Sold To the Grizzly Don (Alcee and Bruno) novel Chapter 127

Chapter 127

When Ranieco and Cianna returned to the table the woman was visibly upset but managed to keep her mouth shut for the remainder of the dinner service. Alece knew she’d pissed off Torq’s brother, but she was pretty pissed off with him as well.

At the end of the day, he was the one who insisted his mother needed to be part of the equation and then he brought her to the dinner and permitted her to be disrespectful and rude. His comments from earlier in the day when he’d been trying to get under her and Torq’s skin under the guise of mother’s wanting what is best for the children was not rankling in the worst way. Alcee felt he’d manipulated the room then because he knew damn well he wasn’t going to be able to keep his mother’s mouth shut and so he was expecting his words earlier were going to be enough. As if she was going to allow the woman to be a bitch simply because Raniero thought she was doing it out of love for him. Fuck that.

As dessert was coming out and coffee and ten was replacing wine at the tables, Antero was becoming more and more frustrated with the length of everything. He was now back in between her and Bastiano and he was fidgeting like mad. Every movement or sigh he made, Cianna would lean forward or backward to look at him and Raniero would need to adjust to block her view.

Torq was talking to Tito, and it was clear he was ignoring the behavior of his son, but Alcee wasn’t granted this ability since he was hanging off

her.

“Mom, I’m bored,” he whined as he leaned his head against her bicep. “Can’t we go home yet? I miss Avalanche.”

“Soon Ant. Your dessert will be here shortly. Once we’re done we can head out.”

Torq perked up at her comment and shook his head, “we’ll be at least an hour here.”

She bit her tongue not wanting to cause another scene but if he thought she was sitting here with the human version of a Newton’s Cradle seated three seats down from her for another full hour, he was out of his damn mind.

She looked at the dessert coming out and immediately knew Antero was not going to be happy. Tiramisu. He hated the dessert with a passion. The smell of the coffee was always enough to make him comment his displeasure.

Sure enough, the minute the plate was put in front of him, he made a loud gagging noise and kicked his feet angrily. “Stupid tiramisu?”

Another huff from Cianna and then the fidgeting from Raniero and the frown of disproval from Torq and Alcee was ready to walk out with her son over her shoulder.

She lifted her handbag again; grateful she’d been clever enough to know the meal tonight wasn’t going to be up to Antero’s fussy standards. He was on the cusp of a meltdown. He was overstimulated. He was overtired. He was probably still a bit hungry after barely eating the plain buttered noodles which barely filled a salad plate and a handful of rolls. She pulled a cookie out of her bag and pulled the tiramisu away from him.

“Here, Ant. Eat this. Once we get home, you can eat some cereal before bed.”

“It’s going to be bedtime already. I won’t have time to play with Avalanche or read a story?

“I’m sure we can squeeze in a few minutes.”

“It’s not fair.”

“Antero,” Torq’s voice cut into the increasingly high–pitched sound coming from his son. “Eat your cookie.”

“I don’t want a stupid cookie.” He shoved it away

“Antero!” Torq’s tone sharpened.

angrily.

Alcer and Amal exchanged glances right at the moment, Antero shut down. He was done. He was done with all of it. Alcee inmediately wanted to cry. All the progress they’d made in not having non–communicative episodes over the last several months was now gone. Antero’s eyes almost glazed over as he simply filtered the room out. He slid off the chair and disappeared under the table.

Torq who was barely looking in his direction because he was too involved in his conversation with Tito caught the movement and looked at her,

ges him off the floor.”

“He’s done Torq.” She shook her head, “He did the best he could. My suggestion is to leave him there until you are ready to leave otherwise it will be a bigger scene than what is happening now.”

Chapter 127

“He cannot sit on the floor, Alcer. It is inappropriate”

She leaned down, “Antero? Could you please come out?” She looked at her son who sat under the table, his knees pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs, staring blankly at the legs of his father. “Ant, we’re in a restaurant sweetheart and we can’t be on the floor in a restaurant. It’s dirty. There are crumbs and things under there.”

Nothing. Not a flicker of acknowledgment. His eyes were barely blinking. She tried to reach for him, and he flinched away from her. She sighed with a bit of relief at the movement knowing he was at least hearing her and feeling her. She met Amal’s eyes under the table as the woman pitched in.

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