Blow the top of his head

"I work for Panache hotels and resorts at the head office. It's a hotel empire mainly situated in States and they'll soon be going international."

Panache Hotels and Resorts wasn't owned by Italian mafia, per se, but it was founded by the brother of the current Don's grandfather. The company was expanded by the descendants with a lot of help from their outlaw cousins.

Tatiana could be just a regular employee under them whose past they are unaware of. But it would be a rubbish coincidence if she was working under them without any knowledge of their underworld connections. I felt the insult slapping Miraj's face when she said it. She still seemed like she had no idea what was wrong with what she had said.

Before anyone said another word, Romero and his staff appeared to serve us the entrée and remove the soup from the table. It was crab cakes with tartar sauce, Ari's favorite, and he rarely got to eat it. If it hadn't been for that, I would have asked the staff to cancel the appetizers and jump to main course but why should my son suffer because of a brainless woman who didn't know what was right for her.

I helped Ari adjust his chair as he tried to get closer to the table for a faster reach to his crab cakes. I didn't have the time to appreciate the cuteness of his actions because more than half of my attention was focused on my husband.

I couldn't read his emotions at all but I could see he was struggling. His entire body was completely still and if he moved, all his movements were precisely controlled, down to the movement of each finger. It looked like he himself had no idea what he would do if that control was lost.

Amongst the sounds of cutlery being removed, there was a deafening silence on the table. This had been happening a lot today. I shouldn't have been so careless and let her take me by surprise. If only I had investigated her before I wouldn't regret it now.

Luke bumped his elbow to mine, lightly, to draw my attention. I leaned towards him and he whispered into my ear, "Can you calm his anger if I get him to storm out of here?"

That made me turn completely. What was he planning? Trying to make Miraj blow the top of his head?

I whispered back to him, "What are you thinking, Luke?"

"You have to empty an overflowing pot. He has to stop himself from killing her so he has to let go of that tension in his body."

Killing her would make us lose Mathews and Mathews knew too much about my little family. But did it make sense to infuriate the most dangerous person at the table? I thought about any alternative ideas to get out of this but my mind was blank. I finally nodded at Luke, I knew of at least one way to get his stiff body to relax. Luke gave me a smile that I knew would bring trouble for me.

"Ana!" he said loud enough to be heard by everyone at the table.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" He brushed away a strand of my hair away from my face and caressed my cheek. Coincidentally, it was the same one Miraj had caressed earlier in the evening when we were in my room. There was no way Luke knew about it but I still raised a single eyebrow at him. I was still facing him so he was the only one who saw my expression.

He wasn't done yet because he took my left hand in his right hand, lifted it to his mouth and gave me a feather-light kiss at the back of my palm. That made me raise both my eyebrows.

"Your beauty gives me heartache." he said after the kiss.

We both have always flirted verbally and touches involved were friendly ones in a comfortable atmosphere. Right now, we were at a seriously awkward dinner and he was behaving like he was courting me. Do men even court ladies these days?

He was letting out all of his seducing weapons: Cheesy words, deep dark voice and the prettiest smile of the prettiest boy on the table. This would be highly inappropriate in any kind of setting. This insult won't feel like a slap to the face but like a kick in the balls. Your best friend flirting with your wife at your dining table, right after you got to know your ex's valid reason to leave was probably an excuse; this was a disaster.

The silence at the table got even quieter and I could feel the death threat from Miraj's stare at my back. I gulped visibly and turned away from Luke. All of a sudden, my crab cakes looked extremely interesting so I started eating. I couldn't dare to meet his eyes. Not even a minute had passed, when I heard the scraping sound of a chair being pushed back. Miraj had gotten up and without looking at anyone, he left the dining room.