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fun.”
    “Your fun?”
    Damen yanked the office door open, and they stepped into the hall. “Yeah, choosing a woman for you. None of us have ever seen your lovers. I mean you charm the ladies better than anyone I know, but I can’t remember seeing you leave with them.”
    “That’s because I don’t advertise a lady’s private affairs.”
    Damen snorted. “Always the gentleman. Are you even related to us?”
    “Leave him alone, Damen,” Duke boomed from the other end of the hall. “Who knows? He might be gay and just too scared to come out of the closet. Don’t worry, little cousin. I accept you just the way you are.”
    At Stefan’s side, Damen stiffened. He and Duke had never gotten along, and Damen respected Duke even less after he found out Creed had been bailing Duke out of trouble for years without telling them.
    “I’m not gay,” Stefan assured him.
    Duke slapped him on the opposite shoulder, and Damen stepped farther away from the two of them, glaring at their cousin. Duke appeared oblivious to how much Damen disliked him. He always wore a smile, and from the stories that Stefan had heard Duke was more impulsive than he could ever be. The difference lay in the fact that Duke didn’t care if he broke the law or endangered his or anyone else’s lives.
    “You’re still in town?” Damen growled. “When are you leaving?”
    “I’m here to stay.” Duke set his fists on his hips, and Stefan flashed on the image of a swashbuckling pirate. In a way, Duke resembled one. At least he had trimmed the beard and gotten a haircut. The family resemblance was there. He could be Damen’s twin, which probably pissed Damen off all the more. “I like Marquette’s, and there are too many single women coming through here to leave after a few days.”
    “Our restaurant isn’t your dating service,” Damen bit out between gritted teeth. Never mind that he’d just been suggesting to Stefan that he look over the guests for a date. “Why don’t you go find a job?”
    “Ah, but I have.”
    Suspicion rose in Damen’s gaze, and Stefan knew what was coming.
    Duke wiggled his eyebrows. “Tonight, I start as one of the hosts. I told Creed a waiter might be a little much to begin with, and cooking’s not my thing.”
    “You mean the less work involved the better,” Damen interrupted.
    “Hey, I’m willing to start out at the bottom.”
    Damen cursed. “I don’t expect you to last the week. Before five days, you’ll find some reason to quit, or you just won’t show up. That’s your M.O., isn’t it? If you think we’re going to support you just because you’re family you can forget it.”
    At last the smile left Duke’s face, and he moved closer to Damen. The two men stood chest to chest, nostrils flared. “You’ve got a big mouth on you, Damen. Don’t forget who used to wipe your nose when you were a kid.”
    “Not you,” Damen shot back.
    “Yeah, me. Creed wasn’t always around. I cleaned up after you when you were bullied.”
    “Guys, cool it,” Stefan tried, but they ignored him.
    Damen shoved the other man. “Get out of my face, Duke. You should have never come back from the army. Oh wait, they kicked you out. That’s right. I forgot.”
    “Fuck you!”
    Damen surprised Stefan when he threw the first swing. His middle brother hated violence, yet Duke pissed him off so much, he couldn’t resist. Stefan watched in shock as Duke deliberately stepped into the swing and let it connect with his jaw. His head snapped back, and he grinned in amusement.
    “Wow, you hit like a girl, Damen. Guess your lady wears the pants in your house.”
    Stefan gasped. “Duke, stop.”
    Damen roared and launched himself at Duke. This time, their cousin sidestepped him and grabbed Damen’s fist, twisted it, and grabbed his brother by the back of the neck. Damen landed on the floor, but he was big enough to unsettle Duke’s stance. Duke thumped a shoulder against the wall. Several shouts of surprise rang through