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When they exited their complex a short time later, he caught sight of Gerard and Therese standing beside her car. The male noticed Deke, briefly tensed, and then all but shoved her into the vehicle.
Deke snorted to himself. He wasn’t surprised that Gerard would attempt to hide her. Because though Dayna had ceased trying to contact Deke, she seemed to have talked plenty to her closest friends. Gerard had been quick to tell one and all that she was devastated Deke “replaced her.” But the bartender had also claimed he thought it was for the best that Dayna and Deke were no longer bound by a vow.
Therese, however, hadn’t been so fair or reasonable. She had—though not to his face—vilified Deke for doing this to Dayna while the woman was “knee-deep in grief,” which was something of an exaggeration. Therese had also verbally flayed Deke behind his back for, by branding another, being unfaithful to Dayna—another exaggeration, since he and Dayna weren’t in a committed relationship.
More, Therese had made out like Bailey was some kind of homewrecker, though the pride in general disagreed; they felt that the vow had been stretched out for long enough, and that if Deke and Dayna really had a future it would have been obvious by now.
He had every intention of confronting Therese at some point for the crap she’d spouted about Bailey, but he wouldn’t do it here and now. His priority was making sure his mamba was safe.
“Why do you think the giant superhero turns green when mad?” asked Bailey.
Deke felt his brows draw together. “What?”
“I don’t get it,” she said. “People get red when angry. Why would he turn green?”
Deke didn’t even want to know why her thought processes had led her there. So instead of answering her question, he asked his own, “What time does your shift finish at the rec center?”
Shuddering as the cool breeze brushed over them, Bailey looked at him askance. “Why?”
“Because I want to know.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll affect what I have in mind for later.”
“Which is what?”
He turned to fully face her. “We hit the diner together.”
She blinked. “Huh?”
“Did I stutter?”
She simply stared up at him.
Yeah, okay, so they rarely ate together, let alone spend time together in public just the two of them. But it was no big deal, so she could stop looking at him like he’d suggested they take a trip to the moon.
“You eat out with your girls sometimes,” he said. “What’s the difference?”
“You’re not one of them, for starters.”
“Neither are Blair, Elle, or Bree. You’ve met up with them at the diner on occasions.”
“But they enjoy my company. You don’t.”
He felt his brow pinch. “What makes you think that?”
“You used to threaten to choke and throw stuff at me. That sort of clued me in.”
“Yeah, used to.” Deke fisted her tee and hauled her close. “Though some would say it flies in the face of reason, I like having you around.”
She leaned back slightly, eyeing him suspiciously. “You do?”
“Yeah. So. Diner. Six-thirty.” He gave her a hard kiss. “Be there.”
Still looking a little dubious, she said, “All right.”
“You bastard!”
Deke’s head whipped to the side. A short, dark-skinned woman was bearing down on them, her face flushed, anger in every step. He frowned. “Excuse me?”
She stopped in front of him, gave Bailey a thorough once-over, and then sliced her fury-filled gaze back to him. “I knew you were hiding something. And yeah, I entertained the idea that it could be a girlfriend. But I’d tell myself there was no way you’d ever do that to me.” A bitter, self-depreciating smile pulled at her lips. “Huh. Turned out I was wrong.”
Deke’s gut stirred as suspicion pricked at his nape. Feeling his jaw tighten, he exchanged a look with Bailey, whose expression told him they were having the same thought.
The woman—human, he scented—threw up her arms. “Why did you even ask me to come here if you knew there was a chance I’d catch you with her? Or was that the point? You want to hurt me? Was this all a big game to you?”
Deke slanted his head. “And you are …?” Not the most tactful way to handle the moment, no, but diplomacy really wasn’t his strong point.
Her dark eyes went wide. “You asshole!” She shifted her attention back to Bailey and honed in on her hand. “No ring. Not a fiancée or wife, then, at least. He never told me about you, so I’m guessing he never told you about me.”
Bailey scraped her teeth over her lower lip. “How about you tell me?”
The human perched a hand on her hip. “I’m Journee, the woman he’s been exchanging ‘I love yous’ with for the past three months.”
Shit. Deke blew out an annoyed breath.
“Online?” Bailey prodded.
“And over the phone,” Journee clipped, batting at the corkscrew curls that slapped her face as the breeze picked up. “We met on Zing.”
