Page 23 of Ugly Duckling
She took a bite of the large piece straight off the fork, dripping syrup straight down her chest.
“How about you take her home and get changed.” Cakes picked the little girl up and passed her off to Gunner. “If it works out, we will meet you at The Diner.”
I smiled and started to walk off, but a hand at my elbow stopped me before I could even make it an inch. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I frowned. “First to the gear check to pick up my phone and my clothes. Then to my car where I’m going to contemplate life and think about driving back to my hotel that I booked for the day. Once I’m at the hotel, I’m going to shower, then collapse onto the bed and not move for an hour. You wore me out.”
The way his eyes twinkled when I added the “you wore me out” had my belly swooshing.
“How about you get your gear, I have one of my buddies drive your car to my place, and you walk back with me there to shake out your legs,” he suggested. “Then you can take a shower at my place. You have your bag, right?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Then it’s all settled. You can stay at my place, too.”
I was already shaking my head. “I don’t think…”
“I have so much room, it will be like you’re not even there. Trust me.”
Four
People mistake my “wows” for compliments.
—Gunner to Webber
GUNNER
I couldn’t believe I’d invited her to my place.
I also couldn’t believe that she’d taken me up on the offer.
When we started walking away from my club, a surge of excitement poured through me at the thought of having her all to myself.
Her words from earlier, about her ex-husband, had downright infuriated me.
I’d never seen the point of shoving cake in your wife’s—or husband’s for that matter—face. Not on her birthday. Not on your anniversary, and definitely not at your wedding.
Now, I couldn’t claim to have the most knowledge on women and their makeup, but I had a feeling that Sutton wouldn’t have skimped on that. She’d have done the whole nine yards.
I’d heard her and Rocky talking once about what they wanted their wedding to be like. Rocky had wanted something small. Something that was intimate, on a private island somewhere. But the way Sutton had talked…she wanted something huge. Something that was fit for a queen. She wanted all the people. All the flowers. All the headaches that came with crazy mother-in-laws trying to take over. She wanted it all and then some.
So my guess, Sutton had gone all out, trying to fit her dream.
And that asshole had smashed her face into the cake?
Not only had he smashed her face into the cake, but he’d also not paid attention to what had given that cake support.
It also made me slightly sick to think about.
Sutton being hurt was downright terrifying—and I didn’t know why.
I barely knew her anymore.
I wasn’t lying earlier when I said that Rocky was terrible at communicating—either with me or with me about others.
You had to literally pry any information out of her, and mostly, it was comical. But I felt like I would’ve liked to know about this.
I might not know Sutton well any longer, but I had a fist, and I could’ve beat that bastard’s face up to match what he’d done to Sutton.
