“I’m here on business,” Colton says evenly, avoiding Eddie’s baiting dig. “I’m doing quite well in the States, serving as a board member for Fox Industries."

Let’s be real. Colton is not ‘doing quite well.’ He’s the fucking rock star of the company. Sorry, Dad!

Edwin, however, seems less than impressed. “You’ve got a management position in the family business all ready for you, and you sod off to go make money for someone else’s company in the States? Disappointing.”

I feel Colton’s fingers tense on my forearm and know he’s about to blow, so I step up to the plate to save him. “Excuse me, Mr. Wolfe. But what is the family business?”

“Agriculture, mostly,” Mary says, smiling wanly. “The family name has stood for quality fresh meats in the UK for centuries. Business began with just one man who raised livestock and walked farm to farm to sell eggs each day. Over time, it grew from his one-man operation to the company we have now.” She sounds almost nostalgic, sentimental about the growth.

“Don’t waste your breath trying to get Colton back in the family business. We all know why he left.” Eddie leans forward, getting closer to watch Colton’s reaction. “He couldn’t handle being second-best.”

“That’s right, love!” Ava says, batting her eyelashes. “He just couldn’t measure up to a dish like you!”

She starts laughing and snorting like a pig again, and I can’t help but cringe.

Even Edwin seems turned off by Ava’s gross misconduct, though he excuses his son’s. “Right, right, enough of this tripe,” Edwin growls. “What actually brings you back home, Colton? You say you’re doing so well in the States, yet here you sit.”

The accusation hangs heavily, mostly because Edwin all but throws it in his son’s face. Eddie, of course, is quick to see that and press the advantage. “Exactly, Dad. Colton, you abandoned your family without a word, and you come back unannounced with an American girl and some story of heralded success. I think it’s all bollocks.”

“Eddie!” Lizzie protests, but apparently, being the youngest child means being ignored in this household.

“No, he’s quite right,” Edwin says. “I’ve barely gotten much more than a formal Christmas card from you in years, you barely speak to your mother or your grandmother . . . so I don’t buy that this is simply a family visit. Let’s be honest, shall we, Colton? You want something, and I demand to know what!”

“Dad!” Lizzie appeals again, working her way up the food chain.

“Hush, Elizabeth!” Mary admonishes her daughter. “Your father is speaking!”

“Well?” Edwin demands. “Speak, boy! Or has your time overseas turned you soft?”

I feel Colt’s fingers tighten, and I’m worried that he’s about to unleash on his father when instead, he leans back, crossing his ankle over his knee and laughing.

“You know, this all used to bother me. And honestly, I did go off because I didn’t want to put up with the lot of you, nor did I have to.” His voice is hard as steel, though he’s casual and loose as he talks to his dad. When he turns to the other end of the table, the warmth returns. “However, I came home for many reasons. First, because I miss some of my family.”

“Colton—” Mary starts, her eyes soft.

“It’s all right,” Colton says, tapping his fingers together. I’ve seen that hand gesture before . . . in the office. Every time he’s figured out something important, he runs it through his mind one last time before sharing it. Whatever’s about to happen is Colton’s true play of this whole charade with his Dad and brother.

I wonder what it could be.

Colton’s set at Fox, but maybe he does want to jump back into the family business? Or maybe this is a coup and he’s going to take it out from underneath them? Or maybe he’s come to rescue his sister, and Nan and Mary too?

Whatever it is, Colton’s about to drop a bomb on Edwin and Eddie. After only knowing them for an hour, I’m pretty damn excited to see them get their comeuppance. Hell, I could dance a gleeful jig on the table, even without a dare, I’m so eager to hear it.

"Father, Eddie . . . you may not have been keeping up with me and my endeavors in the States, but rest assured, I have stayed well informed of yours. I’ve watched from afar as you’ve cocked up half a dozen nitwitted business ideas, and its only sheer luck you haven’t lost the entire estate. Well, luck and restricted access. Eddie, you’re an utter prat. Father, you’re a disgrace.”

Edwin and Eddie are both blustering, yelling at Colton, but he soldiers on, talking to his dad as though about the weather while shanking him left and right. Badass to the bone, and prepared as though he’s been dreaming of this moment for quite some time.

“You bully and badger Mum, you treat Nan like rubbish, you’ve let Eddie run amok, and you practically ignore your only daughter, other than to perhaps scheme which of your Eaton mates you’re going to marry her off to.”

“I will not—”

Colton runs roughshod over Lizzie’s interruption too. “I came back because I’m taking my land,” Colton thunders. “Fox is looking to build a new HQ, and I’m going to be the man to lead it. This visit was simply a polite formality to check on my kin and to put you on notice that I will be here, watching closely and stepping in every time you get out of line. I’ve been absent, but no more.”

There’s a moment of shocked silence, each of us processing what that means to us.

My brain is pretty much on a repeat of . . . what the actual fuck, what the actual fuck? There’s a tiny question of ‘can he do that?’ mixed in, but then my brain goes right back to ‘what the fuck?’

I mean, I know we’re here to do the scouting on the London property for HQ2, but I thought this was just a family visit because work brought him so close to home. There’s nothing in any of the paperwork I’ve seen that said the proposed site is Colton’s land. That changes . . . everything.

It’s his land . . . there’s no negotiation. It’s his land . . . the price is at his discretion. It’s his land . . . he can set this deal up so that it’s irrefutable as the best option for Fox. It’s his land . . . Dad is so fucked. It’s his land . . . and he didn’t tell me.

Eddie suddenly bursts out laughing. “Your land?”

“That’s right,” Colton says. “The estate Grandfather promised me in his will.”

Edwin stands up, so red I would be worried about his blood pressure if a small ugly part of me wasn’t wishing he’d drop dead right about now and save us all the trouble. Not really, of course . . . but maybe a little.

“That land, you say? Tell me, Colton, since your grandfather died when you were still in nappies, who do you think controls the trust that owns that land?”

He pauses dramatically, the feral grin growing wider and uglier by the second. “That’s right, boy. It might be your land in some old codger’s will, but it’s my land until the day I pass. And even then, it won’t be going to you so you can lease it or sell it to some American pissants. It’ll go to my son. My only son.”