Aside from the fact that he never showed up for his own wedding and was rumored to have a mistress stashed somewhere, McNeil was, in Paul''s eyes, practically wless.
Right now, though, McNeil was eyeing Paul with clear disapproval. "Greet her properly-"
He repeated himself, and Paul nced at Victoria. The emotions flickered across his face so fast and so raw that even Victoria felt a twinge of sympathy for him.
"Who is she, exactly?"
Is this my cousin''s wife?
Paul''s face was a kaleidoscope of emotions, every shade in the book. Mrs. Nelson nudged her son gently.
"Honestly, Paul, is that how you greet your cousin''s wife for the first time? McNeil, don''t mind him-he''s spoiled, that''s my fault. He doesn''t know any better."
McNeil''s voice was cool and even. "Ignorance is no crime."
Mrs. Nelson and Madonna exchanged confused nces, clearly not grasping McNeil''s meaning, but Paul''s striking, fox-like eyes narrowed, and for a long moment, he was at a loss for words.
Victoria hadn''t expected McNeil to introduce her to his family like this. But then she thought back on his odd behavior over the past few days-clearly, he had gotten the wrong idea.
"Cousin, since we''re meeting for the first time, let me toast you-"
Before Victoria could get to her feet, Paul nearly knocked his own ss off the table in his haste.
He looked genuinely startled. “No need, really, I can''t ept that. If you want to drink, you should do it with McNeil-he can hold his liquor. He won''t get drunk, trust me."
It had never urred to him that the first woman he''d ever had a crush on would turn out to be his cousin''s wife.
Paul looked at McNeil and finally understood why he''d been punched and forced to drink all night.
So that was jealousy. But how was he supposed to know?
He felt especially wronged-this was his first love, for crying out loud.
Madonna nced from Paul to the married couple, a sense of unease prickling at her.
"So... do you two have something to discuss?"
She couldn''t understand why McNeil insisted Paule to dinner, and why he''d brought Victoria along, too.
"Why did your cousin''s wife want to see you?"
Ignoring Madonna and Mrs. Nelson entirely, McNeil got straight to the point.
Victoria''s fingers tensed against the table. The question was so blunt and out of the blue that she couldn''t help but feel uneasy.
Madonna heard and her eyes sharpened. "Victoria, you wanted to see Paul?"
McNeil''s gaze sliced toward Madonna. "I''m talking to Paul. This doesn''t concern you."
Madonna fell silent, her expression tightening with displeasure.
Paul was flustered. "It''s... it''s about the software program."
He couldn''t bring himself to lie to his cousin. Otherwise, getting forced to drink would be the least of his problems.
"We were talking at the office about a gaming program that needs Paul''s custom algorithm. He''s brilliant-he solved a problem I''ve never been able to crack. I just wanted to ask for his advice, that''s all."
Paul was sweating bullets now, and McNeil''s stare felt like a de slicing right through him.
"So all this time, you''ve been the secret engineer behind Quantum Core Technologies. Impressive."
Paul''s voice trembled. "You''re giving me too much credit, really..."
McNeil rapped his fingers on the table. "Did I sound like I wasplimenting you?"
Paul was speechless.
Victoria spoke up quickly, "We really were just talking about the program."
McNeil shot back, "That includes cooking for him, cleaning his ce too?"
Victoria was stunned into silence.
Paul looked stricken. How was he supposed to know she was his cousin''s wife? If he''d known, wild horses couldn''t have dragged him into this.
McNeil took Victoria''s hand gently. "Did you know, in six years of marriage, I''ve never once let her cook a meal? And you had her ying housekeeper?"
Paul stammered, "McNeil, let me exin. I was just joking around with her, honest."
"Joking? So developing software is a joke? Or were you trying to steal my wife too?"