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“I like you.” She placed a soft peck on his mouth. “Both of you.”
“We like you too, pet.” My phone rang, interrupting our little moment. I fished it out of my pocket, biting back a curse when I saw who was calling me. “Yeah,” I barked into the phone.
“Well don’t you sound cheery?” Roxanne mumbled.
“What do you want?” I demanded, locking eyes with Shade.
His jaw clenched, knowing who it was I was talking to. A woman who made my life a living hell and more.
“I want you back.” Roxanne sniffed for added effect.
I rolled my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. I could feel Meadow staring at me, no doubt wondering who it was that made me even grumpier. “Not happening, Roxanne.”
“Roxanne?” Meadow whispered.
Shade mumbled something to her.
Her head whipped around. “You were married?”
Fucking hell. “Rox—”
“Please, baby. We were good together,” she slurred.
“Have you been drinking?”
“No.” She hiccupped which was followed by a round of laughter.
“Woman. Put yourself together.” I wasn’t opposed to people drinking, hell, I did it myself. But when her drinking became a problem, that’s when I didn’t agree with it.
“You’ve gotten judgmental, Sunny.” Her laughter subsided.
“Listen, I’m busy. Have a good night, Roxanne.” I hung up the phone, put it on silent, and shoved it back in my pocket. Ignoring the stares coming from both Shade and Meadow, I rose from the chair and headed into the kitchen. I needed a drink myself. I also needed to get Roxanne off my ass. Years ago, I would have caved. I would have given her all the money in the world to help her and her kids. But when I found out that she was keeping the money for herself and letting her kids go without, I stopped.
“Sunny?” Meadow came up behind me, placing a gentle hand on my back. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” I pushed away from her and pulled three beers from the fridge. Popping off the caps, I handed her one. “I met her when I was twenty-two.”
“I thought you and Shade have been together since then,” Meadow said, taking a swig from her bottle.
Shade took that moment to join us. He leaned a hip against the counter, crossing his arms under his chest. He nodded once, giving me all the encouragement I needed to go on.
“We were but we hit a rough patch. I knew even at that time that Shade had feelings for me.” I remembered back to the first time he told me that he was in love with me and the way I had responded. It could have been better, but he never commented on it.
“Is that when you met your ex?” Meadow asked Shade, jumping up onto the countertop.
“No, I met my ex in school. We went to college together. I was taking every course I could that had to do with auto repair.” Shade chuckled, his thoughts clearly going back to a time when things were…easier.
“What’s so funny?” Meadow looked between us.
“I was trying to impress him.” Shade nodded toward me. “But it didn’t work, and he had already met Roxanne.”
“It was stupid,” I grumbled, leaning against the counter beside Meadow. “And you never had to impress me, Shade.”
“So you were with Roxanne, and Shade, you were alone?” Meadow leaned her arm on my shoulder. “Or was that around the same time you were with your ex.”
“Same time,” Shade mumbled.
“Was he good to you?” Meadow asked softly.
