Page 142 of Always Us

“You should get back to the bar.” She tosses her scrunched-up napkin on the table. “We were just leaving.”

He peers down at Alex. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

Sara glares at Brandon but he doesn’t notice. His eyes are still on Alex. She says really fast, “This is Alex and those are my friends, Jade and Garret.”

Brandon points to Caleb, who’s still on Alex’s lap. “Is that our kid?”

“Yes.” Sara takes Caleb and holds him against her chest.

Holy crap! That’s Caleb’s dad? Sara never told me his name. She hardly ever talks about him.

Before I even knew who this guy was, I could tell he was an ass, just by the way he came over here and acted like we should all stop what we’re doing and pay attention to him.

“Let me see him,” Brandon says.

Sara slowly turns Caleb around and sits him on her lap. “His name’s Caleb.”

“Who came up with that stupid name?”

I see both Garret and Alex tense up.

“Obviously, I named him since you weren’t around for his birth.” Sara sounds pissed. Good for her.

“You’re the one who wanted it. I gave you the money to take care of it.”

“You need to leave,” Alex says to him.

“Who are you? The new boyfriend?”

“Brandon, just leave,” Sara says. “Go back to the bar.”

He leans down in front of Alex, placing his palms on the table. “Are you trying to play dad to my kid?”

Alex looks him in the eye. “You’re clearly not interested in the job.”

Sara holds Alex’s arm. “Alex, just ignore him. He’ll go away.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Brandon says, a big smirk on his face.

Alex keeps quiet. I can almost see the wheels spinning in his head as he tries to figure out what to do. Sara doesn’t want him to get in a fight, but Alex wants to stand up for her. And I’m sure he’d love to beat up Brandon for leaving Sara alone with a baby and no money. The problem is, Alex isn’t a fighter.

“Just leave,” Alex says, staring at Brandon.

“Make me, tough guy.”

Even if Alex wanted to fight him, there’s no way he would win a fight with this guy. Brandon may not be much taller than Alex, but he’s way bigger.

“You gonna just sit there, or are you gonna do something?” Brandon says, trying to provoke him.

Alex doesn’t answer. He seems nervous, his eyes darting everywhere but at Brandon.

“Alex.” Garret waits for Alex to look at him. “You mind if I step in?”

“Go ahead.”

Great. Just what I need. My husband getting into a fight.

“Garret, don’t,” I say quietly to him.

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