Page 60 of Sunshine & Sinful

Penelope Drake.

Once I’m done,I hand the note to Sunshine to read.

“She’s a piece of work,” he growls and chucks the note into the pile of expensive goodies. Then he marches to the chair, grabs his phone, and jams his fingers onto the screen.

“What are you—” I barely get the words out when Dark’s voice connects on the line.

“Pops.”

“Why’s your wife sendin’ Kali fuckin’ gifts?” he snarls at his kid.

“What?” Dark sounds genuinely confused. That makes three of us.

“You heard me. Why is—” Sunshine’s words cut off when his phone beeps with Dark trying to FaceTime.

My ex-husband's face fills the screen a moment later, and I tug the blanket up to cover my chest. Sunshine doesn’t even notice when he shoves the camera at the pile of items on the coffee table.

“Fuck,” Dark grumbles.

“My thoughts exactly.” Sunshine nods, sorting through the gifts to show Dark all that was sent.

“She knew I was pissed. This is her way of apologizing,” my ex explains as if that’s the only logical reason for this complete breach of privacy. Not that Penelope cared before. If she did, she wouldn’t have hired Anthony. By the looks of it, she knows a whole lot about me. Down to the exact kind of sugar body scrub I love but rarely purchase because it’s too damn expensive, as it should be, for its clean ingredients. Plus, it’s made by hand with essential oils and not owned by a billionaire corporation.

“You dumbasses are fuckin’ perfect for each other. Thinkin’ a basket of expensive shit makes up for what she did. If she wasn’t your wife, I’d put her to ground,” Sunshine growls. It’s low, menacing, potent, and makes me shiver despite the balmy temperature. I haven’t seen him this heated in years.

“I know.”

Cheeks flushed in anger, jaw ticking, Sunshine points to his son. “I still wanna.”

Sighing, Dark keeps his tone neutral, trying not tomake this any worse. “Look. I get it. I feel the same. But she’s tryin’. Gifts are her love language or whatever she calls it. She only gives ‘em to people who deserve ‘em. Take it for what you will, but her intentions here are genuine.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Sunshine shoots to his feet and wears a path across our hardwood floor with long, angry strides. His bare heels crash against the ground. Two of my potted plants on the floor rattle, their sides clinking together.

Holding the blanket to my chest, I sit up, ready to intervene should he go off the deep end. “Colton?—”

“No,” he barks, cutting me off. “Some cunt doesn’t get to stalk you for a decade and think a basket of dumb shit is gonna make up for it.” Nostrils flaring, upper lip curling in disgust, Sunshine juts his chin at the gifts as if asking me if I think a basket ofdumb shitmakes up for her conduct.

“It doesn’t,” I agree.

Listen, I understand his anger, but I wish he didn’t waste it on this. It’s not worth it. I’m safe. He’s safe. Anthony’s dead, and Penelope’s not worth the ire. Truly. How many women have been charmed by Dark? Plenty. More than any of us know. It makes sense you’d marry a man and want to keep him for yourself. As misguided as it is, I respect that. I was a threat in her mind. She wanted to keep tabs on me and let her jealousy get the best of her. It's not an excuse, but there’s nothing to forgive here. To forgive someone, you’d have to give enough of a shit to care to begin with. I don’t. She’s just another woman Dark played games with, and that’s not my problem anymore.Our boys are grown. The papers have been signed. I’m with Sunshine now. It’s done.

“Tell your bitch, if she sends another thing to Kali, I’ll cut her fingers off and mail ‘em to her father,” Sunshine snarls at his son, jamming a finger at the screen to get his point across.

Dragging a palm down my face, I sigh. “Colton.”

Ignoring me, he lays into his kid, and I tune out the ensuing argument. Tossing off the blanket, I hold my poultice in place and get up. Waddling bowlegged through my bedroom to the bathroom, I set the cotton on the vanity and rifle through my selenite bowl for fourteen crystals—one for each chakra, times two.

Not bothering to dress, I return to the living room with seven crystals in each hand. Dark and Sunshine are still having it out. I walk straight up to my guy and push the red button to hang up on Dark.

“Kali,” Sunshine admonishes as I feed my elbow through his and escort him through the backdoor into the greenhouse, not caring if the neighbors see all my T&A. In the same spot Lily and I meditated, I gesture to our yoga mats. Sunshine takes my silent cue and rolls them onto the gravel beside the koi pond.

Nodding firmly toward his mat, harnessing my best mom stare, I arch my brows to see if he wants to fight with me, too. “Lay,” I order.

Not uttering a single word, Sunshine does as I instruct and sprawls out flat on his back. His chest pistons for air as he tries to calm down.

Setting my crystals on the center of my mat, I move overto his and repeat calming affirmations as I place an amethyst on his, touching the top of his head for his crown chakra. Lapis Lazuli on his forehead for his third eye. Turquoise at his throat. Rose Quartz over his heart. Citrine, where the ribs end and the abdomen begins, for the solar plexus chakra. Carnelian on his belly button for the sacral chakra. Then, finally, I lift the band of his sweats and set a bloodstone on the light dusting of gray hair at his pubis for his root chakra.

Sunshine doesn’t move. His eyes are closed as he tries to breathe slowly with intention and focus. He needs this, and so do I. It’s been far too long.

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