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“She’s already left.”
“Oh?” I cross my arms. Waiting.
“Yeah.” He inspects the wall behind me.
WTF? When he doesn’t say any more, I grab my bag, pocket my phone and keys. Give him a nod and a “Good talk” on my way past him.
“Wait.”
I stop. “Cap, you’re a man of few words. You don’t beat around the bush. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Frankie. Tomorrow. She’s coming with me.” He lets out a bunch of air as if he’s been holding it this whole time.
I step closer. “Going where?”
“Scouting.”
“The fuck you say?” I close in, and to my surprise, he actually steps back. I look down on him. I’ve got a few inches and about fifty pounds on the guy—not to mention twenty years or so.
He holds up his hands. “Look, I know you and she have a thing now. But this is business. I need her with me.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why isn’t Margaret going?”
“This has nothing to do with Margaret. Frankie has gone with me before. She’s got a good eye and her medical knowledge is invaluable in assessing injuries.”
“She’s gone before?” How did I not know this?
“You know you avoided her most of the time when she was with Austin. You don’t know everything about her, especially when it comes to my business.”
“Wow, Cap. I think that’s the most you’ve ever said to me.”
“Fuck, Gabriel. She’s coming. I don’t need your permission. Neither does she.”
Fuck, I know, but I can’t help the need to protect her.“Then why you telling me?”
He scratches the back of his head and smiles. “She said I had to.”
I chuckle and pat him on the back. “If I didn’t know you love her like a daughter, I’d say you’re pussy-whipped.”
“Don’t talk about her like that.” He nearly cuts my head off with the grit in those words.
If he only knew the things I’ve said and done to her pussy, he would not be a happy camper. “Yes, sir.”
My mood plummets as I walk to my car. I’m disappointed she still went out with the girls instead of coming home to spend her last evening with me, knowing it would be the last night together for four days. She has every right to hang with her girls. Only, it would be nice to be considered a priority when she’s leaving town. Four days isn’t long, but given I’ve spent five years without her, I’m not in the sharing mood.
Jess pulls up beside me. “We’re heading out for some beers. You in?”
Why the fuck not? “Sure.”
I could use some guy-time.They’llunderstand she should have come home to me instead of going out.
Now who’s pussy-whipped?
Lili, Marni, Brielle, Kris, and myself squeeze into a booth in the back of Clover's. There’s a new wine bar we wanted to check out, but it turns out it’s not open for another month. So, here we are at the normal hang-out. It’s turning out to not be much of a girls’ night out. The Harris brothers—Lili, Brielle, and Kris’s other halves—are holding up the bar. It’s more like a middle school party where the girls giggle on one side of the room, while the guys check out the girls from the other side.
“Your men are checking y’all out.” I nod in their direction, finishing my first beer and kinda regretting not canceling and going home to spend the evening with Gabriel, since I’m leaving town in the morning. But then I remember, I need to stand on my own two feet and not rely on Gabriel, no matter how much I want to.
I’m guessing Donovan and Davis left their kids with Bonnie, their mom, since their women, Lili and Brielle, are here. Kris and Declan, Donovan’s youngest brother, don’t have any kids yet. But by the looks of it, Declan’s about to steal Kris away to go try to remedy that in the bathroom. The giggles Kris is emitting prove I’m not far from the mark. She excuses herself, and she and Declan disappear around the corner.
