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“I’ll walk by toward the men’s room, have a glance, and make sure she’s okay.” The thought of seeing Addison on a date, laughing and touching the guy, was bound to suck, but I’d take the hit in order to ensure she seemed comfortable.
Luckily, large round pillars spaced every few feet blocked me from view as I walked through the room. I spotted her almost immediately. God, she was beautiful. My gaze narrowed on her date. When he got up from the table, I tracked his movements as he headed this way. Probably heading to the restroom.
I noticed her shoulders immediately relax. Almost like she was glad he’d left. Good.
But Tate didn’t make it to the men’s room. Instead, he ducked into a small alcove and whipped out his cell phone. I moved closer so I could hear his conversation and spotted Craig coming toward me.
His brows lifted, but once I held a finger to my mouth, he understood the assignment and moved quietly to the other side. We both eavesdropped on Tate’s side of the conversation.
“How’s the party? Dude, seriously. If I’d known there’d be so much pussy there, I would’ve ditched my date. Yeah, she’s all right. The chubby ones are always more desperate, so I’ll play things out and see if I can at least get my dick wet in the parking lot. After, I’ll drive over and see if I can make it a double header, if you know what I mean.”
I listened to the asshole laugh at his own joke before promising the caller to see him soon. As he walked out of the alcove, beelining for the bathroom, I made my move, backing him into a place we were hidden and slamming him against the wall, my forearm at his throat. Craig immediately covered my back to ensure we didn’t get interrupted.
Rage pulsed through every one of my words. “Here’s what’s going to happen here, Tate. You’re going to leave out this back door, and you’re never going to contact Addison again. Matter of fact, you will delete your entire profile on the Nice to Meet You app. Got it?”
His eyes were wide, his feet barely touching the ground as I held him pinned. “Who are you?” he choked out.
“I’m the guy who’ll make your life a living hell if you so much as breathe in Addison’s direction ever again. Understood?”
“Yeah, man. Please let me go.”
A smarter man would’ve scrambled to leave quickly, but he paused once I released him. “I don’t know what you think—” He stopped once he noticed my thunderous expression. I was one moment away from punching his teeth out.
Craig turned. “You really are some kind of stupid, aren’t you, Tate? You’re lucky my man is letting you walk out of here without a limp. So I’d go. I’d go now.”
Finally, he scrambled to leave, rushing down the hall and out the back door.
“What are you going to do about Addison?”
Craig’s question brought me out of my red haze.
It was a good fucking question.
I’d created this situation. Now I had to fix it. Taking a deep breath, I handed him my credit card to take care of the check and strode across the restaurant, taking the seat across from her at the table with the white linen cloth and the candle in the center. Her eyes went wide at the sight of me.
“Guess you’re wondering what I’m doing here?”
Her brows went high. “You’d guess correctly. Where’s Tate?”
“He had to leave.” I wasn’t about to relate the crass conversation I’d overheard.
“What? Why?”
“Because he was bad news. I paid the check. You want your dinner to go?”
“What I want is an explanation.”
“Tate is not a good guy.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How would you know that?”
“I have my sources.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Come on, let’s go. Craig is out in the lobby, and Malorie will be here soon.”
She wasn’t about to let it go. “Your lack of explanation and the fact my cousin and Craig are here is starting to piss me off. Tell me what’s going on.”
