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.But what Mark failed to realize was that Veronica had set up the casual, temporary arrangementherself.And when the dust settled, and they both went their separate ways, it would be Finn s heartthat was broken.His servers scurried silently around them, picking up the finished plates to bring to the desserttable.And this food wasn t even the last course.He still had the midnight supper to prepare.Slidersand poutine weren t going to make themselves.He lowered his voice. Mark, I m sorry. I m really trying not to punch you right now. Which was a good thing.Finn wasn t a man who liked to use his fists to settle an argument.Tosettle anything, ever.And he most definitely wasn t going to start now.Nor did he want to be on thereceiving end of someone else s. I appreciate that, he said. I told myself I wasn t going to do this here.I wasn t going to cause a scene.But I can t help it.Ijust can t believe you would do something like this.You know how fragile Veronica is. Finn shook his head. Whoa, there.Your sister is not fragile.Far from it.She s strong, determined,and braver than anyone I know.If you hadn t taken off and left her here to fend for herself for so long,maybe you d know that. Finn s voice was raised now.He knew it wasn t very professional to have afight in his own kitchen, in front of his employees.He was always so calm and collected.But damn it,this was important.Mark reared back. What is this? Gang up on Mark day? Christ.I work my frigging ass off to helpsupport those two kids, but because I m not here everyone forgets if it weren t for me they d all beliving far below the lifestyle they re accustomed to. Anger simmered under Finn s skin.Because Veronica worked her own ass off to contribute, too.And Mark seemed to be forgetting that small detail. Do you think I like being away from my family, from everything I know? But I do my part.I sendmoney. Money? That s what he thought was important? Very pimpish of you. Pimpish? Mark fisted his hands at his sides. You ve got some pretty big balls there, O Reilly. Yeah? Well, some people like that about me. Mark cursed under his breath and lunged forward, grabbing the bottle of coulis from the island.Before Finn even had the time to flinch, Mark squeezed.Sweet red liquid covered Finn s face.Oncehe was over the shock, he licked his lips and wiped at his eyes.When he was finally able to seethrough the thick, sticky red mess, he zeroed in on Mark.His friend s shoulders were a little lessrigid, his hands not quite as stiff and close to his body.The fury darkening his face had softened.Butit hadn t retreated completely. What the hell is going on? Cal rushed over from the tent entrance and stepped between them. Nothing we can t handle ourselves, Finn gritted out. You can thank Cal for outing your dirty little secret, Mark said. It seems that anger makes himtell the truth. Finn wiped his face with his hand and flicked the red coulis onto the grass.Cal blanched, then raced to the back of the tent, grabbed a towel, and jogged back with it. Hereyou go, Chef. Mark made a disgusted face. You ve even got Cal calling you Chef.How do you do it? After allthese years, I never realized how manipulative you are. It s a sign of respect, Cal blurted out, offended. He s not manipulating anyone. Finn placed his hand on Cal s shoulder.He appreciated the defense.It proved that Finn had brokenthrough, if only a tiny bit.The trust he had been trying to build was catching, and it was only a matterof time before Cal let him behind that wall and asked for help.But this wasn t Cal s fight.Finn hadhis own demons he needed to work out with Mark. And I sure as hell didn t force Veronica into doing anything she didn t want to do.She s an adult,more than capable of making her own decisions.And so is Cal.Your family has grown up, Mark.You just haven t been here to see it. Mark lunged again but Cal held out his arm and stopped him from getting any closer. Not here.You do not want to be the one responsible for ruining Jack and Sterling s wedding. Mark shot Cal a scowl.No doubt unhappy Cal was playing the role of responsible adult whileMark practically had smoke coming out of his ears. Stay the fuck away from my sister. Mark pointed at him over Cal s shoulder. I mean it. Hestalked out of the tent and down the dirt path toward the parking lot. I m sorry, Finn. Cal s shoulders slumped as they watched him storm away. I was mad and& itjust slipped out.I didn t mean to tell him.Honest. It s all right.It was bound to come out sooner or later.And let this be a lesson to you lying isnever worth it. The kid gave him a wry look. Are you always trying to teach a lesson, even at your ownexpense? I guess so. He laughed. And you can expect many more, the longer you work for me. Cal smiled. I saw an extra jacket near the towels.Go change. He straightened. I can squirtstraight lines. Damn.The kid had come a long way from the snarky smart-ass who d shown up at his restaurantonly a few weeks ago refusing to have anything to do with it.Despite his first instinct to say no, Finn figured Cal deserved a shot at putting the finishing toucheson the dessert.He had just defended him, after all.And he trusted his growing skills.Finn nodded, and made his way to the towels and the sink. Go ahead. He cleaned his face and neck, and removed the soiled jacket, replacing it with a crisp white one.Although this one didn t have his name embroidered on it.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Veronica pass the entrance to the barn and walk around towardthe back.She was escaping.Cal was hard at work finishing the dessert plates.The rest of his staff members were working justas diligently.The chef wasn t supposed to leave the ship.But Mark had most likely flown off thehandle with Veronica, too.Finn needed to check on her.He threw down the towel and jogged out tothe side of the barn.He clasped his hand around her bare arm, and she flailed. Finn.You scared the crap out of me.It s dark in these woods. He didn t know what to say to her.He d deserted his job, scared the wits out of her, and he stilldidn t know what he wanted to say
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