Page 84 of A Dose of Pretty Poison

“Okay, what the actual fuck was that?”

Honestly, for the last month, I thought she was harboring secret feelings for my brother. Once everything with the bar died down, I was going to ask her about it. But this throws a wrench into that.

She sighs, walking around to the passenger side of my car and climbing in. “I don’t know. He texted me and said he needed to talk to me about something, and when I came outside, he handed me a bouquet of flowers and asked me out.”

“And you saidyes?” I balk.

She throws her hands in the air. “Well, what was I supposed to say? Cam almost went to prison because of me. And don’t start with theyou’re not to blameshit. Theonlyreason he’s not locked up right now, is because Monty saved his ass.”

Okay, so she’s pity dating him, but that still doesn’t sound like her. “So, you’re just going to date him as what? Payment for his services?”

She shrugs. “I owe him at least a chance. Besides, he’s a good guy.”

Her words say one thing, but the underlying meaning behind the last sentence comes through clear. She said yes because he’ssafe. He won’t try to force her into something she doesn’t want to do, and no one is going to fuck with her when she’s dating a Rollins.

If this is what helps her, what makes her feel better after everything that happened, then so be it.

I swallow down anything else I was going to say and put my car into reverse. “I can’t believe you’re datingMonty.”

She hums. “Honestly, I always thought he was into you.”

Don’t let Hayes hear that.“I thought he was gay.”

We both look at each other, shrug at the same time, then break into giggles.

SO MUCH FOR BEINGdone with all the loud banging at the bar. At leastthatkind of banging, and at least for now. There will be no promises about the other kind of banging once this place is open. We walk in the door to find Hayes talking to Grant, the guy they hired to design and build the counter.

“Hey, babe.” I arch up and kiss him. “How’s it going?”

He pinches his eyes shut and groans. “It’s a nightmare. We can’t pass inspection until we redo the walls upstairs. And since we have to do it anyway, we’re going to add insulation like we did down here. It’s probably for the best, but right now it’s just frustrating. I thought we’d be ready to open by my birthday.”

My bottom lip juts out. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He wraps his arms around me. “I feel better now that you’re here.”

Mali makes a noise of disgust. “Marriage made you two even more nauseating.”

I chuckle, turning in his hold. “Aw, don’t worry, Mal. I’m sure your new boyfriend will be a sweetheart to you. Hell, he might even buy you a car for a random Tuesday.”

Mali glares at me while Hayes looks confused. “Wait, what new boyfriend?”

“I hate you,” she tells me. “Like really, genuinely, hate you.”

My nose scrunches. “You can’t. Besides, now we can double.”

She snorts. “Yeah, okay. I see how it is. You want Hayes to ban me for life.”

“What’s going on?” Cam says as he comes to grab some more tools.

Hayes glances at him. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Mali rolls her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Okay, then tell them.”

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand why she’s doing this, but that doesn’t mean it feels good to watch her settle out of fear. Mali is the greatest person I know, and I like Monty, but he doesn’t deserve her—nor do I think he could handle her, if I’m honest. He’s just not the guy for her.

“Fine,” she murmurs, focusing her attention on the ground. “I’m dating Monty.”

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