“Mm-hmm.” Matthew tipped my chin up. “I’ll try not to worry too much about him. But . . . do we go to him? Do we give him space?”
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I want to help and support him. I don’t know what to do. Sometimes he just wants to be alone. Maybe I should text Avery and Dallas . . .”
Matthew let out a hum. “I’ll text him again tonight. It’ll be okay. We’ll be there for him.”
I nodded, then leaned up on my tiptoes, kissing him hard on the mouth even as I heard the door to the bakery open with a jingle. I winked at Matthew, then craned my head to see who’d come in.
“Oh fuck,” I whispered.
Matthew turned around, his body stiffening as he spotted the man waiting behind the counter.
“Is that him?” he asked.
“Yes,” I whispered.
Phil. The debt collector. I still wasn’t fully convinced he was a legitimate debt collector. This may have been West Texas, but it wasn’t like it was theWildWest. Showing up like this was unacceptable.
“I’m going to go talk to him,” I decided.
“Evie,” Matthew warned. “Maybe we should call someone. I can’t exactly get into an altercation since I’m a doctor.”
“You don’t need to,” I said. “I’ve got this.”
I went to my table and grabbed my long, thick, French rolling pin. Matthew had pulled out his phone and scowled, putting it away when he saw my weapon of choice.
“What on earth are you gonna do with that?”
“Crush his balls if I have to,” I said, and carried it to the front.
Matthew was right behind me as I crossed my arms, glowering at Phil.
“I thought you knew you weren’t welcome back here,” I said. “What the hell do you want?”
“Just trying to get info about the Whynots?—”
“Why?” Matthew asked.
Phil cleared his throat, regarding him coolly. “You’re also dating Austin, are you not? Have you?—”
“How could you possibly know that?” Matthew asked. His hand settled on my shoulder, and he gave me a squeeze. I felt that pit in my stomach. Something was sooffabout this guy, it made my skin crawl. “Who the hell are you? Why are you stalking us?”
“It’s my job to find out information,” Phil snapped.
“Then why aren’t you talking to a Whynot? Why are you showing up here trying—and failing I might add—to intimidate my partner? This is a small fucking town, and no one likes it when there’s a threat to our community,” Matthew said.
The door swung open, and my eyes widened when Levi, Mateo,andNick all piled in. They must have been close by.
“You got five fucking seconds to get the hell out of here,” Nick snarled.
“Probably less once my wife spots the SOS text,” Mateo said.
“I’m not here to cause trouble for any of you,” Phil said, holding up his hands. “The Whynots owe me money.”
“It’s been five seconds,” Levi growled.
That man, for being one of the sweetest teddy bears I’d ever met, filled the room with a presence I’d only seen on the ice when he played hockey—and even then, only through a screen. Seeing it in real life made my jaw drop.
Phill immediately fled for the door, his eyes wide and face flushed. He paused before running out. “I’ll get what’s mine,” he snarled. “One way or another.”
