“We’ll look over our menu while you go grab those.” Roni picked up her menu from the table.
“Okay.” Coast turned to walk away.
Halfway to the server station, the dizziness hit. It wasn’t mild or ignorable, and it caused her vision to blur while her pulse roared in her ears. Gripping the counter, knuckles white, she willed herself not to sway. Not here. Not now in front of everyone, she pleaded with herself.
From the table, Mozzi noticed. Roni sat beside him, talking his ear off, but he’d tuned her out when Coast stopped at the counter. She stood stiffly, shoulders tense, breathing erratically. His jaw tightened, and Roni peeped his distraction.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing,” he muttered, eyes never leaving Coast.
She forced herself upright, shaking it off and keeping it moving. By the time she returned to their table with their drinks, she’d lost all the color to her face. She set the glasses down carefully but braced one hand on the table for just a little too long.
“You okay?” Roni pried, not concerned but territorial because Mozzi was a little too intrigued for her liking.
“I’m fine,” Coast quipped.
Mozzi didn’t buy it. She was too quick to respond and brush it off as she grabbed the tablet from her apron pocket again.
“Did you decide what you want?” Coast checked with them, eyes on the screen in her hand.
“You look sick,” Mozzi observed.
“Excuse me?” Coast snapped her eyes to him, anger cutting through the nausea. “I said I’m fine. Can I take your food order or?—”
The smell from the kitchen surged again. She didn’t know what it was. Oil. Meat. A combination of it that turned her stomach violently. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she rushed toward the restroom, leaving her tablet on their table. The silence she left behind was loud, causing Roni’s smile to fade as she slowly looked at Mozzi.
“That was weird.”
Leaning back, narrowing his eyes, something clicked into place for him while watching the space where Coast had disappeared.
“Nah.” Mozzi shook his head.
Moments later, she returned, looking worn out as she picked up the device off the table. He watched her carefully when her bright eyes now edged with sharp adrenaline briefly met his.
“I’m sorry about that. I’ll have another server come and take over. I need to leave.” She didn’t wait for permission as she walked away.
Mozzi clocked her every move. She was very guarded and careful with each step.
“You’re staring,” she stated the obvious, following his gaze on Coast with irritation.
“She’s pregnant,” he declared in a low tone.
Roni blinked. “What?”
Mozzi didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to. The certainty of the situation had already settled in his bones. He wondered if she knew. Across the room, Coast felt the weight of his attention pressing into her back as she untied her apron and lookedthrough her purse for her car keys. She couldn’t shake it. Instead of dwelling on something out of her control, she moved toward the nearest exit, so she could call it a night. She was already hormonal, why was the universe throwing this man into her orbit?
A low, slow beat of thunder rolled beneath her feet when she opened the door. The familiar aroma of rain slapped her in the face, and she collided with the hard body stepping inside. Eyes drifting up his frame, Coast locked eyes with Sipes and held back the chunks. His signature Balmain cologne lingered in her nostrils, making her sicker.
“You thought I wouldn’t just slide up on you?” he teased, lips curving into a taunting smile.
“You thought I was scared?” Coast hiked a brow.
Sipes snickered and flicked the tip of his nose before peeping the crowded restaurant. Coast had him fucked up. He stepped into her space, keeping a smile plastered across his face so he didn’t appear as a threat to anyone else witnessing the situation.
Nearby, Mozzi observed with interest.
“Come outside so we can talk,” he encouraged. “I ain’t even mad at you. I fucked up.”
