Shit, shit, shit.
I rush after him.
“This is how you get your kicks?” Kaz stares down at Chett from over his nose, his jaw working. “You can talk shit about me all you want, asshole, but call my girlfriend a puck bunny again, and I’ll make sure you consume your meals from a straw for the foreseeable future.”
Chett studies Kaz long and hard before taking a step back, sticking his hands in his pants pockets, and turning on his heel.
I’m not sure what Chett saw in Kaz’s eyes, but it was enough for him to know his ex-stepdad meant business.
“That’s right,bro, you can intimidate a woman half your size, but you can’t stand up to a man.” The guy who came to my rescue shouts that at Chett’s retreating back. “You’re a coward. Run away with your tail between your legs, pussy.”
Chapter 23
The big bad bear and Goldilocks
Kazimir
Harley licks her fingers. “I’m never going to have oven baked or fried chicken wings ever again.”
“Once you go open fire, you can’t go back,” I say. “That’s why Saturday nights are so popular at Number 22.”
“I can see why,” she says, taking another bite of chicken wing. “I thought the hand-cut fries were out of this world, but these sweet potato fries, ohmyGod. I could eat a whole bucketful of these.”
I take a swig of my beer and drop the bottle on the coffee table in front of me, catching a glimpse of the row of brownstone houses. You don’t live in Manhattan and expect privacy. Even in Brooklyn Heights, the neighbors at the rear of my property can see my every move when I’m on the deck. Same for when the folding glass door is open like it is right now, but on a perfect night like this, it’s a small price to pay for Harley and I to sit on the couch near the retractable glass wall. My eyes roam to the stairs leading down to the fire pit.
Had it been a cooler night, I would’ve started a fire.
When October comes around, I’ll treat her to the unforgettable experience.
Who said she’ll be around that long, Lindström?
She’s no longer wearing her pretty white dress. She traded the sophisticated dress for a simple light-blue t-shirt, jeans shorts, and her fluffy, pink house slippers. The contrast between the simplicity of her outfit and the diamond necklace and earrings is striking.
It fills me with pride she’s still wearing them.
The one time I had bought Devlyn expensive jewelry, she asked me if I had kept the receipt for an exchange or a refund. The next day, I returned to the Fifth Avenue shop and asked for my money back.
That short-lived marriage was doomed well before she cheated on me.
I shake my head and continue admiring the woman sitting across from me.
She pauses as she’s about to take another bite, blonde strands framing her face like a halo. “Sorry if I’m eating like a pig.”
“Nonsense. You’re enjoying your food.”
“Why are you looking at me like that, then?”
I rub a hand over my face. “I feel guilty you weren’t able to stay and enjoy dinner at the gala.”
She drops the bone on the plate, grabs a napkin and wipes her fingers. “I’m sure at four-thousand-dollars a plate, the meal would’ve been exceptional, but I’m certain it would be nowhere near as good as this.” She points at the food displayed on the coffee table. “In the end, I still get to wear the incredible bling, even if I changed into casual clothes.”
“You’re a good sport,” I tell her. “Tonight was all about image rehab. I guess that plan went down the toilet.”
“I disagree.”
I frown. “I threatened to rip Chett’s arm off his body. There were witnesses and I’m certain it was caught on camera.”
Harley gets up from the couch she’s sitting on, circles the coffee table, and comes to sit next to me on the other couch. The sweet floral scent of her perfume washes over me like a baptism.
