His Pumpkin Pie

“Why did you need this meeting?” I ask our mother once the pleasantries are out of the way.

“You’re in such a hurry to leave?” she huffs, pretending to be annoyed. “I said you needed to be on your best behavior.”

“And you said we owed you,” Frost cuts in.

She looks down at her hands, and her cheeks flush as her lips tremble. She has this act down perfectly. “I just thought that we could be a family.”

I don’t need to look at Frost to know what he’s feeling. We’re both annoyed and yet there is a hint of guilt. We left her with this man and were all too eager to get away from the both of them. He’s toxic, but she’s just as bad and then blames us for not staying.

“And how would you like to accomplish that?” I ask, trying to be diplomatic.

“She has someone for you,” my father offers, and Frost and I look at him, surprised.

“What the fuck?” Frost says in Russian.

Our mother takes a big gulp of her cocktail and then waves her hand like it’s no big deal. “I know you two share everything, so I found a woman that is willing to marry you both.”

Before I can open my mouth, Frost is pushing away from the table. “We are finished here.” He tosses his napkin onto the table and walks away.

I look at my father and then to my mother and shake my head. “He’s right. We have nothing left to discuss.”

I stand up, and my mother slams her hand on the table, making the dishes rattle. “You have no respect.”

What I’d like to do is lean over the table and tell her exactly what I think she deserves, but then I think of Pumpkin and what she would do. She would show compassion and patience, and that’s something I’ve never done.

“Your blood no longer binds you to us.” I take out my wallet and pull out a stack of bills. I place them carefully between us on the table as she looks up with watery eyes. “This is something that we’ve needed to end for a very long time.”

“Miller—” My father tries to cut in, but I silence him with a glare.

“You insult us and then expect us to bend to your wishes?” I shake my head. “You do not deserve our presence, let alone our affection.”

“Ungrateful,” my mother hisses, and I smile sadly at her.

“Perhaps.” I nod as I tuck my wallet into my jacket. “But I will remain ungrateful while never speaking to you again.”

They are silent as I turn from the table and walk out of the restaurant just as the food is delivered. When I step outside, I see that Frost is gone and so is my car. I sigh, knowing he left because he needed to get out of there, but he could have at least waited.

“Miller!” I hear my name and turn to see Chel coming close.

Before I can react, she’s putting her arms around me in an embrace and holding my face. I start to put distance between me and the young woman who has always been too touchy for my liking.

“Chel,” I say and look around like Frost will appear any second.

“Your mom said to meet you boys here, but I didn’t imagine you’d be waiting for me outside. I’m so sorry I’m late. I had the worst time finding parking.”

It takes me a second to catch up, but when I do, I’m livid. Chel is the daughter of someone in my parents’ circle. I assume this is the woman my mother intended for my brother and me to share. Are we such low dogs we can only fuck one woman? The thought turns my stomach sour when I think of sharing Pumpkin.

“She’s inside,” I say as I take my phone out and hit the number for my driver. Wyatt answers and says he’s on his way without me saying a word, and I’m grateful for him.

“Are you coming?” She steps closer and tries to put her hand on my chest, but I dodge the contact.

“Nyet,” I hiss, holding my hands up and walking away.

I can’t do this. I can’t handle my parents and this bullshit on top of it. I’m going to kill Frost for leaving me here, but all of that can wait. What I need right now more than anything is to hold Pumpkin in my arms. When she’s wrapped around me, all's right with the world.Chapter FifteenPumpkinCookie pushes the cart down the aisle of the grocery store, and I try not to think about what I saw earlier. I trust him, so I’m choosing to wait until I hear the whole story.

Now that I know both Miller and his brother are coming, I want to make sure we have enough food. My heart flutters thinking about him. He said he has family things to deal with, and as much as I don't want to leave his side, I know family is important, so I smiled and told him I’d see him later.