Page 245 of A Matter of Time

“And what?”

“And I heard you. I heard every word.”

“But?”

“But I don’t accept that. Not at all.”

“Just a second ago you said that… I thought you were letting this go?”

“When did I say that?”

“But—”

“I wanted to wait to see you until I had my life back. Now I do, so here I am.”

I squinted at him. “Life doesn’t wait until you’re ready, Sam. You⁠—”

“Are you done?”

“No, I’m not done. You think you can just⁠—”

“With your food, love.”

“Oh…yeah.” I deflated, reaching into my jacket for my wallet.

“I invited you. I’ll buy.” He smiled at me.

“No, I said I would. I’m not a charity⁠—”

“Anything to fight with me,” he teased, leaning in to kiss the side of my neck.

I tried to slide away from him, but his hand under the table, like a vise on my thigh, kept me where I was. His lips on my skin were scalding. When my eyes flicked to his, he smiled lazily. It was very sexy.

“Three years look good on you, J.”

To keep from responding to him, I tried to provoke him. “You don’t want me, Sam. You’re just like all those other guys that just wanna get laid.”

“Is that all I want?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

I shrugged.

“It’s lucky you’re pretty, because you’re not real bright.”

I stood up, pulled two twenties out, and dropped them on the table. “I’ll see ya.”

He coughed, and I looked at him. The smile had fallen out of his eyes.

“I can get home my⁠—”

His voice was low and flat. “So you know, if you try one of your usual dramatic exits, I will grab you, throw you over my shoulder, and take you right outta here.”

I just stared at him.

“If you don’t want to be the floor show that they’ll be talking about for years, I suggest you stand there and wait for me and walk out of here like a grown-up.”