Page 43 of The Irresistible One
“Hmm, do we believe that, Callum?”
The smile on Jones’s face was sending me over the edge, so I glanced behind me, toward the bar, to check for our waitress, desperately needing a refill.
“Funny … speak of the devil …” Callum replied.
My ears perked up like a dog’s, but I continued visually hunting for our server.
“Over here, buddy,” Callum added.
Buddy? Who is he talking to?
I turned toward the table, my eyes immediately locking with Colson’s as he headed for us.
No. No.Nooo.
This wasn’t happening.
I was seeing things.
I blinked a few times.
Fuck.
He was still there and getting closer.
My arm unraveled from my stomach, and I squeezed Callum’s leg—probably a little too hard. “Did you invite him?”
His face was like the grimace emoji. “Your brother sorta did.”
My teeth clenched. “Hayden didwhat?”
“He felt bad he couldn’t take Colson out to dinner tonight since he was going to be with Abbi, so he asked us to entertain him.”
My head was shaking way too hard. “Hayden didn’t tell me that.”
“Do you blame him?” Jonesy’s grin was spreading to his bright blue eyes. “He knew you’d chew his face off.”
“I’m going to do a lot more than that,” I promised.
Callum put his glass in front of me. “To hold you over until we get you a refill.”
Instead of taking the drink, I began to stand from my chair and said, “I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not,” they said simultaneously.
Callum’s hand returned to my shoulder to keep me from fully getting up.
“There’s no reason to leave if the case is settled, which I’ve heard it is.” Jonesy spoke with an amount of confidence that should be illegal. “Unless you’d like to stop denying something happened and tell us the truth.”
A glance at Callum told me they were loving every second of this.
I needed to prove them wrong.
I neededto be unaffected.
Colson meant nothing to me. We would have drinks, dinner, and then I could wipe the satisfaction from Jones’s and Callum’s faces when they saw I wasn’t fazed by Colson’s presence.
So, I settled back down in my chair. “You’re right. There’s no reason to leave. The case has been settled.” A point Colson had reminded me of when he left me at Lush, half tied up and feral.
