Alex
I arrived at Byron’s house earlier than I intended. The driveway still looked empty, but at least Uncle Blake and his fiancée, Angela, were chatting in the garden. That would make things slightly less awkward.
Byron greeted Uncle Blake first, but the moment his gaze landed on me, I saw the brief flash of heat before he masked it with that well-practiced smile.
"Brother," he said, stepping forward with open arms, voice dripping with fake sweetness. "So good to see you could make it."
The bastard was already putting on a show.
"I didn’t invite myself," I shot back with a dry smile. "But I figured I’d show up so no one accuses me of being petty.”
"Good, good, good," Byron said, clapping me on the shoulder, the grip just tight enough to make it clear he was trying to establish domin
