He ran that wandering hand up to my waist and I shot off the bench, hopping as best I could to avoid stepping on a paw or tail. “Excuse the fuck out of you—”
“Don’t be like that,” Devon said, his palms out and his brow crinkled like he was genuinely disappointed in me. “What? We’re friends. We’retalking. Can’t we talk?”
Hale stood, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Let’s not have a problem, Devon.”
Devon pushed to his feet with a groan. “You know what the real problem is, Woot? You don’t know how to lighten the hell up.” He grinned at me in a way that felt like the slimy slip of rotting celery. “Don’t you think he needs to lighten up, Sunny?”
“Actually, no, I don’t,” I said. “It’s not cool to hunker down into someone’s space when they ask you to stop.”
“Oh my god, you’re one ofthosepeople. You’re what’s wrong with the world, you know that? Can’t even sit down next to someone without it turning into an ordeal.” He pushed to his feet and aimed a sneer at me. “Thanks for telling me now and saving me some time. Enjoy the stick up your ass, sweetheart.”
Devon stalked to the parking lot while muttering insults and suggesting others follow if they knew what was good for them. To the credit of everyone else, no one took him up on the offer and few even paid him any attention.
I couldn’t decide whether that meant they were used to his outbursts or I was overreacting. Years of therapy had shown me that a childhood loaded with hospital stays and invasive procedures left me very sensitive to any moment where I felt an intrusion on my personal space or loss of autonomy. There were times when that sensitivity pinged harder than required and I had to work through those reactions to figure out where they came from and why.
But instinct told me this wasn’t an overreaction.
When I was certain Devon wasn’t coming back for an encore, I turned to Nyomi and Hale, asking, “Who does that? I mean, at this point in human history, who is out there forcing themselves on people and playing the ‘What’s the big deal?’ card?”
“Assholes,” Nyomi said.
That was all it took for me to fall in love with her.
Hale pointed at Nyomi. “That would sum up Devon.”
“Ugh, yeah,” I said. “If Meara had been here, she would’ve neutered him and made him thank her for the service.”
“On that note, if you decide to tell Beck about this, can I be there while you do it?” Hale asked. “I just want to watch.”
“Why would he care?” I asked. Yes, I was still salty about him calling me a mistake. No, I wasn’t ready to explore the reason he brought out the biggest reactions in me. “Other than finding perverse amusement in my discomfort, I can’t see why it would matter to him.”
He reached a hand out to Nyomi and she took it, gaining her feet. “I could be wrong but I don’t think Beck would want me answering that for him.”
I laughed. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Hale studied the last few guests as they made their way to the parking lot at a lazy, meandering pace. “Are you ready to close up? We’ll walk you to your car.”
That was a fun way to dodge the question—and a really exciting way to tell me that I needed to keep one eye open where that douche Devon was concerned.
“We can also hang for a little longer if you need it,” Nyomi added.
I glanced between them. “Is this guy going to slash my tires or something? Did I just pick a fight with the mafia?”
“No,” Hale said, laughing oof the question. “No, nothing like that. I just know Beck would—” He stopped himself, exchanged a glance with Nyomi. “We like to look after our friends down here on the Point. That’s all.”
I wasn’t going to argue with that so I motioned for the dogs to follow me. “I just need a minute to lock up.”
“Then we’ll meet you out front.” Nyomi leaned into Hale’s side and he looped an arm around her shoulders as I headed into the building.
I grabbed my things, double-checked that the kitchen was in order, and switched off the lights as I went. The dogs hurried along, knowing a proper dinner and time to run free in the backyard awaited them at home.
“Thanks for staying,” I said as I fumbled with the locks.
“Happy to do it,” Hale said. “You should know that Devon is all about the noise. He’s obnoxious, but that’s the extent of it.”
“In other words, he’s a little bitch,” Nyomi said.
Seriously, Ilovedher.
