Page 17 of Sunshine & Sinful

When the bagged desserts arrive, the check does not. Our original waiter shuffles from foot to foot as Todd pulls out his credit card and slides it across the white linen to him.

The kid slides it back. “It’s been taken care of, sir,” he mumbles, wanting to be anywhere but here.

Massaging the bridge of my nose, I inhale deeply and blow out the breath between my lips—Dark and goddamn Sunshine. Those bastards. They paid for our meal. They… I can’t with these men.

Lips thinning with barely concealed fury, Todd glares over my shoulder at the men who are most definitely still there, nursing beers and creeping on our date.

Gripping the stem of his wine glass, Todd’s nostrils flare as he brings the rim to his lips and drains the contents as if seeking liquid courage before he shoves his chair back. It screeches across the floor as he abruptly stands and slams his empty glass back on the table. It’s a miracle it doesn’t break. He snatches the napkin from his lap and chucks it onto our tabletop. It knocks over our half-full breadbasket, sprawling its contents all over the linen. I scramble to clean up the mess, so the waiters don’t have to as he continues staring at the men at the bar.

He clears his throat, jaw ticking.

“Todd. They’re not worth it,” I reason.

My date doesn’t hear a word I say as he approaches the bar, clearly hellbent on dying today.

Not wanting to deal with this shit, I rest both elbows on the edge of the table and hold my head, not caring if I ruin my makeup.

I cannot believe this is happening.

Why is this my life?

There’s commotion.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch multiple servers rush past me. I know I should stand up and get involved to de-escalate the situation, but I don’t have the energy.

I groan when glass shatters.

“I don’t want your fuckin’ charity,” Todd says loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

Why do men do this?

Their stupid pride is annoying.

Shouting ensues.

Lots and lots of it.

More bodies come running to assist.

It’s not until I overhear Sunshine amid the chaos trying to get people to back the fuck up, do I heave a ginormous sigh and shove my chair away from the table to stand.

When I turn, Sunshine’s standing between my ex-husband and my current boyfriend, a hand in the center of each of their chests to keep them from killing each other.

Ridiculous.

“You don’t deserve her. You’re a piece of shit,” Todd spews at Dark, his back to me.

Dark licks a bloodied cut from the side of his lip.Looks like someone got punched in the mouth. He smiles like a fucking lunatic, his gray eyes wild, chest pistoning for air, as he stares violent intent at Todd.

Sunshine makes eye contact with me and shakes his head as if he’s sorry for what happened. They should have known coming here was a bad idea, yet here they are.

“This was uncalled for,” I scold, crossing my arms over my chest as I stand back from the testosterone-fogged circle and tap the toe of my stiletto on the floor like a disappointed mother.

All three sets of eyes lock on me, even Todd’s. He cranes his neck to the side to break contact with Dark and … whatever’s brewing here.

“How about we pull out our wallets, and by we, I mean the three of you?” I point to each of them. “And you pay for everyone’s meals, and then some, for interrupting a perfectly fine evening with your macho bullshit.”

Sunshine drops his hand from Todd’s chest as if Todd’s the least to be concerned with. He probably is. Extracting a wallet from his back pocket, Sunshine pulls a fat stack of cash from inside and slaps it on the bar top. When he turns around, he arches a brow in my direction, asking me without words if that’s enough penance to pay for this disruption. I nod once, knowing damn well that’s easily five grand.

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