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“That’s why I’m asking, Care Bear. It’s ready when you are,” Warrick explained. “We can relax and eat in here unless you want to sit at the table?”

“Nah, here is great,” I said, but a yawn caught me halfway through. The guys looked at me skeptically. “What? Can’t a girl be tired? We did a lot today.”

Ulysses frowned. “Would you say today was too much?”

Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have said that. Of course, they would read into it, believing I pushed myself too hard.

“No, today wasn’t too much,” I argued, but they weren’t buying that story. “Honestly, it’s because I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. It might have been a little too much for that reason, but normally, this would be no trouble at all. Personally, I think it has more to do with the fact that so many changes have happened in the past few days. Think about it. I moved, met all of you, and my normal routine has been blown sky-high, which is why they give us this two-week leave, right? Remember what Dr. Arbour said? I know what I can handle and how to care for myself. I’ll just go to bed early.”

Ulysses didn’t seem convinced and surprised me when he set my phone on the coffee table. “Then could it be that you didn’t sleep well because Randall has been blowing up your phone?”

Even as he asked the question, the damn thing buzzed with Randall’s name appearing on the screen. “He’s still texting?”

“Texting, calling, leaving voicemails… the whole deal,” Gareth added. “Baby girl, why didn’t you tell us this was happening?”

I looked at the phone then my guys. “I-I didn’t think he’d keep trying. Last night, I turned it off so I didn’t have to deal with them. We just broke up, and everyone processes that differently, so I figured he’d wear himself out when I never responded.”

“Rosie, this is harassment,” Ulysses stated. “I’m of the mind to call the police about what’s happening.”

“They won’t do much,” Yun-Sun interjected. “We certainly can make them aware of the problem, but for right now, he hasn’t done anything.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Gareth demanded.

Yun scratched his jaw as he stared at the phone. “I think Bailey-Rose has a point about this being a new revelation for him. My thought is we turn off her phone and leave it be for a few days. There’s no reason for her to need the phone while we are all with her, and for that same reason, I don’t think Randall will be a danger to her. He’s mad and lashing out, but if he persists, we will absolutely go to the police. However, as I said, that is my opinion, sweetheart. If you want us to go to the police about this now, then that’s what we’ll do. This is your life, and you know this man better than us.”

Chewing on my lip, I thought over everything I knew about Randall. The person I saw in the bar was unlike anything I’d experienced over the time we were dating. While I realized now that I didn’t love Randall, he’d been the closest thing to it. He’d always been understanding about my condition, or so I thought. Nothing in our time together gave me any reason to believe he’d hurt me. Yes, the moment at the bar had been scary, but I put myself in his shoes. If I’d shown up somewhere not expecting to see him, and he was acting strange and telling me we weren’t together anymore, then I’d be equally as upset.

“Let’s go with Yun’s plan,” I decided. “I would feel awful if I brought in the police and made a big deal out of this when there was nothing to be concerned about. Let the man cool off while we forget all about him and enjoy the time we have together. We’ll just let my brothers know they need to reach out to you guys if they need me since they’d be the only people who call me.”

Ulysses picked up my phone, turned it off, and tossed it to Yun-Sun. “Tuck that away someplace safe, and for now, we’ll forget all about this.”

This seemed to settle everyone’s concerns enough for Yun-Sun and Warrick to get up and head to the kitchen. Moments later, they came back with bowls of food and handed them out. I gazed down at what looked like a cross between a pasta salad and a regular salad. Kale wasn’t my favorite, and this dish was loaded with it. Stabbing a twirly noodle, I popped it into my mouth. I was delighted to find whatever dressing they used was flavorful and had a good kick. As subtle as I could, I ate around all the greenery in the bowl, just going for the bits I liked.

“Baby girl,” Gareth whispered in my ear. “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing.”

I froze and slowly peered up at him. He cocked a brow, looking from me to the bowl, then back to me again before he narrowed his eyes.

“I really don’t like kale,” I mumbled, dropping my gaze and poking at the stuff. “Everything else is really tasty, but there’s so much kale in my bowl.”

“You know that kale is good for your heart, right?” Warrick interjected. “I’ve been studying what foods are best for those who have cardiac issues, which is why I made this dish. Slowly, I want to add more things to the restaurant menu, so I know you have things to eat and drink there.”

Hearing him say that made me feel like a dick for not eating the meal as is, but there were some foods that no matter how good they were for me, I didn’t like. “I appreciate that from the bottom of my heart, but I really can’t stand kale.”

Warrick gave me a sweet, understanding smile and pulled out his phone. “That’s totally fine, Care Bear. I’ll just add it to the list of things you don’t like.”

“You’re keeping a list?” I questioned, trying to peek at his phone.

“Yup, it’s a short one so far, but it helps me to keep things like that written down. In fact, I made it a sheet all of us can access. That way, if there’s ever any doubt, we’ll have something to reference,” Warrick shared, showing me his phone.

How the hell could men be this sweet? It’s almost as if they were created from all the best parts and none of the bad.

I started to tear up, but instead of letting my emotions get the better of me, I shoved a forkful of kale in my mouth. The bitter taste was so jarring, it was all I could focus on. Unable to stop the reaction I had to the stuff, my face scrunched up, and I swallowed as fast as I could. Grabbing my tea, I gulped it, desperate to get the nasty taste out of my mouth. The guys all chuckled, alerting me they were all watching this situation go down.

“Damn, Rosie, you really don’t like that stuff, do you?” Ulysses teased.

My instant response was to glare and flip him the middle finger.

“Any day, any time, Rosie. You say the word, and I’ll happily fuck you,” he countered, his voice getting deep and raspy with desire.