“I’ve worked at the Silver Spoons for a year. We started dating three months ago,” she answers robotically, like it’s an interview question.
“That’s a bit rushed, don’t you think?” I ask.
“When you know, you know,” her cliché response makes my lips twitch at the corners, but I bite back the smile. I think about making a joke to try to calm the waters, but I decide against it. I think it’s going to be a long night at the rate we are going.
While I finish making dinner, she paces the floor, hemming and hawing as she types on her phone.
“Still MIA?” I ask as I carry the plates to the table on the patio. Despite the circumstances, we really are in paradise, and I hate to waste it. Perfect weather, a salty breeze, and crashing waves. Aside from some rain clouds in the far distance, it’s gorgeous.
“He probably lost his phone while chasing after me,” she says.
“Funny, I didn’t hear any footsteps in my wake.”
I choose not to look at her because I know she’s glaring at me.
It’s quiet while we eat. The chicken kebabs are perfect, and the wine is great too. When I paid for a stocked fridge, they really delivered.
“This is good, thank you,” Harper says.
I look up at Harper, who isn’t quite as bitter anymore and is chewing quietly. Turns out the girl just needed a Snickers or a glass of wine. I pick up my glass and nod over to her.
“I noticed you looking at the minibar earlier. I thought a drink might help.”
She swallows and dabs her perfect pink lips with a napkin. “I was actually checking out what they had. I love mixology.”
This earns a grin from me. “Mixology, huh? And here Colby has you working as a waitress? You need to get behind the bar, girl.”
Something flashes across her expression. “Yeah, well, Daniel already has a bartender. She’s not very good at her job, but he keeps her around, anyway. I’m not sure why.”
Because he’s fucking her. Because he can’t fuck you…
“Let’s not talk about him anymore,” I suggest, taking another sip of wine.
“Thank you,” she says, tipping her glass towards me. Little does she know, I’m doing it for me, not her. I’m two secondsaway from telling her the truth, but I can’t bring myself to break her heart.
Not yet, anyway.
She’s been through enough today.
My phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket. Speak of the devil. I glance up at Harper, who is chewing gingerly as she stares off at the beach. Without letting on who it is, I quietly stand up to take the call inside.
“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve.” Daniel’s voice comes through the phone the second I accept the call.
“I could say the same thing to you, Colby,” I say as I walk through the villa and out the front door.
I want to be sure she can’t hear the conversation. If she knows I’m talking to him, she’ll have an aneurysm. I wouldn’t put it past her to spider monkey onto my back to pry the phone from my hand seeing as how he’s basically ghosting her.
“Let me ask you something, Levine. Have you ever stayed in your own lane, or do you get your rocks off by taking what other people have?”
A snicker escapes my throat. “Says the man whose entire industry is built on copycat recipes and putting other people out of business. And she isn’t yours. Harper will never be yours because if you come near her ever again; I will tell her the truth.”
“And which truth is that?” he asks. “That you’re jealous because I always get what I want?”
“That you only want to be with her so you can fuck her and wave her V-card around like a victory flag. Meanwhile, you’re fucking your bartender. Surely even you can see how twisted that is.”
“Not as twisted as you crashing our wedding. She’s going to hate you forever for that,” he argues.
“Not when she finds out the truth. Which she will find out. It’s just a matter of when. So I suggest you stay away. Don’tcome looking for her, don’t talk to her, don’t even text her. Or I’ll personally see to it that she and everyone else knows you’re a cheat and that you’re fucking half your staff. That’s not going to look so great for your reviews.”
