“What are you still doing here?” I crossed my arms across my chest.
Daire threw out a charming smile. Thankfully I didn’t fall for that shit anymore. “Far as I know, it’s still a free country, babe.”
Oh shit, a tidal wave of rage was returning. “Don’t call me babe. You’re not wanted in this town, so I suggest you leave.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Poppy running down the sidewalk, mail flying out of her bag. She nearly ripped the door off its hinges to get inside the coffee shop, ample bosom heaving with the effort.
“Or will Poppy here have to beat you with her mail bag again to get you to leave?” I smirked, finding humor in an elderly mail carrier getting one up on Daire.
Daire’s face drained of color. “You people are crazy, you know that? Just a bunch of lowlifes in a hick town. That’s all you’ll ever be, babe.”
I smiled. “Sounds good to me. At least these ‘lowlifes’ treat me well.” Poppy stood next to me. Polly and Yedda stood behind her. Then Lukas swaggered over and a few other diners stood as well. “Go ahead. Make fun of my town. Look who’s got my back.”
Daire flicked a glance at the crowd behind me, then rolled his eyes. “On second thought, I wanna get out of here before any of the small-town crazy rubs off on me.” He walked to the door and then spun one last time. “Goodbye. At least for now, babe.” Then he winked and walked out.
I lunged to go after his smug ass, but Poppy blocked me with a hip check worthy of the NBA. “Now, now. No use running after trash. You said enough to make him leave. Let him be.”
I growled. Yes, actually growled like a feral animal. “I think I might hate that man. What did I ever see in him?”
Yedda whispered from behind me, “Big dick, probably.”
I snorted, her dirty mouth breaking the tension.
I walked back to my table, putting it all behind me. “Now where’s a donut when you need one?” Yedda snickered as I took a huge bite and closed my eyes in bliss again.
A shadow fell over the table. Opening one eye, I saw Titus standing there, his jaw clenched like he wasn’t happy to see me. His T-shirt was covered in man glitter—Finnie’s funny term for sawdust. A faint trace of blue had formed like an ink blot test on the side of his jaw.
“What happened?”
“Well, hello to you too. Why don’t you have a seat?” I gestured to the chair opposite me. Titus’s lips pinched, but he had a seat. “What’s wrong?”
“You tell me. I get a call from Poppy that Daire’s at Coffee and I need to get my ass down here. What happened?”
I rolled my eyes and threw a look at Poppy, who studiously looked away from me. “I didn’t need your help. I had things handled. I told him to leave. He called me names. He left. End of story.”
Titus’s eyes started glittering and not in the usual sexy way. “You just confronted him? By yourself?”
I put down what was left of my donut. Why couldn’t a girl just eat her pastry in peace?
“Yes, by myself. Because I’m a fully capable adult.”
Titus shook his head, that tough-guy look on his face growing more fierce by the second. I knew that obstinate look. The last time I saw it was the night I showed up for the first time with Daire to a bonfire. Titus had taken one look at Daire’s hand grabbing my ass and there went the face. For a nice guy, he sure could muster up a look of disgust.
“You don’t seem to get it.” Titus’s voice rose with each word that came out of his mouth. “For a guy who treated you like he did, and punched me with very little provocation, he’s just one step away from physically harming you too. Getting up in his face like that, while I’m sure it was highly entertaining for everyone, is just plain irresponsible!”
I didn’t like his tone. Or the fact everyone in the coffee shop was now looking at us while pretending to study their pastries. I didn’t mind an audience, but not when my boyfriend was yelling at me. Talk about embarrassing. I sat up straighter in my chair and gave as good as I was getting.
“Whoa there. I had Yedda, Polly, and Poppy with me!”
Titus’s hand slammed down on the table. “None of whom is under sixty!”
“Hey, watch it, boy,” Poppy warned.
We both swiveled our heads to see her completely engrossed in our argument. She smiled, unashamed of her obvious eavesdropping. “As much as I love a front-row seat, maybe you two should take this somewhere private, huh?”
Titus’s face blanked out immediately and he stood, holding out his hand to me. I took it, standing up, but making sure to grab the rest of my mocha to take with me. A girl always remembers her caffeine source even in a crisis. By the time we got outside, Titus’s face had relaxed a teeny tiny bit. Enough that I thought about dropping my defensive nature a bit too. Maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle of this argument.
Titus led us to the little bench under a tree at the end of the block. Once we’d sat down again, he kept his hand in mine, easing some of my worries about the long-term viability of this relationship.
“I’m just worried about you and you don’t seem to take this situation seriously.”
“I appreciate your worry and hope you know that I can take care of myself and the mess I put myself in by dating that guy. Trust me to take care of it, T.”
He squeezed my hand and took a deep breath, looking away from me for a long
