you do, or you wouldn’t have picked this inopportune moment.”
“What are you two talking about?” Her voice sounded strange, almost panicked.
There was absolute silence for several long seconds before Sixten swung his flaxen, platinum streaked hair from his forehead. A low oath left his mouth the minute he zeroed in on her throat. “Ryan, what’s the big deal? Can’t you finish your shopping while Blythe and I catch up? She’ll wait for you there.” He nodded in the direction of the deli.
For the first time, Ryan looked uncomfortably nervous. Not to mention a crowd was gathering as though someone threw down the gauntlet on an illegal cockfight. “Honestly, Six, I don’t have anything to say to you.” She threw her hands up in a helpless gesture. “But I’ll listen while Ryan finishes up. Okay?”
He walked ahead of her, giving Blythe a moment to speak to Ryan privately. Before she turned towards the deli, she eyed her best friend intensely and rubbed the deep crease that formed between his eyebrows with her index finger. “I’ll be fine,” she murmured. “By the way, don’t get rid of that candy bar I have hidden underneath those cucumbers, or you’re dead.”
With an obstinate gleam in his eye, he threw a family-sized package of ground beef in her cart for good measure. “I’ll be finished in ten minutes, and then we’re leaving.”
Chapter 6
B lythe slowly closed the distance between her and her former fiancé, wondering where she would be without all the high-handed men who periodically graced her life. Oh, I’d eat Twinkies for sure. Ryan was ruling her with an iron fist. She understood that he was worried about her, and she’d be the same way if he were sick, probably worse. Nevertheless, whoever heard of a man stupid enough to come between a premenstrual woman and her chocolate? She shook her head sadly. That’s how people get killed, she thought. Then, Blythe had to admit that she was distracting herself from the matter at hand. Problems like those didn’t make her lose a wink of sleep. What stood before her did. “Six, um, it’s good to see you again.”
“Are you hungry?”
Something told her that was a double entrende, but she pretended not to notice. “No, but thanks for asking,” she replied as they settled into a too intimate bistro set. She looked down at her watch.
“Is he timing you?”
“No.” She refused to bite. “He’s helped me take care of a lot of things today, and I don’t want to keep him away from work for too long.” Brightly colored mosaic tile covered the small tabletop. She kept her head down and picked at a chipped corner. Fried veal cutlets caught her attention, aromatherapy for her Italian nature. In her peripheral vision, she watched a sweaty man with a wide belly sandwich them between a split French roll. On cue, her stomach howled.
“You are hungry.”
He rose to order and she made the mistake of touching his hand to stop him. “I’m fine.”
“Ah, that’s right.” He eased back in his seat with a mulish expression. “You have Ryan to take care of you now.” He cocked his head. “Maybe he doesn’t understand that you need to be waited on instead of cooking the side of beef weighing down your shopping cart.”
That just made her mad. “I’m not going to defend him to you,” she said as if she didn’t care. “Over the years, it has never gotten me anywhere but angry. Say what you need to say and be done with it.” He stared pointedly at her hand until she realized she’d mistakenly kept it on his. When Blythe pulled it away, he curled his fingers around hers and held firm. After that, he started feeling up her ring finger. “I’m not married to him.” She jerked her hand away.
“Just living in sin, then?”
“What?”
“The little shack over his dump of a
“What are you two talking about?” Her voice sounded strange, almost panicked.
There was absolute silence for several long seconds before Sixten swung his flaxen, platinum streaked hair from his forehead. A low oath left his mouth the minute he zeroed in on her throat. “Ryan, what’s the big deal? Can’t you finish your shopping while Blythe and I catch up? She’ll wait for you there.” He nodded in the direction of the deli.
For the first time, Ryan looked uncomfortably nervous. Not to mention a crowd was gathering as though someone threw down the gauntlet on an illegal cockfight. “Honestly, Six, I don’t have anything to say to you.” She threw her hands up in a helpless gesture. “But I’ll listen while Ryan finishes up. Okay?”
He walked ahead of her, giving Blythe a moment to speak to Ryan privately. Before she turned towards the deli, she eyed her best friend intensely and rubbed the deep crease that formed between his eyebrows with her index finger. “I’ll be fine,” she murmured. “By the way, don’t get rid of that candy bar I have hidden underneath those cucumbers, or you’re dead.”
With an obstinate gleam in his eye, he threw a family-sized package of ground beef in her cart for good measure. “I’ll be finished in ten minutes, and then we’re leaving.”
Chapter 6
B lythe slowly closed the distance between her and her former fiancé, wondering where she would be without all the high-handed men who periodically graced her life. Oh, I’d eat Twinkies for sure. Ryan was ruling her with an iron fist. She understood that he was worried about her, and she’d be the same way if he were sick, probably worse. Nevertheless, whoever heard of a man stupid enough to come between a premenstrual woman and her chocolate? She shook her head sadly. That’s how people get killed, she thought. Then, Blythe had to admit that she was distracting herself from the matter at hand. Problems like those didn’t make her lose a wink of sleep. What stood before her did. “Six, um, it’s good to see you again.”
“Are you hungry?”
Something told her that was a double entrende, but she pretended not to notice. “No, but thanks for asking,” she replied as they settled into a too intimate bistro set. She looked down at her watch.
“Is he timing you?”
“No.” She refused to bite. “He’s helped me take care of a lot of things today, and I don’t want to keep him away from work for too long.” Brightly colored mosaic tile covered the small tabletop. She kept her head down and picked at a chipped corner. Fried veal cutlets caught her attention, aromatherapy for her Italian nature. In her peripheral vision, she watched a sweaty man with a wide belly sandwich them between a split French roll. On cue, her stomach howled.
“You are hungry.”
He rose to order and she made the mistake of touching his hand to stop him. “I’m fine.”
“Ah, that’s right.” He eased back in his seat with a mulish expression. “You have Ryan to take care of you now.” He cocked his head. “Maybe he doesn’t understand that you need to be waited on instead of cooking the side of beef weighing down your shopping cart.”
That just made her mad. “I’m not going to defend him to you,” she said as if she didn’t care. “Over the years, it has never gotten me anywhere but angry. Say what you need to say and be done with it.” He stared pointedly at her hand until she realized she’d mistakenly kept it on his. When Blythe pulled it away, he curled his fingers around hers and held firm. After that, he started feeling up her ring finger. “I’m not married to him.” She jerked her hand away.
“Just living in sin, then?”
“What?”
“The little shack over his dump of a
Similar Books
