Page 55 of Who's Your Daddy?

His eyes shift to the floor, and he still doesn’t look at me when he responds. “There’s just a few things I want to talk to you about.”

“I’m sorta...busy at the moment.”

It’s a blatant lie. The store is empty, and he literally just caught me divulging all my problems to these two ladies instead ofworking.

“It will only take a couple minutes,” he urges.

“Peter, I’m on the clock.”

“Fine. I’ll wait. What time do you get off?”

“Is there a problem here?”

I swivel my chair in the opposite direction to see Rafael coming down the aisle again. Oh, God. This is getting messy. He stops beside me, crossing his arms over his chest as he waits for Peter to answer. But Peter is arrogant enough to believe that he doesn’t have to answer to anyone and just stands there, staring Raf down.

“It’s okay,” I say. “He was just leaving.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Peter retorts.

His tone is even, but when Rafael reaches out to rub my back, Peter’s eyes darken, his jaw tightening as he watches us.

I know this mood. I saw it the night of Dylan’s wedding. He’s calm on the outside, but he’s raging on the inside. It’s such an unnatural reaction. Most people express their anger by shouting or getting aggressive. But Peter is different. His anger is silent and stealthy, almost undetectable to the untrained eye, but I see it.

“Is this guy bothering you, Lia?” Rafael asks.

“It’s really fine, Raf,” I say.

“You heard her.”

Raf ignores Peter’s indirect request to get lost and squeezes my shoulder. “I can call security, and we can escort him out the building.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Peter’s voice is low and controlled, another indicator that he’s pissed off.

The tension is rising, and I need to diffuse the situation. I hop off the chair and walk to Peter. Placing my hand on his chest, I push him a few steps back until we’re out of earshot.

“You need to leave,” I whisper. “Please don’t cause a scene. I can’t afford to lose this job.”

His eyes are still pinned on Raf, challenging him, daring him, so he doesn’t look at me when he responds. “I’m not leaving until you talk to me. Just give me five minutes.”

“Peter.” I press my fingers against my forehead, releasing an exasperated breath when I realize nothing is going to change his mind. “Fine. I finish at one. I’ll speak to you then.”

He doesn’t say a word. He simply nods and walks away.

Raf follows him to make sure he leaves the store, and I feel so unsettled when I return to the other ladies.

“Guuurrrrl, is that your baby-daddy?” Shontelle asks. “Oh, my God! I think my ovaries just exploded.”

“I wish that could’ve happened to me, then I wouldn’t be in this mess.” I shake my head. “Don’t be fooled by his rugged good looks. He’s just like every other manwhore that’ll dump you like a sack of shit once he’s done with you.”

“My mama always told me to watch out for them cheekbones,” Tori says, staring dreamily into the distance. “She said if he’s got cheekbones that look like they can cut diamonds, that boy is gonna break your heart for sure.”

“Where were you when I needed you, Tori?” I ask somewhat playfully. “I could’ve used that advice about five weeks ago.”

“It’s not like I ever took that advice. Have you seen my fiancé? His cheekbones are sharper than a double-edged sword.”

“And has he ever broken your heart?”

“Oh, no, sweetie. I kindly explained to him that I’m not much of a crier. My way of dealing with heartbreak involves whiskey, leather gloves, and some hydrofluoric acid. That stuff dissolves right through bone.”

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