Page 16 of Achievement Unlocked

She turned her head, and I caught a better look at her face, from the sad eyes to the smudges of mascara and eyeliner around them.

She’d been so sad about getting married the night I met her, despite shrugging it off the next morning. And now she was sitting in my bar, in a ruined dress, looking even sadder.

That had to be her fiancé with her. Fucking asshole, what did he do her?

I grabbed Greg as he walked by. “You waiting on them?” I nodded at the table.

“Yeah.”

“How are they?” I left the question open-ended, figuring he’d focus in on whatever left an impression.

Greg shrugged. “Nice. Sad. Quiet.”

“They drinking?” Maybe Megan was a sad drunk?

“No. She doesn’t have her ID.” Greg almost sounded defensive.

Fair. Management had cracked down on ID-ing everyone after one of the bartenders served a senator’s underage granddaughter, and her DUI came back to haunt us. “I’m not going to get you in trouble. Just curious.”

Megan looked so mournful. So lost. And her dress…

I needed to let her and her new husband handle this, but the longer I watched, the more my frustration from the day surged. From the bad interview. The fact that no one should look like she did ever, but especially on their wedding day…

Was it bad that I was probably just looking for an excuse to punch someone?

No. Not when it was someone like him. I strode toward the table.

“Excuse me,” I said firmly.

They both looked up, him with a quizzical expression, and her with wide eyes.

“Landon?” She gasped.

She remembered my name.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” I grabbed him by the jacket and lifted him out of his seat.

“Landon.” Megan’s tone slid to distressed in a heartbeat.

This was for the best.

As I hauled her guy up, he twisted, slipping out of his suit jacket, which was still clenched tightly in my fist.

He swung with a wild punch I saw coming a mile away, so I ducked and landed my fist in his gut.

“Stop,” Megan screamed.

“I don’t care if he’s your husband. He can’t treat you—”

“I’m not the fiancé, you Neanderthal.” He gasped out the words.

I gave him a glare that was meant to sayshut the fuck up.Should I hit him again?

Megan stepped between us, and covered my hand. “He’s not the man I was supposed to— He’s not Easton,” she said. “Nigel rescued me from the cheating asshole.”

Oh. “My bad. Sorry about that, man.” I looked over Megan’s shoulder to see her companion scowling at me. “Bad morning.”

“Her too.” He growled. “Landon? You’re the stripper.”

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