Ritchie’s heart was still beating somewhere in his throat when he shot Anthony a look that could curdle fresh cream. “You’re insufferable, Alderton. Absolutely insufferable.” Ritchie felt the corner of his mouth threaten treason by twitching upward, even if he didn’t find it entirely funny. It was difficult to be angry at him when he was laughing like he’d just told the funniest joke in the world. “You do amuse yourself, don’t you?” he asked as he glanced at him. “A pity I wasn’t there to offer your poor cousins moral support.” Ritchie could only imagine what he did to them.

The hand that landed against his chest lingered just long enough for him to realize it, although as he pulled it back, Anthony took a step back.The audacity of the man. The grin, the laugh, that maddening ease. “You should count yourself lucky we’re not at the shop or else I’d toss you into a vat of pistachio.” Pistachio of course, because Anthony had deemed it his favorite. While Ritchie’s eyes narrowed, his glare didn’t quite stick.

Then they widened, head tipping slightly as he squinted at the woods, as if trying to make sense of something he couldn’t quite see. “Don’t move.” Ritchie murmured, as if not to startle whatever it was.

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