pulse in her head, her skin heat as her heart rate skyrocketed. “How dare you. How dare you all walk in here and condescend to Logan. He’s become an amazing friend to me, and has been hardworking and loyal to our family for several years.” She glared at Charles. “You owe him more respect than that.” She looked to Dane. “You both owe him an apology.” She looked between them and snapped, “Considering you both ended up marrying your employees, from lower income brackets than you were in, you have a hell of a nerve walking in here and trying to dismiss him like that when you know nothing about our situation.” Her eyes narrowed at Charles as she added, “He was right to call you on your hypocrisy. I’m horrified.”
Charles’s jaw dropped open. Dane’s pink face matched Charles’s, and he stepped back as if she’d pushed him.
“Tess.” Pierce spoke softly. “Honey. Calm down. This isn’t an ambush. Yes, we were out of line just now. We’ve just been really worried about you. We thought we’d come here, surprise you, visit with you for a day or two . . . We didn’t expect to walk in to find you and Logan like that. It was a shock, that’s all.”
“No. She’s right,” Charles said, still red-faced, his voice clipped as he looked Tess in the eye. “Logan was too. We’re fucking hypocrites. I hate that. But we were just . . . really surprised. Can we start over here?”