King(14)
As Evie laughed, sitting down at a table, King sat down next to her. “Where’s Lily?”
“She’s downstairs at the church store with Rachel. Several parishioners brought their donations in today. She’ll be up later.”
When King took a bite of a casserole, his expression had Evie handing him several napkins. She continued eating her own food while he tried to rinse out his mouth with his iced tea.
“Gina made that. Never been to a hometown potluck?”
“No.” His strangled voice had Evie giving him advice.
“Next time, take a small bite until you’re sure if you like it or not. Of course, I do have the hometown advantage and know the best cooks.”
“You knew it was going to taste bad?” King asked, taking another drink of tea.
“I was hoping she was improving. At Christmas, she made a potato casserole that was almost edible. That looked really good; I was waiting to see if it was before I got some. I guess I won’t be making a trip back.”
King’s next bite was tiny as he chewed thoughtfully. “You could have given me a warning.”
“I figured you deserved it after last night.”
“What did I do last night?”
Evie set her fork down. “I haven’t known you long, but I don’t think you seem to be stupid. Unless I’m mistaken.”
“No.” King’s friendliness disappeared into the wind.
“Then don’t act like you don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about.”
“You’re cussing in church?”
“I’m pretty sure God knows you’re an ass.”
King burst into laughter. “You’re right. It’s not like I can hide it.”
“You make no effort to hide your dislike of Shade, and if you don’t cut it out, you’re going to lose Lily as quickly as you decided to finally be a father.”
King’s face turned to granite. “It’s none of your business.”
“Then don’t make snide comments to my friends in front of me. I might not know a lot about you, King, but I’m telling you that Shade loves Lily. He’ll make her a good husband.”
“Does Lily know you’ve fucked her husband?”
Evie almost picked her plate up and threw it at him. Instead, she didn’t show any reaction other than to start rising to her feet.
King grabbed her arm. “Sit down.”
“Take your hand off me now. There’s something you need to know. I’m not intimidated by you, and unlike Lily, I don’t give a damn about you. I was trying to help because I sincerely see you want a relationship with Lily, but I can see now she’s better off not being around you.”
King’s hand dropped to his side. “I’m sorry. I’m too sensitive about Lily and I overreacted. Please, finish eating. I’ll keep quiet.”
“I’ve lost my appetite.” When she got to her feet again, he let her go.
Evie put her plate in the trashcan then left without saying goodbye to Merrick and his wife. She should have escaped when Willa had and saved herself a headache.
“You’re leaving already?” King said from behind her.
She just couldn’t catch a break.
“Yes, I’m going home,” Evie said quickening her step back to her car as King effortlessly kept up.
“Anxious to get back home to all the men?” he said cynically.
Evie came to an abrupt stop. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”
“All right, I will.” His casual stance with his hands in his pant pockets was calm and collected while Evie’s temper was soaring.
“You fuck them all or just certain ones? Do Beth and Lily participate in the orgies?”
Evie’s hand flew up to smack him in the face, but he grabbed her wrist before she could hit him.
“You fucking bastard.” Evie tried to jerk away from him. “It’s none of your business what goes on at the clubhouse. You’re the one who almost got Lily killed. You were the one who was responsible for a killer to put a hit out on her, but you kidnapped her anyway, taking her away from where she was safe and nearly getting her shot. Do women always take the hit for you?”
King’s hand dropped away, his face paling. “I made a mistake. I thought I was keeping her safe. How was I supposed to know the whole town was Fort Knox?”
“If you had taken the time to get to know Lily, then you wouldn’t have jumped ass-first into a situation you couldn’t handle.”
“I was handling it; Digger escaped.”
“Be careful another mistake like that doesn’t happen again, King. It could be the last one you ever make.”