Sugarlips (Beefcakes Book 2), Katana Collins [ebook smartphone .TXT] 📗

My stomach plummeted. It was the day I knew was coming. For months, I knew it was only a matter of time before he woke up and realized what he’d given up.

Chloe’s eye roll was punctuated with a sharp sigh. “I’m sure whatever you did, Raina will take you back if you apologize.”

She didn’t get it. She didn’t hear what he was saying. “Chloe—” I whispered.

“Not with Raina. I fucked up with you.”

Her gasp was nearly silent. Nearly. But I heard it all the same. And that gasp was the final knife twisting into my heart. “Chloe, no,” I said. “Don’t do this. Don’t give into him.”

She swallowed, her tear-filled gaze shifting slowly to me and I felt my own eyes burn, filling with moisture. Only this time, it wasn’t sympathy tears. It wasn’t a reaction to seeing her emotion. It was my own gutted pain wringing out before her eyes.

“He’s making a scene,” she said, yanking her apron off her body. “He’s not going to leave us alone tonight. I’ve seen him get like this, and when he’s drunk, he’s stubborn as hell. He also pukes… a lot.”

I sniffed and tilted my head down. Heat flooded my gut. I didn’t want her to see me react this way. And I definitely didn’t want Dan to fucking see it. “Great.” I clamped my hands on my hips, squeezing them just a tad too hard. “So, all he has to do is show up drunk and you’re going to give in to him? Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”

She pulled back, startled, the tears in her eyes quickly replaced with all kinds of questions. “I’m not giving in to him. He’s being a menace to our business, and we have too much to lose to let him embarrass us.”

“You know he’s going to try to get you back. He’s going to try to convince you to—”

“Well, he’s not going to succeed.” She pressed her palm to my chest in an action that was so uncharacteristic of her, it made my heart jolt against my ribcage.

I flicked a glance toward Dan who was clearly trying to eavesdrop… with very little success.

I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe that this was harmless and she would have a quick conversation and be back here with me in a matter of minutes.

With a step back, her hand slipped away from my chest. The absence of her touch was physically painful. I was losing her. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

I watched as she exited the side door of the food truck and held out her hand to Dan. “Give me your keys.”

“Why? Where’re we going?” he asked, swaying.

“If you want to talk, we’re doing so as I take your ass home.”

The jangle of metal on metal rang through the quiet night as Dan dropped his keys into her palm, then threw a quick look at me, a smug smirk curving to his eyes. They walked shoulder to shoulder, fading into the darkness of the park.

I should have felt better with her affirmation. He’s not going to succeed. But even when all reason and rationality told me she didn’t want Dan, my gut wobbled.

Then again, my gut had been wrong about Chloe back in high school.

And it had been wrong back when she kissed me the first time two months ago.

Maybe my gut wasn’t the most dependable gauge.

But it wasn’t wrong about Dan, was it? A little voice sang in my head.

And that’s what scared me.

33 Chloe

It took me twenty minutes to get Dan back to his new house—and his house was only a ten-minute drive outside of town.

On the walk to his car, he could barely stay upright and stumbled at least three times. I practically had to hoist his body up, clutching my arms around him to keep him upright.

But we were finally here. Dan’s house. I gripped the steering wheel, peering at the two-story home. It was a lot like Dan. Boring. Nondescript. Not ugly or unattractive… just plain. Milk toast.

This was the house he had left ours for. The life he had left us for. The woman he’d run to while I sat behind picking up the pieces of our shattered life.

The more I thought about it, the more enraged I felt. “Dan,” I grunted and shoved my palm into his shoulder. “Get out. You’re home.”

“Home,” he repeated. With the grace of an ox, he dropped his head into his hands. “This isn’t home. Home was with you. Terrybrook Lane is home. Not this.” He glanced up at the plain two-story house and waved a dismissive hand.

My throat went dry. Liam had been right. He wanted me back. He regretted leaving me for Raina. It was everything I had wanted to hear. Everything I had longed for and was waiting for… only it didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel vindicated or at peace.

In fact, it felt horrible.

“This is your home now, Dan. By your own choice.” I turned my head to glance at him… only he wasn’t looking back at me. His gaze was set ahead. “And it was the right choice.”

“Was it?” His pleading eyes finally turned to look at me in the dim light of his car. “Raina’s a nice girl and all, but I feel ridiculous when I’m with her. She doesn’t fit in at all with my colleagues. She’s quirky and kind of ridiculous. She puts crystals under our pillows for God’s sake.”

“You left me for a reason. You must have liked all that quirkiness at one point.” Somehow, I managed to keep my voice even when in reality, I wanted to scream at him. Thank God he left me! Who knows how many years I would have wasted with him if he hadn’t?

“It was… different. Fun at first. I thought I wanted that, but I was wrong. She’s all wrong for me. And you? You and I were good together. I