Trading amused glances with Royce and Roderick, Remy drawled, “Methinks the boy doth protest too much.”
As they laughed, River smirked and gave them the finger.
When the humorous moment passed, Roderick said casually to Royce, “Yesterday when I spoke to Robyn, she mentioned that Daphne was upset because she wasn’t invited to St. Lucia. Is that true?”
Royce grimaced, a muscle tightening in his jaw. “Unfortunately, it is.”
“Are you serious?” River demanded incredulously. “Why the hell should she have been invited? Ever since the divorce, she’s barely wanted anything to do with our family.”
“Except, apparently, when it comes to taking all-expenses-paid trips to the Caribbean,” Remy said sardonically.
Roderick sipped his beer, then calmly set the glass down on the table. “As Lena and I explained to everyone, the trip to St. Lucia was our way of thanking all of you for your love and support. Now, Royce, I know you were married to Daphne and she’s the mother of your two children, whom I adore. But I don’t consider her a member of this family anymore, and I make no apologies for that.”
“Nor should you have to,” Royce grimly agreed. “Daphne had no right to complain to Robyn, and I’m sorry you had to hear about it. I’ll talk to her.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. You’re not responsible for Daphne’s petty behavior.” Roderick grinned. “Besides, she already got an earful from Robyn.”
The four brothers chuckled at the thought of their big sister reading Daphne the riot act. Robyn had always been fiercely protective of her family. It was well-known that anyone who harmed a member of the Brand clan would invariably incur the wrath of Mama Bear Robyn.
“Speaking of getting an earful,” River drawled, grinning lasciviously at Remy, “when are we gonna talk about all that moaning and groaning I heard coming from Zandra’s hotel room in St. Lucia? Either she hooked up with one of those cabana boys who were checking her out—or you finally got your prayers answered.”
Heat crawled up Remy’s neck as his brothers stared expectantly at him, their eyes gleaming with salacious curiosity. He hadn’t told any of them—not even Roderick—that he and Zandra had become lovers, because she’d asked him not to.
So he looked River in the eye and said with a straight face, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
As a roar of incredulous groans went around the table, he grinned.
“C’mon, Rem,” River complained. “How’re you gonna hold out on us like that? Haven’t we been nothing but supportive of your secret crush on Zandra?”
“Secret crush?” Remy scoffed. “Fug outta here. How old do you think I am?”
Royce chuckled. “You’ve spent the past two years secretly pining away for your childhood friend. What would you call it? A discreet longing?”
Remy scowled as his brothers hooted with laughter. When he leveled a glare at his twin, Roderick only laughed harder.
Shaking his head in amused defeat, Remy drank his beer.
“You know,” Royce said, eyes glinting as he stroked his trim goatee, “I’ve been giving this some more thought.”
“What’s that?” Roderick asked.
“Well, I think our dear brother here has been in love with Za-Za a helluva lot longer than a couple years. Hold on,” he added when Remy opened his mouth to protest. “Hear me out.”
Roderick grinned. “I’m all ears.”
Royce sat forward. “Do you remember Zandra’s prom night? Remember you and Remy were home from college, and Robyn and Mom had gone to Zandra’s grandmother’s house to help her get ready? So we decided to head over there to meet her prom date, give him the talk, etcetera, etcetera.”