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“Fuck him. Hell, we might even have to take out a restraining order to keep him away from us. And we might figure out how to cancel the contracts we have with him. I know our lawyers wrote in a loophole. Do you think it’ll work?”

“I’ll call Devin on Thursday when we’re back in the office. There might be. I know he wouldn’t let us sign one without a termination clause. Good idea, love,” Luka smiled and snagged a kiss.

“Good, we have a plan. Now let’s enjoy the rest of our time off.”

CHAPTER 20

LUKA

The three ofus went back to work for the remaining two days of the week; both B and I worked with our lawyer to cancel the contracts we had with Hale Aalto while Sunshine dealt with the rush of anti-Valentine’s day themed pastries and cookies, and muffins and cakes on Thursday and Friday to celebrate those who were single. It became the talk of the town, and the rush was busier than the romantic day itself.

To relax after a hectic week, I made reservations at a famous Boston steakhouse and we indulged in delicious steak dinners and then a decadent coconut cake.

The executive pastry chef even spared a few moments of her time to speak with Phoenix after he made the offer for her to drop by the bakery anytime, and it would be on him.

The night was exquisite where my two men relaxed, ate their fill, and we left our worries behind.

But my plan for the rest of the night spent naked, in bed, making love to my two men, flew out the window the moment we pulled into the driveway and I spotted a black sports car in the rearview mirror, parking on the street. I’d wondered how Hale would go about forcing his way into a conversation, and it was now apparent a sneak attack would be it.

My first instinct was to get out of the truck before beating Hale until he would need a hospital.

Then I viewed the situation from Phoenix’s perspective.

If I showed anger, then he would win. The entire reason for Hale Aalto’s existence was to get his way, at the very least, to get under people’s skin for his benefit alone, and in the end, make a ton of money from exploiting any weakness he could find. Or what the rest of us call preying on normal human empathy.

I glanced over at both my men and Phoenix gave me the softest smile, melting my heart into a puddle of goo when he realized I wouldn’t lose my temper.

“Don’t get me wrong. I still believe the guy deserves a fist in his face, several times in a row, and then maybe once in the throat for good measure. But showing him any emotion at all is like giving a junkie his next fix. So, like the mature thirty-something I pretend I am on days ending in y, I will get out of the truck, refrain from following through with my knee-jerk reactions, and ignore the man. Are we all in agreement?”

“Yep. Well, until he says something out of this world stupid and then it’s a free for all, and I reserve the right to… well, I’ll think of something horrible to inflict on the man. He’s invading our space after all, without an invitation and express orders from Petal here never to step foot on our property again,” B growled.

Phoenix shrugged, and he said, “Sounds good. But for the record, if anything happens to Hale because you two defended yourselves, I won’t be mad.”

“And you, Sunshine. If he gets close to you, he’s going down.”

“Fuck yeah, he will,” B added.

We piled out of the truck, only to have a seething Hale surge closer with his fists clenched at his sides, chest heaving.

“You fucking left me there?”

I glanced at Phoenix. His posture was relaxed, and there was a tiny smile curving up the side of his mouth. It seemed to mehe’d let go of all the abusive shit his father pulled in the past and refused to take anymore.

He scoffed and said, “Yes, it was such a hardship for you to be laid out in a hospital room for VIP’s with all the care on hand to figure out what was wrong with you, only to understand that you faked your symptoms for attention. Munchausen’s much, father?”

“What are you talking about? I had a fucking heart attack?”

“Yeah, if you did, you wouldn’t be standing here yelling at me. According to Dr. Bradeem, the attending doctor on your case, nothing showed up on the tests, and your blood work came back normal, and there was no stress on your heart whatsoever. I mean, it’s pretty fucking cold, but it’s still pumping.”

Hale huffed and said, “I’m going to sue him for everything he has!”

All of us laughed, and it stopped the furious man dead in his tracks.

“What?”

From one second to the next, Phoenix stood straighter. His expression scared me, even though he directed it at the one man who deserved his ire.

“You can’t sue the doctor who treated you because, after all these years, you havemelisted as your emergency contact, which makes me the next of kin. Because of your oversight, he’s allowed to give me your medical status. Isn’t that weird, Suzy?”