“He didn’t do drugs when I dated him. But he was going to force Queenie to… And then he said he was going to kill her. I… I had to. I… I had to,” she whispers.
“I know,” I say, leading her out of the room and into the restroom. “I know, baby. Let’s get the blood off you.”
Swallowing, she nods. “Okay.”
“Baby, what are you doing here?”
“You didn’t come to the bakery,” she says, scrubbing her hand so hard I worry she’ll take off the skin. “And I wanted to meet the woman who came before me.”
I reach out and stop her before she hurts herself. “You wanted to check out Queenie?”
“I wanted to know… But now… I don’t know if it was a smart idea or not.”
“You savedher life,” I say. “Baby, you have nothing to be jealous about.”
Turning to face me, she gazes into my eyes. “Tucker, she and I are nothing alike. Like, at all. She has curves and… sex appeal. A lot of curves. And I don’t.”
I cup her face and massage her cheeks with my thumbs. “You’re sexy in a way I can’t describe because it’s so unique to you. Sweet and sensual at the same time.”
“But what if you get tired of me? I needed to know who you used to be with, and now I think you might actually get bored because she’s… hot.”
“You’re so hot it hurts,” I say. “Gorgeous. My Yellow Crayon. You have nothing to worry about, Phoebe. You’re the only woman I’ve even thought about having a future with, let alone actively trying to build one with since Jo. I’m not going anywhere.”
Swallowing, she fights back tears. “Okay, good, because I think I might’ve actually just killed my ex-boyfriend to save Queenie, and you would be the biggest jerk in the world if you cheated with her after that.”
I snort and kiss her. “I would, yes. And it’s never gonna happen.” Becoming serious, I stare into her eyes. “Are you okay? It’s not easy doing something like that.”
Phoebe licks her lips and lets out a shaky breath. “He was going to kill her. There was no other choice. And I don’t know what he would have planned to do to me.”
That’s true. He would have likely hurt Phoebe the same way he did Queenie and killed her, too. “I’m glad you chose you and her over him.”
“You wanna hear something weird?”
Chuckling, I nod. “Sure.”
“I know what just happened will probably hit me later, but all I can think about is that hole in the massage table for men’s junk.”
I pull her against me and laugh. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it. Or paid attention.”
“Like, do the women sit underneath or something? Or bend down and milk him like a cow? How does it work?” she asks, laughing.
“We’ll have to ask Queenie. I don’t know, baby. But now I’m curious.”
I lead her out of the bathroom and into the room. Jake’s gone, and Capone walks in after us with a mop bucket while Queenie leans against the wall, her hand shaking.
“Phoebe, I owe you,” Queenie says, and it’s strange seeing her shaken.
It’s not the first time she’s been attacked, but something about this must’ve triggered something. Queenie’s normally a fighter.
“Seriously, Sunshine, anything. You need money? You got it. An ear to listen to? Done. Kidney, let’s fucking do it.”
“I need to know something,” Phoebe says, pulling away from me and walking toward the table. “What exactly do you do with this hole?”
I burst out laughing, and Capone even cracks a smile as he stops mopping up the blood to look at us. Queenie frowns. “What?”
“I can’t stop thinking about it. I know it’s for the guy’s stuff, but like… what do you do as the girl? Are you underneath?”
“She asked me in the restroom if you…” I have to stop because I’m laughing too hard. “If you… basically milk them like a cow.”
