She stared up at Tate then nodded and opened her purse.
“You…” she muttered as she dug through her purse. “You…” She pulled out her phone and then looked at me, her phone in her hand, her eyes moved to my lap and back up. “You fell apart when Brad left.”
“Tate put me back together.” I leaned into an elbow on the bar and looked at Tate. “Didn’t you, baby?”
I could tell with just a glance Tate wasn’t having near as much fun as me.
I knew this for certain when he ordered, “Get her to call him.”
“All right, Captain, calm down,” I muttered and then to Hayley I said, “You better hurry up and call him.”
“Hayley?” I heard Brad call, my eyes went beyond her as she twisted on her stool to look and we saw Brad in another golf shirt, a pair of chinos and his eyes were glued to Hayley. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Out,” Tate growled and Brad’s eyes flicked to him but he still walked to Hayley and me.
“I asked, what the fuck are you doing here?” he asked Hayley.
She stared up at him, her fear gone, her face getting hard and she stated, “You said you wanted her back and I couldn’t believe it. I heard you were on your way up here and I had to come see for myself and I still don’t believe it.” She leaned forward and finished with, “You can’t honestly want her. She’s a waitress!”
Well, there you go. Nothing had changed with Hayley.
“And you can’t honestly believe you could fuck around on me and think I’d want you,” Brad shot back.
Hmm. It appeared something had changed with Brad.
I settled back to watch the show as Hayley crossed her arms on her chest and snapped, “You told me you loved me and always would.”
I leaned in and shared, “He said that to me too.”
Jim-Billy guffawed. Brad glared at Jim-Billy. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tate move and I turned to him.
“Don’t, honey, please?” I asked. “This is fun.”
Tate stopped moving, stared at me a second, his eyes roaming my face, then he muttered, “You get five minutes of fun, Ace, then you get both their asses out of here.”
Hayley was focused, Tate and my exchange was lost on her, she got up from her stool and repeated to Brad, “You told me you loved me and always would.”
Brad ignored Hayley and looked at me, he did a top to toe and back again then his gaze moved to Tate.
“I’m here to tell you I’m suing you,” he announced.
Jim-Billy, Nadine, Steg, Wing and my eyes moved to Tate.
Tate stared at Brad then he said, “Come again?”
“I’m suing you,” Brad repeated.
“For what?” Tate asked.
“Alienation of affection,” Brad answered.
Without hesitation, Tate threw his head back and burst out laughing.
Then he looked at me and remarked, “You’re right, babe, this is fun.”
Ignoring Tate’s comment, Brad declared, “You stole my wife.”
Tate looked back at Brad. “Yeah, bud, I did.”
Brad pointed at Tate and his voice was raised when he proclaimed, “See? You admit it.” He threw his arm out. “I have witnesses.”
“Not that any judge’ll hear your case, seein’ as Lauren divorced your ass before I alienated her affection, but you manage it, I’ll pay the fine. In the meantime, I’ll keep alienating her affection. You should know, and feel free to share it with your lawyers,” Tate continued magnanimously, “schedule’s comin’ out mornin’ and night. Usually, in the mornin’, she sucks me off or I make her come in the shower. Night, man… shit, that’s even better. Definitely worth the fine.”
I rolled my eyes (mostly in an effort to ignore the fact that Jim-Billy, Nadine, Steg and Wings were all grinning at me, the men somewhat lasciviously, Nadine just happily) but Brad glowered at Tate then his eyes moved to me.
“Honest, Ree? Is that filth what you like?”
“Oh yeah,” I muttered the God’s honest truth and heard Nadine, Steg and Wings all chuckle but Jim-Billy guffawed.
Brad glared at me then looked at Tate. “I’m moving to have the divorce declared null and void.”
I felt my body tense, unsure if this was even possible and hoping to God it wasn’t but Tate didn’t seem concerned.
I knew this when he replied, “Good luck with that.”
“Ree didn’t want the divorce until she came up here and met you,” Brad went on.
“Maybe not but you should know before you drop a shitload of cake on this crap, she’s glad she’s got it now,” Tate returned.
“You’ve brainwashed her,” Brad shot back, Jim-Billy guffawed again, I stared at Brad in stupefied disbelief at the mind-boggling extent of his conceit and he continued. “I get her away from you, we’ll find our way back, she said so.”
“Yeah, that was before. Since…” Tate paused, leaned in, fists again wide to his sides and in the bar. “Since, she’s tasted the good life and she knows you’ll never give her that.”