Page 87 of Sugarlips
I laughed, grateful to have a glimpse of the fun, carefree Chloe.
“Hello?” A deep voice called from the outside of the truck and my spine immediately bristled. I knew that voice. Ihatedthat voice.
“Dan?” Chloe launched from where she was sitting and leaned out the front of the truck beneath the awning.
“What the hell is he doing here?” I asked through gritted teeth. It was one thing to run into each other at an event. But for him to come to our business? He was seeking Chloe out. Trying to win her back. Even if he hadn’t done anything yet or moved in on her, I knew it. I felt it in my bones.
“I had to come see for myself the food truck that has this damn state all abuzz.”
I blinked as I moved to stand behind Chloe and looked down at Dan. He looked rough. His hair was messy, his shirt and chinos were wrinkled, and… I inhaled. Was that the smell of alcohol? “No one could stop talking about you two at the networking event. Every time we turned around, it was all, blah, blah, blahDump Truck.”
“Dan, are youdrunk?” Chloe asked and looked around. Luckily, there was still a lull in customers, which was pretty typical around nine o’clock. It was that weird between time—too late for the after-dinner crowd, but too early for the late-night munchies. But it wouldn’t last long. It never did.
“Psssssh.” Dan’s puckered lips made a sound not unlike air escaping a tire and he waved both hands at us. “Just had a couple gin and tonics with dinner.”
Chloe’s jaw set firm and she glared at him as I eyed some of the bystanders starting to watch. Dammit, he was drawing attention—and not the good kind. “Go home, Dan. Go home to Raina and sleep it off.”
“Raina? Raina’s no longer in my home. I kicked herout.”
Fuck. I knew it. He and Raina were on the fritz… and he wanted Chloe back.MyChloe.
Except she wasn’t my Chloe. She wasn’t my anything.
Every bit of my body screamed with this news. But I watched her carefully for her reaction. So far, there was none. “Well then, go home tono one.”
He snorted and stumbled a bit as he stepped back. “I’m sorry, is this not a public park? In a free country? If I want to sit here and stare at you two lovebirds serving us broken-hearted bastards all night… Iwill.” He folded his arms and plopped down on a park bench a few feet away from the truck.
“Dammit,” Chloe whispered. “What do youwantDan?”
“I want to talk to you.Alone.” His glare shifted to me and I gave it right back to him.
Chloe folded her arms. “Why?”
His jaw clenched. “Because I fucked up. I fucked upbig.”
My stomach plummeted. It was the day I knew was coming. For months, I knew it was only a matter of time before he woke up and realized what he’d given up.
Chloe’s eye roll was punctuated with a sharp sigh. “I’m sure whatever you did, Raina will take you back if you apologize.”
She didn’t get it. She didn’t hear what he was saying. “Chloe—” I whispered.
“Not with Raina. I fucked up withyou.”
Her gasp was nearly silent. Nearly. But I heard it all the same. And that gasp was the final knife twisting into my heart. “Chloe, no,” I said. “Don’t do this. Don’t give into him.”
She swallowed, her tear-filled gaze shifting slowly to me and I felt my own eyes burn, filling with moisture. Only this time, it wasn’t sympathy tears. It wasn’t a reaction to seeing her emotion. It was my own gutted pain wringing out before her eyes.
“He’s making a scene,” she said, yanking her apron off her body. “He’s not going to leave us alone tonight. I’ve seen him get like this, and when he’s drunk, he’s stubborn as hell. He also pukes… a lot.”
I sniffed and tilted my head down. Heat flooded my gut. I didn’t want her to see me react this way. And I definitely didn’t want Dan to fucking see it. “Great.” I clamped my hands on my hips, squeezing them just a tad too hard. “So, all he has to do is show up drunk and you’re going to give in to him? Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”
She pulled back, startled, the tears in her eyes quickly replaced with all kinds of questions. “I’m notgiving into him. He’s being a menace to our business, and we have too much to lose to let him embarrass us.”
“You know he’s going to try to get you back. He’s going to try to convince you to—”
“Well, he’snotgoing to succeed.” She pressed her palm to my chest in an action that was so uncharacteristic of her, it made my heart jolt against my ribcage.
I flicked a glance toward Dan who was clearly trying to eavesdrop… with very little success.
