Page 89 of The Stalker

Tatiana smirked as a memory came to her mind and said, “But there was that time Sebastian’s microphone wouldn’t stay up during one of your soundchecks.”

The rest of the group laughed as well, just as a waitress arrived with their appetizers, and the conversation continued through dinner. Tatiana kept her focus on any of the restaurant patrons that entered the space or came anywhere near their table.

They made their way upstairs after quickly eating dessert because Mirabella, who was in Sebastian’s arms now, was starting to get fussy. Tatiana was relieved because her painkillers seemed to be wearing off and she was getting some cramps.

She’d forgotten that Sebastian had said they wanted to play poker after dinner. The group was very merry, and Lita disappeared into another room with Mirabella while they all had another drink and set up the poker game.

Tatiana was hovering at the edge of the room as they sat themselves down at the table and Hayden asked, “Are you going to play with me, Tati?”

She almost laughed at his choice of words, also because he was slurring slightly, but she held it back and shook her head. “No. It’s all good. You’re safe here, so I can just stand by and watch.”

“Do you like to watch?” Hayden grinned at her.

“Yeah, are you a voyeur, Tatiana Swanson? I feel like bodyguards must like to watch.” Sebastian smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’d be wrong, probably because you think you’re so interesting that we actually find it fun to babysit you.”

“We’re not?” Gabriel laughed. “I thought we were pretty interesting.”

“I’m not saying you’re not interesting at all, just that a Monday morning is a Monday morning for bodyguards, too.” Tatiana shrugged.

“Ouch, I’m Tatiana’s Monday morning, guys. Mondays suck, so she thinks I suck,” Hayden moaned dramatically.

He caught her eye and then took a swig of his drink while continuing to look at her as Sebastian dealt out their cards. Tatiana heard a door softly clicking shut from her left, and she saw Lita walking toward her with a smile on her face.

Gabriel laughed and said, “Do you not suck, Hayden?”

Hayden burst into laughter. “I don’t know. What have you heard?”

“More than I care to,” he grinned at him before the entire group joined Hayden’s laughter.

Lita stopped next to Tatiana and looked at the people sitting at the table. “Oh yay, they’re drunk.”

“Do you ever drink? Or is this a temporary thing?” Tatiana asked her out of curiosity.

“Just while I’m breastfeeding, and obviously while I was pregnant,” Lita smiled at her.

“I thought that might be it, but didn’t want to assume.” She smiled back at Lita, then said, “Would you excuse me for a moment?”

“Of course,” Lita said.

Tatiana walked over to where the bodyguards were standing near the entrance of the room. They watched her approach them with interest. She wondered what, if anything, Jesse had told them about her. She hadn’t had a huge deal to do with them so far.

“Hi, guys. I need to use the bathroom. Can you watch Hayden again?”

Ethan nodded. “Sure.”

Tatiana walked quickly there and used the facilities. Her cramping was getting worse now, and she had no more spare tampons. She should’ve brought more with her tonight, and that was her own fault. Hopefully, Hayden would go back to his suite soon. Otherwise, she’d just have to get Jesse to come watch him earlier than she’d intended.

It was another two hours and many drinks for the group at the table before Ariana and Hayden were in a head-to-head showdown, with Ariana calling Hayden’s all-in bet. Lita had kissed Sebastian and gone to bed an hour before.

Tatiana was grumpy and tired and seriously considering calling Jesse, with the urge getting stronger as every minute passed by. It was definitely late enough now that it was more than reasonable for her to get him on duty.

“What do you have, Mr. Vega?” Ariana narrowed her eyes at him.

He flipped his cards over, and he had a pair of twos in his hand. Tatiana looked at the cards on the table, expecting to see another two on there.

Nope. Just a pair of twos.

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