Chapter Forty-Two

I stood outside The Red Stiletto for the last time. At least, I hoped that was the case. Marley had told me if I ever needed a job, I’d have one. That was after she’d cried on me, hugged me, and made me promise to come visit and bring Cullen to see Bay.

Saint hadn’t shown any emotion, but I hadn’t expected him to. He didn’t seem to care at all that I was quitting. He said nothing. Marley had done all the talking before handing me my last paycheck and taking my costume. Saint had just walked out the office door to get back to work.

I wished that night in the club when we’d been alone had never happened. Ever since then, it had made things awkward between us. Before then, I had felt like he was a friend.

I didn’t hate it here, but I would be glad to see it in my rearview mirror. I wished Trix had been here, so I could tell her good-bye. We hadn’t spent time together outside of the club, but we had worked together enough that she had become a part of my life. I would miss her too.

I opened my car door and climbed inside. Just as I started it up, the back door opened, and Saint stepped outside. I lifted my hand and waved good-bye to him. He gave me a nod in return. If there hadn’t been Rio in my head and heart, then I might have possibly felt something for Saint. I wasn’t sure anyone other than Rio would have broken through my walls. He was the first person I’d ever let past the barriers I kept around my heart. Even at twelve years old, I’d been hurt badly enough to be guarded. Rio had gotten in then and never left.

Driving back to The Shores, I had to make a decision about work. This morning, Rio had offered me a job, working as his pops’s assistant. He’d said he’d already talked to Pops and Hazel about it. However, I wasn’t sure it was safe to put all of my security in Rio’s hands. What would happen if we ended? I would have to once again find another job and start over. There was so much to decide and quickly.

I almost went back to the apartment, but I remembered Rio had taken Cullen with him to the market today while I went to quit my job. Rio had been so happy this morning about my quitting that it made me feel all warm inside. Remembering the things he’d said to me last night before we passed out from sex also made life seem almost perfect.

When I pulled into the parking lot of the market, it was clear summer had arrived. The place was packed. I drove around to the back and parked where the employees parked. I would get Cullen and take him to go get lunch before we went back to the apartment for his nap.

I walked toward the entrance that Rio used when he was stocking the shelves, figuring he had probably kept Cullen in the back today. I heard a female giggle and turned toward the sound. Then, I heard Rio’s deep voice, although I didn’t hear what he was saying.

The giggling female was a tall blonde, wearing white shorts and one of the employee T-shirts. Rio was grinning as he picked up another basket of corn and put it on a shelf. The girl continued to talk to him, and he nodded his head, as if they were in a conversation.

I stood there, not wanting to get too close so that I wouldn’t be seen and struggled to hear their conversation. Rio wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was an employee, and he was talking to her while he worked. It was just the way they were standing too close. He was smiling at her. She was flirting with him. He had to know that. I couldn’t hear them well, but she wanted his attention.

This was what I feared. Him finding someone else he was attracted to. Someone who didn’t have a kid. Someone new and exciting. He didn’t love me—or he hadn’t said it at least. I had no security that he would be around a month from now. He’d said things that made me think he would, and I wanted to believe it.

But there was this.

Maybe he wouldn’t mean for it to happen, but it could. He could meet someone like that girl and fall in love with her. It wouldn’t be his fault. Fate had never been on my side, and it would be stupid of me to believe it was going to be now.

I took a deep breath, relaxed my shoulders, and put a smile on my face. Then, I made my way to them. I was here to get Cullen, and spying on them was rude.

“I’m back. Where’s Cullen?” I said, announcing my arrival since neither of them had noticed.

Rio jerked his head around to see me. “That was fast,” he said, smiling as he set the basket down and walked over to me. “It’s done?” he asked.

I nodded. Yep, I quit my job, and you’re here, letting a pretty blonde flirt with you , I thought sourly.

No, I wasn’t going to let my head go there. They’d just been talking.

“Where’s Cullen?” I asked again.

“Oh, I’ll go get him,” the blonde said, and I looked over Rio’s shoulder to see her smiling in Rio’s direction. “He’s with Hazel,” she told me.

Then, she turned and sauntered off with an obvious sway of her hips, although Rio wasn’t looking at her leave. I guessed she had done that just in case he was watching.

“I can go get him,” I said.

Rio shook his head. “Vicky has got it,” he said and slid his hand around my waist to pull me close to him.

At the moment, I wasn’t feeling much like being close, but I went anyway.

“Gives me a minute to do this,” he said, then bent his head and covered my mouth with his.

Not kissing him back was impossible because I loved him and his kisses. However, I must have done something different because he stopped kissing me, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling me tighter against him.

“Nothing,” I replied with a smile I did not feel.

“Yes, there is. You’re stiff, and you normally melt right into me.”

I tried to relax, but it didn’t work.

“I’m fine,” I said, feeling frustrated.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” His voice sounded stern, as if he could demand an answer from me.

“Aunt Bryn!” Cullen called out my name, and I broke free of Rio to turn and smile at Cullen.

“Hey, buddy,” I said as he ran to hug me.

“I stocked apples with Hazel,” he said proudly.

“You can tell me all about it over burgers and fries,” I told him.

I stood back up and looked at the blonde who had brought Cullen to me and was not leaving Rio’s presence, it seemed. My mood was going from bad to worse real fast. I had to get out of here.

“Well, I’ll see you later. Thanks for keeping him, or thank Hazel for me,” I said and took Cullen’s hand to leave.

“Bryn,” Rio said my name.

I looked back at him. “Yes?”

“You’re just gonna leave?” he asked me, looking confused and hurt.

He did not get to be hurt. He had Blondie over there, ready to flirt with him, and he could smile at her all afternoon. I was the one who got to be hurt. Me. Not him. I didn’t flirt with guys. I didn’t smile and talk to other men like he was doing with this girl.

Okay, so I was doing what I’d said I wouldn’t do, but the more that girl stood there with him, the harder it was not to be jealous. He was looking at me, still waiting on an answer. My eyes shifted to the blonde, then back to him.

“Looks as if you have enough company,” I replied, then took Cullen’s hand and headed out to the car.

If that wasn’t a complete bitch thing to do, I didn’t know what was.

When had I become this person?

When you fell in love with a man who you were terrified of losing because he didn’t feel as strongly about you, that was when you became this person.

“I learned how to weigh the bananas and tell Hazel how much they weigh, so she could ring them up,” Cullen said, and I smiled down at him.

“That’s awesome, buddy!” I replied.

My chest felt tight, and I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t like this. Normally, when I left Rio, we kissed, and I would have butterflies in my stomach. I missed that.

I was going to have lunch with Cullen, and I was not going to do it while on the verge of tears. I had to be stronger than this. After he was buckled in safely, we headed to the burger place.

We had just sat down at a table when Cullen’s eyes lit up, and he waved his hand. I turned to see Rio walking toward us. He came over and slid in beside Cullen and directly in front of me. His eyes locked on mine, and I glared back at him. I hadn’t invited him to lunch.

“Have you ordered yet?” he asked me.

“No, we just sat down!” Cullen told him.

Rio shot him a smile, then swung his gaze back to me. “Good. I’m starving.”

“We didn’t know you were coming too,” Cullen said and took the crayons the waitress had set on our table with the menus. “I want the cheeseburger, fries with cheese sauce, and a chocolate shake,” Cullen told me and then began coloring his paper menu.

“That sounds good to me,” Rio replied to him but didn’t stop looking at me.

I decided to break the staring contest and picked up the menu.

“You always get the bacon cheeseburger, medium, with no ketchup and a side of fries,” Rio said.

I knew what I always got, but right now, I wanted to look at the menu and not him. He continued to stare at me, and I went on ignoring him. I didn’t want to be mad at him. I wanted to look at his dimple that I loved so much.

“Did you tell Aunt Bryn about how you got to help me pick the blueberries?” Rio asked.

“No, he didn’t,” I replied. “Did Vicky help you too?” I didn’t look up when I asked it.

“No, just me and Rio,” Cullen answered. “We picked two big baskets of them. Huge baskets.”

The heat from Rio’s stare was making it hard for me to concentrate on the menu. I closed it, deciding to give up looking at it, just as the waitress appeared and took our orders. Rio gave her his and Cullen’s order, then looked at me.

“Bacon cheeseburger, medium, with no ketchup, fries, and a water please,” I said and then studied my hands in my lap while Rio watched me.

“Couldn’t find anything new you wanted?” he asked me with a smile in his voice.

Damn him. What did he have to smile about? He was going to ruin lunch. At least for me. Cullen was thrilled he was here.

“Hey, Drake,” Rio called out.

I wanted to roll my eyes. Now, we had Drake to add to this lunch.

“Y’all had the same lunch idea,” Drake said, and I smiled at him.

“Yeah, uh, would you sit with Cullen a minute? I need to help Bryn get something out of her eye.”

What? My eye?

“Sure,” Drake replied.

“I don’t have any—”

Rio took my arm and pulled me up.

“Yeah, you do,” he interrupted me, then held on to my arm and walked me toward the restroom doors.

I started to protest when he opened the door and pushed me inside, then locked it.

He forced me to back up against the sink and then placed his hands on either side of me, caging me in. “Do you have any fucking idea how damn hot it is that you’re jealous?” he asked me, then leaned in and rubbed his lips over my jawline. “Jesus, you drive me crazy,” he muttered. “As if there were any other female on this planet who could compare to you. But if you want to get jealous, then please feel free. My dick is so fucking hard right now; there is going to be a zipper imprint on it.”

I shoved him back off me before I started panting and letting him do whatever he wanted. “She was flirting with you, and you were letting her. You were encouraging it! You liked it.”

He grinned and picked me up and sat me on the counter. “Keep it up, and I’m gonna have to fuck you right here,” he said, then leaned in and ran his tongue along my bottom lip.

His hands slid up my thighs and inside the legs of my shorts.

“Do you like her?” I asked, feeling pathetic.

He stopped and looked at me, a wrinkle between his brow. “What?” he asked me.

“You heard me.”

“No man who has you in his arms and his bed is going to want anyone else.” He smirked after he said it. “There will only be me though. No other man is gonna get to find that out.”

“She was flirting with you. You were letting her,” I pointed out, although I was losing my steam, the more his fingers moved higher.

“No, I wasn’t. She might have been, but I swear, that was not how I flirt.”

“You laughed at something she said.”

He frowned, then nodded. “Yeah, she told me about Cullen coming out of the bathroom and announcing to Hazel that he had a really big poop and felt much better.”

I laughed. He grinned.

“Let’s go eat, then get Cullen down for a nap, and you can act jealous again while I fuck you in the shower.”

I laughed some more.

The ache was gone, and I could take a deep breath again.