“And you’re a man with great taste in Scotch,” Killian adds, rolling his eyes. “Brings me a gift and bugs me to open it so he can have some.”
“I do have excellent taste. So does Killian,” Guy says, looking at me with his signature flirtatious grin.
I laugh.
“Watch it,” Killian warns, but there’s playfulness there.
“Hey, so didn’t I see you with Heidi the other day at the mall? Are you two an item now?”
Guy frowns. “Heidi? No.” He scratches his temple and shakes his head. “Heidi from Genesis you mean? Wasn’t me.”
“Oh, could’ve sworn that I saw her getting in a car with you. Maybe you have an evil doppelganger.”
“Or a good one,” he adds, “And I’m the evil one.”
I laugh.
“You wanna let go of my wife now, Guy?” Killian says. “If there’s gonna be a Guinness World record broken for the world’s longest hug it is not being be broken with you and my woman.”
“Since she’s getting felt up by him, can I feel you up?” Brit asks, getting right in our space and then wraps her arms around Killian and goes for his butt with both hands.
I quickly pull out of Guy’s hold and grab a handful of her hair at the back, hauling her off him.
I hear, “Oh fuck,” from Susanna and then spot Wesley moving in from the corner of my eyes. I didn’t even know Wesley was still here. Brit squeals in pain as I pull her hair down, so we’re face to face. She’s a lot taller than me but we’re eye-level now.
“Listen, bitch,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Whoa, baby,” Killian says and gently detaches my hand from Brit’s hair. “Time to call it a night, I’d say,” Killian says. “Guy can you have a hostess call Susanna and Brit a taxi?”
“I’ll drive ‘em home,” Wesley offers.
“Thanks, man,” Killian says and shakes his head.
Brit’s red-faced. “What is your fucking problem?” She goes to get in my face, and Killian steps between us, facing off with her. “Back off, Brit.”
“C’mon, Brit. Out. Sorry, babes,” Susanna aims an apologetic expression at me.
“Nothin’ for you to be sorry about, Suse. She’s the sorry bitch,” I say. “And if you put your hands on my husband again, you’ll be a bald and choking bitch because I’ll rip all that hair out of your scalp and then I’ll feed it to you.”
Brit gasps in shock, like I’m totally out of line.
“Sorry,” Suse whispers, but her eyes are dancing with mirth. “I’ll call you after.” She drags her the other way. Wesley follows them.
I turn my back on them and look to Killian at my side. His face is alight with amusement. So is Guy’s.
I blow my hair out of my face. “Can we go home now? And can someone help load my gifts into the car? There’s a whack of lingerie there for you to choose from, Killian.”
His smile widens. “My ride’s already loaded.”
“Good. I’m so glad my mom already left,” I mutter.
“Feisty,” Guy says, eyeballing me with amusement. “You’re a lucky man, Kill.”
“’Night, Guy. Thanks again for the bottle. Have a good week off.”
“My pleasure. Thanks for the generous Christmas bonus. Happy Holidays, Vi.” Guy waves.
“Merry Christmas,” I say, avoiding the urge to cringe. Ray is the only male who ever calls me that. Susanna does occasionally and it doesn’t bother me when it’s coming from her, but I don’t like it otherwise. Not anymore, at least.
I’ve just stood up for myself with her kind of floors me. I’ve never reacted that way to anyone. What was that from me? A surge of pregnancy hormones? That
“Let’s get you home, baby,” Killian says softly into my ear. “Fuckin’ wish the doctor’s appointment was today so we could find out if it’s safe to work out this sass you’ve got.”
I lean in. “That’s okay, honey. There’s always butt stuff.”
He does a double take.
I shrug. “That ought to solve the problem.”
Killian tags my purse and coat in one hand, grabs my hand with the other, and is pulling me toward the door.
“Ready to go, I take it?” I ask nonchalantly.
“Fuckin’ checkered flags waving me toward our bed, beautiful.” He looks up at the sky as we head through the parking lot. “Nan, if you’re in control up there, give me all green lights to get us home, then cover your eyes with your wings for the rest of the night.”
I laugh.
He opens the door for me. All my gifts are already loaded into the SUV. Brit gave me a gift card for a lingerie store but based on how her behavior devolved through the evening, she’s getting that back.
My phone pings twice in a row.
I lift it as Killian starts the SUV.
Susanna: I’m so ducking sorry about Brit – she just got dumped and drowned herself in her misery tonight. But holy shit I’m a little in awe of your reaction. So proud of you babe. High five!