“Said he had some phone calls to make.” Tabitha took the bun off her sandwich and removed the pickles, putting them on the opened lid of Major’s container before dousing her pork in hot barbecue sauce. In turn, he scraped his cole slaw onto her plate before doctoring his own sandwich.
Trista cleared her throat. “Do you two work together often?”
Tabitha licked sauce off her thumb. “Nope. First time.”
“But we are close,” Major added when he caught Craig staring at Tabitha’s mouth. When the man lookedup, Major arched a brow, and Craig ducked his eyes. He hoped Craig got the message that Tabitha was off limits. He would also ensure Trista understood Major was unavailable as well. He had guarded a lot of high-profile people, and he’d often found their morals were skewed. He wouldn’t disparage Trista since she was single, but if she didn’t take the hint, well, he would let Tabby handle her. He chuckled, thinking about it.
“What are you laughing at?” Tabitha asked.
Major slid his arm along the back of Tabitha’s chair and tugged her hair. Instead of telling her the truth, he said, “Nahla. I stopped by Ripley’s yesterday to talk to the twins. As I was leaving, a woman punched me from behind. When I turned around, she was ready to hit me again, and Nahla tackled her.”
Tabitha smirked. “Good.”
Trista leaned forward. “Why did the woman hit you?”
“Because she’s used to getting her way. I told her no, and she didn’t like it.”
Trista’s mouth formed an O, and Major considered that warning enough.
Chapter 4
Major was stilloutside when Tabitha returned, but she didn’t bother looking for him in case he was busy checking over the property. She removed the containers from the large bags and set them on the island. She’d ordered a gallon of sweet tea since Major liked it. When Craig and Trista entered the kitchen, Trista grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with ice and water from the dispenser on the refrigerator, then took it and her container to the table. Craig stood at the end of the counter, so Tabitha pushed the container with his name on it toward him. “That one’s yours. There are sodas in the fridge if you don’t want tea or water.”
“Are there no real plates in this house?”
Tabitha didn’t want to set a precedent of catering to the asshole, so she pointed to the cabinet next to the microwave while grabbing two glasses. “Yep. In that cabinet there.” She then got ice from the dispenser and poured Major and herself some tea. She placed those on the table and put Major’s food at the spot next to hers. He entered the back door a few minutes later and introduced himself to Trista.
“Miss Bellinger, I’m Major Lazlo.”
“It’s a pleasure,” she replied in a flirty tone.
Tabitha pointed to his plate. “I poured you a sweet tea.”
“Thanks, Tabby.” He sat down and didn’t bother keeping his legs tucked in. Having Major next to her at the table with his thigh pressed against hers was a balm to her Gargoyle’s fiery attitude. It was heady, being close to him after several months apart. Their weekend had been the best of her life. Sure, the sex was out of this world, but more than that, they clicked, which wasn’t a surprise with him being her fated mate. They had a mutual love of motorcycles, music, and most movies. They cooked together as though they’d been sharing a kitchen forever. It was natural for her to give him her pickles and for him to give her his cole slaw since they’d done the same thing during their weekend when they ate dinner out their first night together.
When Major said they were close, she wanted to expound on exactly how close, but she didn’t think it appropriate. Since Trista was single, she had every right to flirt with him. Craig, on the other hand, was married, yet he leered at Tabitha like he wanted to lick the sauce off her thumb. It made her wonder how he conducted himself away from his wife and if that had anything to do with why someone came after him with a knife.
When Major spoke of the female hitting him, her Goyle rumbled in her head, ready to go to New York and kick ass. Tabitha hadn’t met his twin sisters, but hearing how Nahla had his back, she had no doubt she would love them.
Perry entered the room and grabbed his meal from the island. He placed it on the table next to Trista before getting something to drink. Once seated, he said, “Florence will be here later today. She emailed a list of items she wants from the store, but she also said if there are specific requests to let me know so I can get theingredients for her.”
Craig began prattling off gourmet meals, and Tabitha thought, not for the first time, that the actor was an entitled dick. He stopped mid-sentence. “Shouldn’t you be taking note of my preferences?” he asked Perry.
Perry continued mixing the shredded beef and cheese with his baked potato. “No. Florence is well aware of your requirements as she called Annabelle to ask. I know what Trista likes, so I was asking on Tabitha and Major’s behalf.”
Tabitha nudged Major with her knee. “We aren’t picky, although neither of us care for sushi.” Food was one of the topics they had discussed at length during their weekend.
Craig huffed. “Who doesn’t eat sushi?”
“We don’t,” they said in unison. Tabitha met Major’s gaze, and he winked at her.
Perry swallowed his bite of potato, then asked Craig, “What about Daniel?”
“He eats what I do.” Craig placed his fork on the empty plate and stood from the table. “Trista, we need to work on our lines.”
“I’ll meet you in the den when I’m finished eating.”
Craig didn’t bother pushing his chair in or taking his dirty plate to the sink. “Fine.”
