Man of My Dreams(82)

My hands forgo the pink, pierced flesh, scrambling to touch something. They settle for chunks of her hair. As they tangle their way into the silky strands, our lips collide. It’s ravenous, greedy, gluttonous. With the first flick of her slippery tongue I feel the metal bar bell. The rest of my body reacts to the beauty of the foreign object.

Foreign. Strange. Different. Not Mia.

“Stop! No! I can’t do this.” I push her off, as gently as possible, grabbing the sheet and standing up on wobbly feet. “I’m sorry, Samantha. I should have never…I have to go.”

I retrieve my crumpled clothes, quickly put them back on. I ignore the stunned masseuse as I rush out and slam the door behind me.

What the fuck have I done?

Poor, beautiful Mia.

Cara and Charlie.

What the fuck did I just do?





When the lights come back on and the crowd stops clapping, Noah is the first to speak. “What’s going on, Mia?”

I’m still turned away from him, facing the stage, and I can’t bring myself to look in his direction. Between the shock, the embarrassment, the guilt—I’m not so sure myself what’s going on here. The facts are simple: I’m on a date with Noah and my husband just showed up and rocked open mic night. And although I said simple, the word doesn’t always mean the opposite of complex. The whys are a whole different ball of wax. What does this mean? Why is he here? Why now?

Declan exits the stage, returns the mic to the MC, and starts to walk over to our table with both hands in his pockets. He’s so nonchalant and casual, it’s like he’s had this whole thing planned out.

I turn to face Noah, regretting the eye contact as soon as we make it. The excitement that danced around in his emerald stunners when he asked me to spend the summer with him has vanished, it’s replaced with an unsettling apprehension. And as Declan steps closer and closer to us, the apprehension turns into rage.

I wish I could just get up and run away. Let the two of them handle this without me. Or, better yet, maybe Grace and the nose she likes to stick where it doesn’t belong can make this all disappear.

But running is not an option. It’s not fair to Noah. So I give him the explanation he deserves. “That’s my husband. Declan.”

Noah’s eyes grow wide and his expression sours even more. I wish I could read him better, but we haven’t spent enough time together yet for me to know all his idiosyncrasies. It doesn’t take years together, though, to see that he is not happy right now.

As Declan approaches, Noah stands, making me very uncomfortable. The bar is noisy with music and chatter so we go unnoticed. Just an ordinary meeting between two hot men, right? Yeah, okay. I’m sure it’s every day a woman has to introduce her husband to the man she’s been dating. Why is this happening to me? I dart my angry eyes in Grace’s direction. She’s got to stop doing this! I can handle my own life. It’s confrontation I can’t handle. And forget confrontation—I sense this is going to be an all out brawl.

Declan reaches over my head and extends his palm to Noah. “Declan. I assume you’re Noah.” He’s trying so hard to be cordial, but then again he really isn’t. His icy blue stare might sear a hole through Noah’s head if he keeps eyeing him like that.

Noah doesn’t raise his hand to meet Declan’s. He just stares right back at him with a jaw clenched so tight his teeth could start to pulverize. Awesome. We’re off to a great start. I guess this is my cue to intervene.

“Declan, what are you doing here? Couldn’t you wait until another time to talk to me?”

Declan never takes his eyes off Noah. Not even when he speaks to me. “No, I got tired of waiting. You needed to hear this now. He,” he spits the word out in disgust, while jutting his chin in Noah’s direction, “needed to hear this now.”

Noah sports a tough-guy smirk, arching an aggravated eyebrow. “Oh, is that so? And what is it that I needed to hear, Declan? ‘Cause if you think you’re going to barge in here and make it like I’m treading on your turf—you got some set of balls. She doesn’t belong to you, you know that? You threw her away the minute you cheated on her. And she deserves better.”

If those aren’t fighting words I don’t know what are, but either way it’s quite a mouthful, and I think Noah just stepped over the line, even if he is only trying to defend me. “Noah…” I place my hand on his, hoping to grab his attention and calm him down, but Declan jumps in and interrupts.

“No, you have some set of balls—talking to me like you know me, like you know jack about my marriage.” Declan steps closer, shaking his head and huffing. “You know what, that’s none of your business and I’m not here to explain myself to you. I’m here for Mia. I’m here to fight for what’s mine. For my wife. I want her back and you’re obviously in my way.”