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“Bailey? Oh my God, hi. I didn’t see you. You must have slipped in while I was out the back.”
Robbie? Priest’s princess? What the fuck was he doing there? And as Henri went to turn, Robbie was off again, talking a mile a minute, as always.
“And who have we got here? Oooh, are you two on a—” As soon as Robbie’s attention zeroed in on Henri, his mouth clamped shut, and his eyes began to ping-pong between Henri and Bailey. “Uh, um, hi?”
Henri straightened and brought his arm down from behind Bailey to rest it on the table. “Hey there, bright eyes. Fancy meeting you here.”
Robbie smiled, sassily cocked his hip, and placed a hand on it. “Fancy meeting me here? I work here. What are you—” Robbie looked to Bailey and seemed to regroup. “Are you two here for, um, dinner?”
Henri smirked at the gossipy little princess. Robbie was nobody’s fool, and Henri had a feeling Robbie knew exactly what they were there for, and dinner was just the beginning.
“Hmm, well, we certainly aren’t here for a business meeting,” Henri said, then, because it was fun—and because he could—he decided to play with Priest’s most recent spouse. He ran a hand down Bailey’s thigh, which flexed under his palm, and just as he’d suspected, Robbie’s eyes flew to the move. Henri winked at him. “Isn’t that right, Bailey?”
Henri turned to Bailey for the first time since Robbie had arrived, and noticed the way he was watching them interact. “Uh, yeah, that’s right. We’re just grabbing something to eat before I go to work. I didn’t think you’d be here. Don’t you usually work, um, nights?”
Ahh, okay, Henri thought. Bailey’s surprise began to make more sense. He’d obviously known Robbie worked here but thought he wouldn’t be in yet. But why would that matter to Bailey? Henri knew why he might not want Robbie to see them together, considering his line of work, but was unclear of the reasoning for Bailey’s discomfort.
“I do usually work nights, yes. But Tate, my manager, he had plans today and switched out with me, and actually…” Robbie’s words faded out as he looked over his shoulder to the door, and then he turned back to face Henri with an apologetic look on his face. “I was just waiting on my ride.”
Oh fuck. Robbie didn’t have to say any more for Henri to know exactly who Robbie’s ride was, and not a second later, the door opened and Joel Priestley stepped inside.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Henri muttered, making Robbie grimace, and Bailey placed a hand on Henri’s leg and squeezed.
Bailey’s awkwardness from a second ago had been replaced with an understanding that Henri wasn’t sure he would be capable of if faced with Bailey’s ex.
“Give me a minute, would you?” Henri said. “Let me go and head him off at the pass.”
As Bailey looked to the door again, so did Henri, and Priest’s eyes were locked on the two of them like fucking laser beams. Yeah, it would be best for all of them if Henri put that flame out before it reached their table.
“I’ll be right back,” Henri said as he slid from the booth. Robbie looked at him with a strained kind of smile, and Henri smirked. “Don’t look so worried. I’ve been dealing with your Priest for a long time. But while I’m doing that, can you take care of my date? Get him whatever he wants, yeah?”
Robbie peered around Henri’s shoulder to his husband, and Henri could only imagine the look on Priest’s face. If he’d been upset about Henri sniffing around Bailey a couple of weeks ago, God only knew what he was thinking seeing them together again now.
Robbie brought his attention back to Henri, concern in his wide eyes. “You do know that Bailey’s a—”
“Cop?” Henri said, and Robbie nodded. “Yeah, bright eyes, I know. Get him what he wants, okay? You know, until he can have me.”
Henri threw another wink Robbie’s way, and he slapped Henri’s arm. “You’re bad…”
“That’s what I keep telling Bailey. Not my fault he can’t stay away. I’ll be back.”
“We’ll be here,” Robbie said, and as Henri took a final look at Bailey, he made a promise to himself to make this up to him any way he wanted.
Henri headed across the main floor with his eyes on Priest, who was now walking down the stairs toward the bar area. In a grey pinstripe suit, with an immaculate black dress shirt and striped tie, Priest looked elegant, sophisticated, and…one hundred percent pissed off.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Priest said.
Henri grabbed one of the small black straws from the glass cup on the bar in front of them and bit down on it to stop himself from saying something he’d regret. But when Priest looked over his shoulder to Bailey, Henri finally spoke up. “Stop scowling at him.”
