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“Sir.” Byron held out his card. “I can pay half or at least pay for me and Savannah.”
Her dad shook his head still too busy checking out the machine. “What brand is this?” He took a picture of the machine with his phone. “I’m gonna send Sal and Angel a picture. I’m sure Sal will research it to death before we make any changes.”
Savannah placed her hand over Byron’s again and he turned to look at her. She shook her head smiling sweetly. “He has it but thank you.”
Giving up, Byron put his card back into his wallet. What he’d anticipated being an agonizingly awkward dinner didn’t turn out to be too bad. Except for hearing Savannah’s response to her dad about what he’d clearly been asking about, the evening had gone far better than he’d expected.
They got to the parking lot and Savannah said goodbye to everyone. They’d parked right next to her family’s SUV and her dad lingered for a minute asking Savannah a few more things as the rest of her family boarded the SUV. Was she good on money, how the car was running, and something about calling her grandmother because her elderly aunt wasn’t doing so well. It didn’t even dawn on Byron that her dad had been stalling until the rest of the gang was all settled in the SUV, doors and windows closed. Her dad opened Byron’s passenger side door to let Savannah in but placed his hand on Byron’s shoulder. Before starting around the car like he would’ve, Byron froze in place feeling his heart rate spike.
Standing next to him again felt even more daunting now that they were technically alone. The man was just about as big as Beast.
“Listen,” he said tightening his hold on Byron’s shoulder just a bit, his intense eyes boring into Byron’s. “My boys have always dealt with any guys who might give their sisters trouble. You know middle school and high school bullshit. Hell, you saw for yourself today even college stuff now that the girls have graduated high school. You seem like a nice enough guy and I trust her judgement, but now that I know my little girl is seeing a twenty-five-year-oldman,not some college kid, it’s me you’ll be dealing with if you do anything to hurt her, understood?” Byron nodded swallowing hard. “And if you think my son got hot in there because he thought someone messed with one of his sisters, that boy has nothing on the fury I’d unleash on anymanwho fucks with either of my girls’ hearts.”
“Alex, honey,” Savannah’s mom called out from her now rolled down window. “Time to go now.”
Before Byron could respond, the man’s expression eased up and he clapped Byron’s shoulder. “So, yeah.” Her dad begun to walk away. “Glad we got a chance to talk. Look forward to chatting with you again.”
“I’ve got nothing but good intentions, Mr. Moreno,” Byron said as her father walked away. “I’d never hurt her. You have my word.”
Her father turned just before walking around his SUV. “Perfect,” he said barely cracking a smile. “Then we should be good.”
“Holy shit,” Byron whispered under his breath as he waited for the SUV to pull out so he could meekly wave at all of them one last time.
As a black belt in jiu jitsu Byron had no doubt he could hold his own even against someone as big as Savannah’s dad. He might even be able to take on both her brothers at once if it ever came down to it. Despite them both being much younger than him, they were still big guys who clearly didn’t take kindly to anyone messing with their sisters. If it weren’t for his nieces Byron wouldn’t even flinch at the no-bones-about-it threat from her dad. But because of them he knew, no amount of skill or brute strength could compete with the wrath of any man protecting his loved ones—especially a daughter. His brother was just that, a Beast when his temper flared, but when it came to his family, there’d be absolute hell to pay if anyone ever evenattemptedto hurt them. Byron saw it tonight in both her brother’s and dad’s eyes. There was no question about it. If he were ever stupid enough to hurt Savannah they’d be out for blood.
“The hell did I get myself into?” he muttered as he walked to the passenger side door and opened it.
“Did he threaten you?” Savannah asked with a wince as soon as Byron got in and he glanced down to push the ignition button. “Because as big and scary as he mightseem, he’s really just a big teddy bear. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”
If Byron’s head had jerked any more violently to face her big doe eyed expression, he might be wearing a neck brace for the next few weeks.
