“Speaking of which, what are you doing here?” I ask. “You boys thinking of taking up yoga?”
They look at one another, and I don’t know — call me suspicious — but they look like they just got their hands caught in the cookie jar.
“No, we’re doin’ some shit for, uh, Bella,” Rip says, thumbing behind him. “Speakin’ of which, we better take off. Glad the car is okay.”
“Who’s car?” Wheels asks as Rip heads toward the building.
“I’ll tell you later,” he mutters.
We watch after them. “There’s something fishy about those two,” I say.
“Oh, don’t. Let me enjoy the rearview before you go spoiling all my fun.”
“They’re prospects,” I remind her. “They’re not allowed to touch you even if they wanted to.”
She side eyes me. “Spoken like a true ol’ lady.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Haze
I wasn’t expecting to run into Cameron at the station, but here we are. The prospects just informed me Willo left Bella’s studio and was on her way back. Great. If I can get rid of her dad, maybe I can watch her shower.
Willow’s dad glares down at me, his face unimpressed. “When I saidprotective order,I didn’t mean in her bed.”
I steel my jaw. “Frankly, I don’t give a shit what you said. She’s mywife.If you think this has anythin’ to do with me protectin’ her, you’re wrong. We were always gettin’ back together.”
“Something my daughter didn’t disclose to me, which would’ve been helpful before I employed your services.”
I wanna punch this son of a bitch out, seriously. I get in his face. “She doesn’t have to disclose shit to you. She’s a grown adult. I’m not sure you’re aware of that fact, since you’re the one actin’ like a teenager.”
“You don’t intimidate me,” he says, standing his ground. Fuck man, if he weren’t Willow’s dad, he’d be flat on his back right now with a broken nose and two black eyes. As solid as heis, I can take him. “Imagine my surprise when I see the two of you leaving your place on your motorcycle.”
“What were you doing, a drive by?”
He pauses, realizing he’s been caught in the act. “And now Max is staying with you. Exactly what is it you’re up to?”
He gets closer and I push him back in the chest. “Don’t say one more word or I swear I’ll?—”
“Gentlemen,” Max says, coming between us. “I think we can take this somewhere a little more private.”
Somehow, I got his shirt scrunched in my fist. As I let go, he straightens himself out.
“Dad,” Max says. “We need to talk. Now.”
He thumbs to a nearby unoccupied office, and I follow them both. I’m not turning my back on him, no matter what. I don’t trust him. If he thinks he can look down on me, that’s one thing, but to look down on me and Willow, that’s quite another.
“Unlike you, I don’t run away from problems,” Cameron says, earning a slight wince from Max.
He’s such a bastard. Even I can see the kid has been trying. He’s clean. He works hard. He’s a Hellion, and that’s the only reason his dickhead dad has a problem with him. “I face them head on.”
“Yeah, and tryin’ to rule Willow’s life won’t win you any brownie points,” Max says, standing firm, arms folded over his chest. It isn’t often I see him being this serious, but when he is, he’s a force to be reckoned with. “It’ll just make her run even farther away. You know it. I know it.”
“You’re not a parent, you don’t understand,” he says, his glare then shifts to me. “Look at what happened last time with the two of them. This son of a bitch left her brokenhearted. And if you think you’re gonna do that again to my daughter, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Luckily, I don’t need your permission,” I throw back. “We went our separate ways, yes, and that is the biggest mistake of my life. But whatwedecide to do as a couple from here on in isourbusiness.”
