Page 20 of Cheese Daddy

The man shoved her back, and that was when all hell broke loose. Bree and Owen jumped forward to catch Eden as she stumbled back, while a blur went past them, and Samuel started howling. Marcus was punching Samuel in the face while Rita and Andres were trying to pull him off the other man.

There went any chance of Marcus pretending he didn’t care about Eden.

The rest of the restaurant was shouting, some of them stepping forward to help Andres and Rita pull Marcus off of Samuel. Funny enough, not one person checked on Samuel, even after they got Marcus off of him.

Through the crowd, Owen saw Saul headed their way, wearing a black chef coat that made his angry blue eyes seem even bluer.

Well, he was definitely never going to forget the first time Bree said the “L” word to him. Just not quite in the way he’d planned.

11

Bree

Talk about the most embarrassing moment of her life. She’d blurted out that she loved Owen without meaning to, to her ex instead of to Owen, then there was a fistfight. Though it hadn’t been much of a fight, really. She glanced over to the table where Eden was fussing over Marcus as if Samuel had actually managed to do any kind of real damage.

At most, Marcus had some bruised knuckles, but he wasn’t stopping Eden from fussing over him. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying it.

Shaking her head, Bree looked away from the confusing pair. There was a good chance they’d be right back to arguing tomorrow, so she wasn’t going to get her hopes up that this was the start of something new.

Owen and Andres were talking to their friend Saul, the chef who owned the restaurant, off to the side with several large hand gestures. Samuel was there too, but standing slightly separate, and he was arguing while he held his nose. She didn’t think Marcus had broken it, but he’d definitely given Samuel a bloody one.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Rita said, putting her arm around Bree’s shoulders. “Samuel’s an ass who didn’t deserve you. No one is going to blame you for any of his actions.”

“It’s not that,” Bree replied, which was partly true. There was a bit of gnawing anxiety that everyone was going to think this was all her fault, but it wasn’t the biggest concern on her mind. “Owen and I hadn’t said ‘I love you’ yet, then I just went and blurted it out. He’s going to think I said it because of Samuel and not because I really do.”

“Oh, honey.” Rita turned, pulling Bree into her arms for a hug, and Bree went willingly. She needed a hug right now. “First of all, if he thinks that, he’s a dumbass. Second of all, even if he’s a dumbass, he’ll figure it out. And Eden and I will help. We can all see that you two have fallen in love.”

“It’s just the most unromantic way to say it, like ever.” Bree sighed, giving Rita one last squeeze before letting go. “That was not how I would have ever chosen to say it.”

“How were you going to say it?” Rita asked as she let Bree go, stepping back just enough to give her a little space but still keeping one arm around Bree’s shoulders.

“I was going to let him say it first.”

What? So, she was a little chicken. Who wasn’t? And guys could be weird about girls saying it first. She didn’t think Owen would be, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, she sucked at making the first move.

Clearly.

This was how it happened when she did.

As she and Rita watched, Samuel threw his hands up in the air and stormed out. Saul flipped him off from behind, causing Rita and Bree to giggle. Apparently, Samuel hadn’t made a good impression. The three men turned around to come over. Bree apologized profusely, though Chef Saul assured her it wasn’t her fault before he headed back to his kitchen.

Then Andres and Rita assured her it wasn’t her fault.

Then Marcus and Eden came over to assure her it wasn’t her fault.

And then she was left with Owen, who was the only one who hadn’t said anything.

“Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you home,” he said, curving his arm around her. At least he was acting like everything was okay, but how could it be?

“Are you coming with me?” she asked worriedly. Owen came to a halt just before the door to the restaurant and looked down at her.

“Of course, I am. Unless you don’t want me to.”

“I do.” She reached out to cling to his jacket. They’d been spending most nights together, and while they hadn’t actually said they were going to spend tonight together, she’d kind of been assuming. If he backed out now after everything with Samuel, she was going to spend the entire night as a massive ball of anxiety, with her brain convincing her the end of their relationship was imminent. “I just wasn’t sure you would want to… after all this.”

Cupping Bree’s face in his hands, Owen stared directly into her eyes.

“Bree. I love you, too. Absolutely nothing that happened today changes that.”

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