Page 100 of Renard's Deliverance

A throat cleared and they all looked up.

And there stood Renard.

So, she should probably say something to make it seem like they hadn’t been talking about him . . .

But she had nothing.

“Hey there, Big Daddy.”

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Hey there, Big daddy?

Seriously? Big Daddy?

And what the hell was Big Daddy Dick Energy? Because he really didn’t know . . .

Although whatever it was, apparently he had it.

“Hey there, Sugar Dumpling,” he replied as he stepped further into the room. He held a paper bag.

Her eyes narrowed. “Nope.”

“What’s nope, my Dumpling?”

“I am no one’s dumpling,” she growled at him.

“She’s right,” Ryleigh added. “She’s not a dumpling.”

“Definitely not a sugar dumpling,” Lilac told him.

“Hmm, if she was any sort of dumpling, it might be a temperamental one,” Ryleigh said.

“Snarky,” Lilac told him. “A snarky dumpling.”

“Got it,” he replied, barely holding back his smile as Opal glared at her friends. Who knew that they were so funny? “Hello my little Snarky Dumpling.”

“Still not a dumpling and you’ll quit calling me that unless you want to be washing your dick with a toothbrush.”

He couldn’t hold it inside any longer, throwing his head back, he let out a laugh.

When he stopped, he noticed that Opal looked smug while her friends appeared shocked.

“I didn’t know he laughed,” Lilac whispered.

“Yeah. I thought you were always grouchy,” Ryleigh added. “That’s what my brothers told me.”

“I am always grouchy,” he reassured them. “Except when my little snarky dumpling makes me laugh.”

But his amusement fled as he looked past the frown on her face to see how pale she was.

Pale and tired.

“Why do you look exhausted? I thought you slept last night,” he demanded, walking further into the room.

“I’ve really got to get back to work,” she told him. “Liston has been out there on her own for a while.”

“She’s fine. There’s some lady in there that she’s helping with a dress. She’s kind of jumpy, though.”

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