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The tiger shifter cleared his throat. “No.”
Deke idly stroked a hand down Bailey’s hair. “Wouldn’t you also need a pilot to get off the island?”
She shook her head. “Nope, I wouldn’t need help.”
He felt his brows knit. “You can fly a helicopter?”
She shrugged. “It isn’t that hard.”
Uh, yeah, it was. But so were most of the things she could do. They really did need to talk about where she’d learned those skills.
Crossing to the mamba, Blair gently nudged her. “How’s your snake handling being branded?”
“She doesn’t mind, since he wears my mark with pride,” Bailey replied.
“He really does.” Blair lifted her shoulders. “And why wouldn’t he? You’re awesome.”
Bailey smiled, delighted. “I know, right?”
The Beta female laughed.
Hungry, Deke cupped his mamba’s hip and said, “I’m gonna go order some food. You want anything?”
Bailey joined her hands. “Hmm, barbeque chicken wings would go down nicely.”
“Ooh, they sound good,” said Blair, her eyes lighting up. “Same for me, please.”
Deke gave the bush dog a nod and then refocused on Bailey. “Did you hear that?”
His mamba frowned and looked around. “What?”
“Blair said ‘please.’”
“Uh … yes, she did.”
“And it didn’t hurt her to be polite, did it?”
Bailey studied her. “No, she seems fine.” The mamba then stared at him, her expression one of blank incomprehension. “Is there a point to this conversation?”
He sighed. “Forget it.”
“Already forgotten. I got bored fast.”
Feeling his mouth twitch, Deke shook his head. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Behave while I’m gone.”
“You say that like I stir shit for a living.”
“You do.”
She gave a small shrug. “It keeps me entertained. Isn’t that what’s important?”
“No.” Deke gave her ass a quick tap and then began to make his way to the bar. He exchanged hellos or tips of the chin as he shrugged through the crowds and skirted tables. The Tavern was as busy as usual, and most patrons were members of his pride.
As he arrived at the bar, Gerard headed over and stiffly inclined his head. “What can I get you?” he asked, formal but without any of his usual suppressed hostility. Possibly because Deke no longer had any designs on the woman that Gerard never quite got over.
Deke placed his order and then paid with his debit card.
“I’ll have one of the waitresses send the food over when it’s done,” Gerard told him.
“Appreciated.” Deke turned to leave and almost crashed into Shay, who stood with Cassandra and Sam.
Shay’s lips curved into a smug smirk. “Now that’s a whopper of a brand on your jaw, Deke.” Thrusting out his chest, he crossed his arms. “I knew you’d end up in Bailey’s bed eventually. I just knew it.”
Deke threw him a tired look. “Don’t gloat, it doesn’t suit you.”
“Of course it does.” Shay raised his shoulders. “And why would I not gloat?”
“Because it’s a dick move.”
“A dick move is lying to a close friend,” Shay corrected. “You tried convincing me that you weren’t into Bailey.”
“It’s not like you believed me.”
“That’s not the point. You hurt my feelings.”
Deke almost crossed his eyes at the false wounded look on his friend’s face. “No, I didn’t. Stop being an ass.” He shifted his attention to the other two pallas cats. Taking in how close Cassandra stood to Sam, Deke had to wonder … “Are you two on a date?”
She gave him a sheepish smile.
“I wore her down,” Sam proudly declared.
Deke felt his mouth hitch up. “Man, I didn’t doubt for a second that you wouldn’t.”
Cassandra slid the healer a mock look of exasperation. “You are somewhat persistent, I’ll give you that. The thing is, Deke, I—” She cut off as her gaze flew to something behind him, and her lips parted in shock.
“What?” Deke spun. He almost did a double-take at the totally unexpected sight he found. He felt his jaw go hard as anger blazed through him. That same anger made his cat jump to his feet with a snarl. “You are shitting me.”
A tremulous smile tugged at Dayna’s lips. “Hey.” She took tentative steps toward him, her eyes shining, and put a hand to her chest. “God, it’s been too freaking long.”
Conscious of the nearby conversations stuttering to a halt as people became aware of her presence, he asked, “What are you doing here?” The words came out toneless.
“It took me several days to get my ducks in a row, but I’m back.” Her smile ramped up a little. “Back for good.”
Unfuckingreal. He felt his nostrils flare. No, she didn’t get to do this. She didn’t get to reappear in his life now that he’d moved on.
Over two and a half years she’d been gone, and not once during that time had she appeared even for a mere visit, let alone to declare that she was home. No, it had taken for him to meet someone else before she felt motivated to return. That was why she was here. Not simply because he’d walked away and she wanted him back—no, if she’d cared for him that deeply she’d have done a lot of things differently—but because she felt replaced and didn’t like it.
