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His hand formed a fist at that statement, but I didn’t care enough to shield his feelings. He ambushed my date. He’d scared off Josh and then he had the nerve to try to eat my bread. All because he was upset that I was moving on with my life.
Changing my name felt like another step toward my independence. And shame on Billy at the courthouse for blabbering his big mouth off to Cole about the paperwork I’d submitted.
“What do you want, Cole?” I asked.
“Is everything all right over here?” someone spoke over me. When I looked up, Alex stood there holding two dishes. He arched an eyebrow at me.
I shook my head. “I was hoping to have a solo dinner tonight, that’s all.”
Alex turned toward Cole. “You heard the lady. She’d like to be left alone.”
Cole placed his hand against his chief’s belt, on his gun, and raised his brow. “Listen, new guy in town. This is a private conversation between my girl and me.”
“She’s not your girl,” Alex said sternly. The way those words fell from his mouth made chills of pleasure run up and down my spine. His deep, smoky voice had so much authority that I almost applauded him for telling Cole off.
“Also, she stated that she wishes to dine alone. Besides,” Alex stated, “we have a dress code here.”
“Oh?” Cole sat straighter. “And what code is that? No uniforms?”
“No dicks,” he deadpanned.
Oh snap! Take that, Cole Parker. You piece of crap!
My jaw dropped as I mentally cheered on Alex for not being bothered by Cole’s apparent threat with his hand on his holster.
“Excuse me?” Cole spat out, standing to his feet and getting in Alex’s face. Alex didn’t falter, though. He didn’t back down. He stood tall and stepped even closer to Cole.
“Leave,” he replied.
“You got a lot of dang nerve—” Cole started, but I hopped up and slid between the two men. Alex’s body pressed against my back as I faced Cole. His heat brushing against me sent electricity throughout my system as I looked up at Cole.
“It’s time for you to leave tonight,” I demanded.
Cole looked down at me. His eyes were filled with rage. A rage I knew too well. A rage I tried hard to ignore for years within our marriage. A rage that used to keep me quiet. But he could no longer shut me up because I was free from him and no longer had his name.
It did help my confidence slightly that an over six-foot Doberman type of man was standing behind me, ready to attack if need be. Alex’s existence alone at that moment gave me a boost I’d been lacking when it came to Cole. He gave me courage.
“Now,” I ordered. Not a stutter from my tongue. I felt big. I felt powerful. I felt safe. I felt Alex. I felt all of him, pressed up against me. My, my, my. Talk about being stuck between a dick and a hard place.
At that moment, I’d be forever grateful for Alex Ramírez’s protection.
Cole muttered something under his breath and took a step backward. “I didn’t want to eat this shit food, anyway,” he said before he stormed out of the restaurant.
I released a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. As I turned to face Alex, I ran straight into his hard, stone chest. I wondered if it would be inappropriate to stroke each ab just a little bit as a thank you. A little stroke, stroke, pat, pat action.
I took a step backward and shook my head. “Sorry about that. He’s just…” I couldn’t even find words for what Cole had been. Cruel. Controlling. Unhinged.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked. His voice was low and tender. I didn’t know that man knew what tenderness was, let alone that he could showcase its sound.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” I lied.
He grimaced and placed the dishes on the table. “Are you okay?” he asked again. His voice dripped with sincerity. “No lies this time, Goldie.”
“No,” I whispered. “I’m not.”
“How can I help?”
I slipped back into my chair and shook off the anxiety dripping all over my body. “Keep the sangria coming.”
“You got it.”
He turned to walk away and I called out to him. “Alex?”
“Yes?”
“Do you always serve each table your guests sit at?”
“No. Just yours.”
Just mine.
I didn’t know why, but that idea twisted my thoughts into flurries.
As he walked off, I dove into my tapas, not wanting to allow Cole to completely ruin my life the way he seemed so determined to do. If anything, I would not be okay with a good meal in front of me.
It turned out Alex’s balls had the perfect amount of saltiness. Just how I liked them.
CHAPTER 16
Alex
Yara was the last one standing in my restaurant that night and the drunkest of them all. After the second to last table left, I found Yara at her table, full of tapas and sangria, singing three blind mice. Why that song? Who knew. She was plastered. Drunk people did a lot of weird things that didn’t make sense.
