He kneaded the bread, standing closer to her.

“Do you like to cook?” she asked.

“Not so much. I used to enjoy helping Mom in the kitchen.”

“The boys were never allowed in the kitchen until their father was satisfied with their training.”

“Yeah, everyone gets to train but me. I’m expected to be in the kitchen all the time,” Tamsin said, jumping up onto a stool.

“Stop that pouting, honey. You’re not going to be training like your brothers,” Charlotte said.

“I know because I’m a girl,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Lou, do you think it’s fair?”

“What? Sorry?”

“Tamsin,” Jacob said, trying to warn her not to draw his woman into the conversation.

“What? I’m only asking?”

“I love being in the kitchen,” Lou said. “I’ve never been one for the whole fighting thing. That’s Riley’s job.”

“What’s it like being a twin?” Tamsin asked, resting her chin on her hand.

“How do you mean?”

“Do you feel Riley? Know when he’s hurt? I watched this documentary once that said twins are connected or something like that.”

“How old are you?”

&nbsp

; “Ten, why?”

“It’s just you talk a little older is all.”

“Around here, you have to in order to be heard,” Tamsin said.

“Oh, don’t start with that nonsense,” Charlotte said, moving up behind her daughter. “You’re heard all right. You’re just too damn spoiled.”

Tamsin stuck her tongue out, which made Lou laugh.

“Don’t encourage her,” Jacob said.

Lou looked at him beneath her lashes, and his cock throbbed, remembering what it was like to have her in his arms. He was nowhere near winning over her heart, but he knew how to make it so she was begging for him.

****

The Dentons’ dinner was not what Lou was expecting. She sat opposite Jacob with her brother beside her. The table was large, and conversation was about everything and nothing. She’d half expected work to be a big topic of conversation, but it didn’t even enter a single conversation. Movies, books, school, football, and even the news had all been discussed.

“You never did tell me,” Tamsin said, drawing her attention once again. The young girl was sitting between Jacob and Landon.

“Tell you what?”

“Do you and Riley share a special connection?” Tamsin asked.

The table went a little silent.

“Connection?” Riley asked.