Page 115 of The Accidental Wife

“Maybe you can go with Shayla?” Sophie chimes in, and I glare up at her. What the fuck? Has this woman lost her marbles? Shayla sneaks a look at me before she looks at Josh and smiles warmly.

“I mean, you can join me if you want?” She offers warmly, and I watch as Josh nods, his whole face lighting up.

“I’d love to join you if you’re sure. I wouldn’t want to impose.” Shayla shakes her head and packs her things up.

“No imposition at all. You’re going to love it. The atmosphere, the food, the people, it's honestly magical.”

“I mean, if Cole loved it, I have absolutely no doubt I will too.” Josh chuckles, and I scowl at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean? ‘If Cole likes it’ like I’m some snob or something.” I grumble bitingly, and Josh grins at me while Shayla presses her lips together, stifling her laughter at my annoyance.

“I mean, I did drag him there, but once he was there, he loved it,” Shayla explains, smiling sweetly at me. I return her smile.

God, I love her.

“I’m excited to see this place. It honestly sounds awesome.” Josh gushes while watching Shayla gather her things and grab her jacket. “I’m driving.”

“We’ll come too,” I suddenly announce, standing. Sophie looks at me surprised and wrinkles her nose in distaste.

“We will? I thought we were going to eat Italian from that place we love?” She sulks, and I ignore her.

“We always eat from there. Besides, the food at this place is amazing, and I could do with some Shayla special.” I answer, and Shayla looks at me stunned and casts a look at Sophie, who gives me a side glare, and Shayla discreetly smiles.

“Shayla special?” Sophie iterates bitingly while she and Josh look between Shayla and me as we share a knowing look.

“It’s a special dish that one of the vendors makes for me when I go there.” She explains, avoiding my gaze and looks at Josh, who smiles at her, and she smiles back. I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit. Like hell, I’m going to let them go off alone.

“How about we take my car?” I offer, and Josh shrugs, I look at Shayla, and she seems hesitant but nods, agreeing. “Great, let's go.” Sophie goes to get her bag while she complains about having to go out again after she just got in, and I watch Shayla and Josh walk toward the front door conversing.

Sophie is suddenly friendly to Shayla simply because she’s trying to push her and Josh together in a pathetic attempt to get her out of my life. As if I would let that fucking happen. Josh isn’t even her type. She would never go for him, not while she’s in love with me.

* * *

While we drove,I kept glancing back at her through the rear-view mirror. She was looking out the window, completely lost in her thoughts.

I reach over and put the music on to drown out the silence in the car. I glance back at her through the mirror when a song we love comes on, and she looks at me briefly, her lips curling into a smile as I sing the lyrics along to the music.

Forty minutes and a lot of discreet, lingering stares later, we arrived at our destination. We walk through the crowd of people— it was more crowded this time than the last time we were here. Shayla was walking beside me with Josh on her left, and I had Sophie on my right. Sophie laces her fingers with mine, and my insides recoil, but I let her hold my hand. She is carrying my baby, after all. We weren’t even there five minutes before Sophie was complaining.

“Oh, good grief. Like hell, I’m eating off those disgusting carts. This place is completely unhygienic. Baby, I can’t eat anything from here. Our baby and I will wind-up getting sick.” She utters in distaste while Shayla and I glare at her.

“I think you’ll find these carts are a lot cleaner than some of those five-star restaurants you’re accustomed to eating in. All the food they cook is fresh on-site, and they check temperatures and have all their certifications. The difference is these people cook on the street with their customers and have fun while doing it.” Shayla tells her and walks off with Josh in tow, who muttered something in her ear, and she throws her head back and laughs.

“As if she’s ever been to a five-star restaurant in her life,” Sophie scoffs snidely, and I roll my eyes.

“Actually, she has, and she hates it. Jesus Sophie, will you stop acting like such a snob and open up your mind and those blue eyes of yours. Take a look around you, and maybe try something new for a change without complaining. You might be surprised and find you enjoy yourself if you remove that stick that’s up your arse.” I mutter, shaking my head. I follow Shayla and Josh as they walk through the crowd of people, leaving Sophie gaping after me.

“Hey! Muchacho!” I turn when I hear Federico call me by my nickname. “Where’s my Princesa?” He asks, looking around for Shayla. I point to where she was walking in front of me talking to a group of people. He nods, smiling when he sees her. “Princesa! Ven aca!” He calls out to her, and Shayla looks around and grins when her eyes find him, waving her over to him. She blows him a kiss and nods.

“Ya voy. I’m coming. Two seconds!” She responds and goes back to talking to a group of people.

“I don’t see what’s so special about this place. It looks like a carnival, the way you both explained it, I was expecting something a little more upper-class.” Sophie complains again. I grind my teeth and wonder fleetingly if anyone would notice if I just pushed her into the river. How the hell am I supposed to put up with this woman for the rest of my life? I just need to be near Shayla, and watching her walk so closely with Josh was beginning to bug me. We walk over to Federico’s cart, and he greets us both.

“Princesa!”

“Rico!” Shayla laughs, and Federico looks at Shay’s bandaged hand. His smile falls quickly and turns into a scowl.

“Princesa, tu mano,” He gestures to her hand with his brows. “What happened to your hand?” He questions, concerned, and Shayla shakes her head.

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