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When Joe wouldn’t meet his eyes, his curiosity peaked. “Bullshit.”
Joe shrugged. “She’s really annoying and—”
“She’salwaysannoyed you,” he interrupted.
“True. But it’s different now.”
He frowned. What the hell didthatmean?
He started to ask, but the words died on his lips when Roxie walked back into the kitchen. Halfway to the table, her cell phone rang again. Joe went rigid.
Quinn cringed, then glanced over at Alex, who was shaking her head.
They both startled when Joe lost his fucking mind.
“Holy fuck, Rox! I’m going to break that fucking thing. Can you please tell your stupid boyfriends to give it a rest? Just for one goddamn night?”
Roxie stormed up to Joe, eyes narrowed, and jabbed her finger into his chest. “This iswork, you asshole! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I run a business. Part of which is catering. Granted, this may be a bit beyond your intellectual grasp, Joe, but try to keep up.”
Hoooly shit...Quinn grimaced.
Speaking deliberately slow, she continued, “In order to run a catering business, customers have to place an order with me.” She jabbed her finger into his chest again. “And that requires people to—that’s right, all together now—call me.” She waved her ringing phone in his face.
Before anyone could blink, Joe snatched the phone out of her hand and threw it against the wall behind her. It shattered.
What. The. Fuck?
Roxie’s jaw dropped. Hell,everyone’sjaw dropped.
Seconds ticked by as silence filled the room.
Quinn could only stare at Joe in dismay. He took a step toward Roxie, pausing when she turned to face Joe. Her usually vibrant green eyes looked like a wounded puppy’s, and they brimmed with tears.
“What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?” Roxie asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Alex approached her, but Roxie shook her head, walking to the back door. “I have to go call Mrs. Green. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
The fury that rolled through Quinn was swift. Apparently, now he was going to have to murder his best fucking friend. But first, he was going to put his fist through said best fucking friend’s face.
Nobodymade Roxie cry.
He took a menacing step toward Joe, but Alex’s hand on his chest brought him to an abrupt halt. When their gazes met, she simply shook her head.
Fuck.
He let out a breath and unclenched the fists he had no memory of forming. He put his arm around Alex’s shoulders, and some of his fury dissipated. She was probably right. Smashing Joe’s face in wouldn’t do anyone any good, especially with so much already going on.
After staring in silence at the closed door for a full minute, Joe raked his hands across his face, then clasped them on top of his head. Looking over at Quinn and Alex, he said, “Sorry about that.”
Alex’s fists slammed down on her narrow hips. “There’s nothing to apologize tousfor.”
“Seriously, man.” He shook his head in disappointment. “What the fuck was that?”
“I’m an asshole, okay?” Joe threw his head back and scowled. “Fuck. I’ll go apologize to her.” He reached for the door right as his cell phone rang. He answered with a heavy sigh.
* * *
As Joe listened to the caller, his spine went rigid.
A warning chill raced down Alex’s neck. As if someone had flipped a switch, all her senses snapped to full alert. Quinn pulled her close to him, and when she glanced up at his face, his eyes were laser-focused on Joe.
