"Yes, Lenny, that's what I said. Did you not understand? Should I repeat it in Spanish?No te voy a ayudar."
As I pull the phone away from my ear to end the call, I hear something crash on the other end of the line as he screams down the phone, telling me I'll regret it.
Shaking my head, I put my phone on the side, grab a towel from the cupboard, and then strip out of my clothes. I jump in the shower, hurrying through my normal routine so I don't keep Sophia and Kaleb waiting.
"This is my favourite coffee shop near Dom's apartment," Sophia says as Kaleb opens the door to the cute little shop on the corner of a bustling street. "Obviously, I can't enjoy the delicious substance they sell here anymore, but I do still stop here for pastries, and then I force Kaleb to order a vanilla latte so he can drink it for me."
I chuckle as she leads me over to a table by the window, sitting down on the cushioned red seats.
"I actually stopped in here yesterday with Leo. He said it was the only place he knew of that allowed pets," I tell her, reaching down to lift Jellybean into my lap.
"She's adorable," Sophia adds, reaching over to stroke her.
"What drink do you want?" Kaleb asks, standing beside the table we're seated at, his eyes scanning across the people inside before he turns his attention to the street outside.
"I'll have a hazelnut mocha, please."
He nods, bends to give Sophia a kiss on the forehead, and then moves over to the counter to place our order.
"Is he always like that?" I ask, watching as he continues to observe everyone around us, his eyes flicking over to Sophia every few seconds as if to make sure she's still exactly where he left her.
"Like what? Overly protective, seemingly moody, and obsessively observant of me?"
I nod, smiling as she rolls her eyes.
"Unfortunately, yes. He's like it all the time, especially since he knocked me up. Rory's friend, Chrissie, told me her husband was the same, but when I mentioned Kaleb's plan of having a tracker installed in every single dummy we buy for our little peanut, she told me he was insane."
My eyes widen in surprise, and I release an amused puff of air through my lips. "That's certainly… extreme, but at least it shows how much he cares."
"Oh god, don't let him hear you say that. He'll be over the moon that someone else thinks his thoughts are reasonable."
I mimic zipping my lips shut as Kaleb walks back over to the table with two mugs in one hand and a bag in the other.
"Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I messaged Jess and Rory while you were getting ready and told them to meet us here. I thought it'd be nice for us all to properly meet."
Surprise rocks through my body, and a spark of warmth heats in my chest.
"I didn't want to bombard you, but I also want to make sure you don't feel alone while you're here. I know it can be a big change, moving country and being in a place where you don't know anyone."
A ghost of a smile appears on my face, and I reach up to the locket around my neck, rubbing my thumb absently over the pattern on the front as I think about my mother and my sister.
"Thank you, I really appreciate that."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dominic
Parking outside my parents' house, I grab my phone from the centre console of my car and power it off, fed up of the incessant buzzing it's been producing for the last twenty minutes.
Usually, my phone is relatively silent, and when it starts vibrating like crazy, I know something important needs to be tended to, but this time, it's just my sister, threatening me and calling me a crazy bastard because she found my newly wedded wife handcuffed to my bed.
After reading her first two messages, I put my phone face down and chose to ignore it, then decided to drive over here before word could reach my mother.
I'm aware my actions have made me seem slightly unhinged, but Alicia does something to me that has me acting out of character.
Her defiance is infuriating, and I have no idea how to deal with it.
I thought it was a logical decision to lock her up because then I knew where she was. I knew she couldn't get up to any mischief or cause any trouble. And I knew she was by herself, not potentially flirting up a storm with Leo, like I had assumed.
