Possessive: Her Protectors (Kingswood Saga Book 4) Completed

10. Amalie

Stupid boys, just like my brothers who don't think I can do it, okay so it threw me when Rio touched me but I am more than capable of dealing with them.  Lucy and Paul think I can do it and I need to prove myself to them.  They've done so much for me since the incident, giving me an opportunity to realise my dream.  Lucy also had me organising some of the charity work with Teddy which was fascinating, and nothing, definitely not two spoilt boys were going to stop me.

I glanced at the clock, 6.15pm, I groaned but sat down to slip on my shoes, before picking up my bag and room key and marching downstairs, sharing a brief smile with the receptionist before turning towards the restaurant.  I could see Rome and Rio already seated and made my way to them, shocked when they stood and Rio pulled out a chair for me to sit before they reclaimed their seats.

"Amalie" Rio greeted me with a smile.

"Good evening" I reply, picking up the menu and trying to ignore the eyes on me.  Surprisingly it didn't make my skin crawl, something which I had felt often since the attack.

We all read our menus in silence till the waiter took our orders, I frowned as the boys each ordered a glass of wine to go with their meals, as I ordered water, not wanting an alcohol. I bit my tongue, wanting to tell them not too, but it wasn't my place.

"Tell us about yourself?" Rio asked once the waiter had left.

"I'm not interesting" I tell him "You tell me about rowing instead"

"Ah, that wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to talk about myself, in the presence of a lady, how about a compromise, a question for a question" Rio laughs and I glance between him and his brother.

"You want to play 20 questions" I ask shocked as Rome chuckles darkly.

"Not quite" he murmurs, his gaze catching mine and I gulp.

"I'll start" Rio grins, "what's your favourite colour?"

I look at him, was he serious? "Green" I reply, "Whats yours?"

"Blue" Rome says sharply "You can be more original than that"

"Red" Rio smiles "Ignore him, this is just to get to know you better" he says.

"How old are you?" Rome asks, staring at me.

"Eighteen" I reply, holding his gaze, till the waiter brings our drinks.

"What are you studying at University?" I ask, thinking of a more original question.

"Environmental Law" Rome grinned at my surprised look.

"Both of you?" I question but Rome shakes his head.

"Its our question first"

"Do you have any brother and sisters?" Rio asks

"Three older triplet brothers and  twin, younger brothers" I tell them.

"Damn, next you'll tell us you have multiple parents as well" Rio laughs and I look at him.

"Whats wrong with that" I say sharply and he hold up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Do you?" Rome prods.

"Yes, I have three dads and one mom, Not that it's any business of yours" I snap and start to push my chair back, no one puts down my family.

"Wait, we're not judging, please sit down, I promise I'll explain" Rio says, sharing a glance with Rome.

I sit back and scowl at them, waiting to hear what they have to say.

"We also have three dads and one mom, we have twin older brothers who have one girlfriend, Lily, who is Aunt Lucy's daughter.  Trust me we don't have any negative comments about non standard relationships" Rome explains and its my turn to look shocked.  

I hadn't realised how similar our families were, I felt a little stupid that I had leapt to conclusions about their thoughts.

"Sorry" I mutter and look down.

"Back to our questions" Rio claps his hands to break the tension. "Both of us are doing Environmental Law "

I take a deep breath, I need to get through this dinner and away from them, they unsettle me but not in a bad way and that scares me more.

"Whats you're favourite food?" I ask.

"Steak" they both reply together.

The questions stay light and easy, as our food is delivered and we eat, the topics remaining safe till we order coffee. Then Rome asks the question I've been dreading.

"Why don't you compete anymore, I looked you up and you were one of the best within your age range, what happened, you said you're taking a break?" Rome asked, watching me intently.

"Why do you chance your future by taking stupid risks?" I counter, ignoring his question and going on the defensive.

"You first" he growls

"I think we're done this evening, good night" I say getting up and walking away, hearing Rio berating Rome as I go.

I storm into my room, angry at Rome for pushing a topic I don't want to discuss and angry at myself for letting him get to me.  I couldn't let him get to me.

I get ready for bed, going over and over the conversation at dinner, I can't work them out, what was Rome trying to do, chase me away, hurt me or just embarrass me?

Still tomorrow was another day and I had to get some rest, if tonight was anything to go by, I would need to be alert.