“Alright, alright…” Smoak waved his hands for quiet, zeroed in on his wife once again. “So that’s it? No apologies?”
“Apologies?” Sabra maintained her admirable innocence. “For what?”
“For what?” Smoak’s dark, staggering face tightened to form a scowl. “So you don’t think we deserve an apology for being kept in the dark about all this? Something that involves my own brother?” He looked to Persephone, while placing a hand in the center of his chest.
“No offense, P. This isn’t aimed at you. We love you and hate that you felt out there alone in all this.” He returned to Sabra. “This is about being kept in the dark about something that, but for the grace of God, could be a situation any of us could be faced with.”
“Mmm…” Sabra nibbled a bit of her olive. “I see and so an apology would make you magically forget about all that?”
Smoak shook his head, clear warning ablaze in his bottomless stare. “Don’t get cute.”
Sabra sent her husband a saucy wink. “I thought you liked to watch me get cute.”
“Sabra, cut it out you know Smoak’s right,” Fernando edged in. “An apology isn’t unreasonable.”
“No...it’s not,” County scooted to the edge of her lounge to face off with her husband. “What is unreasonable is the way you guys have been acting since you found out all this. Hill’s the only one who deserves an apology and the only one who hasn’t been walking around here like a jackass.”
The guys looked to Hill, who responded with a weak shrug to confirm Contessa’s truth.
“That’s because Persephone was good enough to tell him she was sorry,” Fernando threw back.
“Like Fernando said, it’s not unreasonable to expect you guys to apologize for hiding this.” Quest was focused on Michaela then.
Mick’s gaze was wide and expectant as she watched him. “You’re right Quest and you can go right ahead expecting all you want to.”
“Mick,” Quest’s tone brooked no argument.
Mick continued to argue. “What’s wrong, Quest? You know exactly where your kids are- one’s with your parents- the other’s right here.” She patted her tummy and then shared a look and chuckle with Darby. The two had been sharing a lounge since their performance and eyed their husbands with smug approval.
“Well said, Mick,” Darby patted her tummy then and graced Kraven with a dazzling smile.
Kraven only nodded. His expression was a clear indicator that their conversation was far from finished.
“Folks! Folks!” Dena called when a grumbling chorus got underway, “Let’s just quiet down and let the guys enjoy their moment of being riled up.” She fixed sparkling midnight eyes on Carlos and smiled wickedly. “We all know they’ll forget about this later tonight when they’re on their backs.”
Cheers erupted, accompanied by applause and laughter from the women.
Nile and Tykira doubled over with laughter and then raised their wine glasses in toast when Quaysar and Taurus glared their way.
In the midst of the uproar Persephone and Hill were quiet. Even so, Persephone risked a glance to Hill who rested back against one of the brick columns of the lanai. Hands deep in his pockets, he kept his head bowed. His appealing profile was shielded behind the ebony waves he’d left unbound that night.
“All we’re saying!” Quay waited until the volume of the uproar had lowered. “All we’re sayin’ is if Persephone and Bill could apologize, why can’t the rest of you?”
Quiet fell like a boulder then as all eyes turned to the bride.
“Bill,” Sabella quietly chastised her cousin.
Bill scowled at her fiancé. “You told them?”
Caiphus shrugged. “They were on my ass about agreeing to wait for the case to close before we went on the honeymoon.”
By then, Persephone had distanced herself to a more secluded corner of the lanai. Anguish clouded her electric stare as she watched the night unravel.
“Should we be flattered that we’re at the bottom of all this?”
“I don’t think so,” she sent Hill a sidelong smile when he moved close.
“They’ll be alright,” Hill smiled towards the heated group. “My guess is this has been building for a minute. Overprotection can be as aggravating for the one protecting, as the one being protected.”
“Hill-”
“Hush,” he shook his head when she turned with more apology in her eyes. “I already got my ‘sorry’, remember?”
“But I-”
“Just need something to keep that mouth occupied ‘til this lover’s spat is done? Okay.” He said as though she had answered in the affirmative. He kissed her then, his tongue thrusting deeply and unapologetically as soon as it invaded her mouth.
“Hill-” need rushed her at once. He was tugging at the waistband of her shorts. “Hill stop I- I’m all sweaty and you...you’re all...yummy…”
His tongue was still thrusting, still rotating boldly. “I’m okay with it,” his fingers were stroking the crotch of her panties then. Arrogance fueled his appealing smirk when her half gasp, half moan reached his ears.
The angry voices in the distance were soon a dull hum.
~~~
“An apology just says you guys agree that keeping this a secret was wrong.” Pike was putting forth his argument then and staring blackly at his wife.
Belle shook her head. “You guys are taking this too far now. I mean, where’s all this outrage coming from?”
