"You are not going to The Sand Shark?" he asks with a mock gasp and his hand over his heart. "You'll get shanked by those girls if you show up. Men are not allowed."
"Brody ate with them one time," I counter confidently as I walk out of his office and head for the front door.
"Yeah … but I heard a rumor they put poison in his food or something. Maybe it was a laxative, I'm not sure. Just be careful, dude … those girls are dangerous when you encroach on their territory," he says in all seriousness.
"Want to come?" I ask as I step out into the parking lot.
"No fucking way," Hunter says as he prepares to close the door and lock it behind me. "I like my balls intact."
I step into The Sand Shark, do a quick sweep of my eyes, see about ten different people I know, and then pin my gaze at the far back of the restaurant.
Gabby and her kidnapping posse are sitting at a round table that seats five. Her back is to me with Alyssa to her left and Casey to her right. Andrea and Savannah round out the table and are facing my way. As if she can sense me standing there, Andrea's eyes cut over Gabby's shoulder to meet mine.
Her eyes light up in happiness-over seeing me-and it's like a homing beacon. I start walking toward her, nodding distractedly as a few people call out "Good Morning" to me.
It's inevitable, really, that Gabby notices Andrea's attention has gone elsewhere because she's turning in her chair to look my way. Then she's out of her chair and by the time I reach them, her hands are out in front of her and she's saying, "No, Wyatt. Absolutely not. You are not invited, so go away."
I ignore her, step to the right, and start rounding the table, never taking my eyes off Andrea. Her smile lights up and then turns into a big grin.
"Petey," Gabby yells to the short-order cook behind the counter. "Get me your rolling pin. I need to bash this guy on the head."
I hear Babs, the senior waitress and person you do not want to piss off, hiss back at Gabby. "Pipe down, Gabby Ward, or I'm going to tan your hide."
Glancing across the table, I see Gabby sit down in a huff but she still tries to hold me off. "You can't stay, Wyatt. Say hello, give her a kiss, whatever … but then get gone."
I give her a lazy smile and then turn to the table beside theirs. "Hey Mac … Carl," I say to the two men sitting at a four-seater table. "Mind if I borrow a chair?"
"Help yourself," Mac says with a grin, completely enjoying the show.
I slide the chair out and over, pushing it right in between Andrea and Savannah. "Scoot over a bit, Savannah. Give a man a little room to sit next to his girl."
Savannah sighs, because she's definitely a romantic at heart, and dutifully moves over.
When I'm ensconced at the table, I wrap my hand around the back of Andrea's head and pull her to me for a slow, long kiss. I do this mainly to piss Gabby off, but also to hear that little breathy sigh that I know Andrea will give me.
She does, and I release her.
With a bright smile, I turn back and give the women a big smile. Leaning my elbows on the table, I say, "So what are we talking about today?"
Gabby crosses her arms over her chest and gripes, "Men aren't allowed in on our conversation here."
"You let Brody eat with you one time," I shoot back, and I see Alyssa lower her face, covering her mouth with her hand to suppress a laugh.
"He paid for it," Gabby shoots back.
"Yeah … I heard you put laxative in his food or something," I say as I reach over to Andrea's glass of water and pull it toward me for a sip.
"It was poison," Gabby snaps.
"Whatever," I say dismissively. "The point is … I'm staying so I can spend as much time with my girl as possible. Deal with it."
"That's so romantic," Savannah breathes out.
I turn a grateful smile toward her. "Thank you," I say sincerely. "I think so too."
I know this is pissing Gabby off royally, and I know I shouldn't take such immense pleasure from that … but damn it … this is fun.
"Well, you know I think romance is generally for the birds," Casey butts in, "but I spent all day and night yesterday with this man that really tried to woo me with romance. He brought me to his yacht … and there was champagne, flowers, and a personal masseuse. He went all out."
"Wow," Alyssa says in surprise. "I didn't think you'd ever be romanced, Casey."