Page 87 of Stay Toxic

The kid had killed himself months later.

I hadn’t realized that the lawyer for the other side had been Viveka’s husband, though.

I also hadn’t thought my opinion of him could get any lower, yet here I was, thinking the man was less than dirt.

Gross.

“That girl needs to be castrated,” I grumbled.

His bark of laughter startled me, and I blinked at him in surprise.

If I thought Shasha Semyonov was beautiful before, him laughing? It was a work of art.

I wished I could put the feeling in my chest into the world for everyone to feel, because it felt like I was on Cloud Nine.

The muscles in his throat worked, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and the way his hair shifted…gah. It made me want to bury my fingers in it.

I was so entrenched in the feeling that at first I didn’t notice the telltale sign of my stomach beginning its thing.

That’s when I realized my mistake.

I’d fully expected him to be gone when this hit, which was why I ate as I did.

The smile that I’d been wearing slid off my face, and he tilted his head to study me.

“What?” he asked.

“Uh.” I paused. “If I ask you to leave, would you?”

His eyes narrowed. “Probably not. I hadn’t planned on going home tonight.”

I bit my lip as another familiar gurgle started to form in my belly.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Uh,” I repeated. “What if I said pretty please?”

He pushed his trash aside and leaned forward, his eyes focused on me. “What is it?”

Like I would ever tell him what was actually wrong.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing,” I lied.

“Is this about the bodyguards?” he asked. “Was it too much for you?”

I was already shaking my head. “No, no. Not that. I just, uh, need a bit of privacy for about an hour. Maybe you can go get some dessert or something and then bring it back?”

That would certainly take him at least thirty minutes. Nothing was a two-minute drive here, thanks to traffic.

“No,” he answered honestly. “Tell me what’s going on.”

He’d put on his scary face.

I kind of liked it.

I would’ve thought it was hot if my stomach hadn’t decided now was the best time to remind me that it didn’t like eggs and I was stupid for eating them.

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