Page 61 of Dr. Stone

“Perhaps you’d like to meet the lovely lady who owns your friend’s balls?” Collin suggested with a laugh.

“Be ye warned,” Jake said, somewhat annoyed. “The fucking bark factory this chump adopted for Andie is a little dickhead.”

“Hey, now,” I said.

Jake rolled his eyes, “He hates men! I have no other way to describe it. Every time I walk into a room where he is with Ash and the kids, all he does is rain down barking hell all over me.”

“What kind of dog is it?” John chuckled.

“A bitch-ass yapping hoe, that’s what kind,” Jake said, all of us laughing at how annoyed he was with dog-sitting this weekend.

“A teacup Yorkie,” I said as Jake rolled his eyes.

John laughed. “Oh, hell. You’re screwed.

“Oh, fuck is right,” Collin added. “The smaller the dog, the more obnoxious the yap,” he laughed again and looked at me. “You’re fucked unless you get that boy to respect your ass.”

“A couple of rounds of obedience training wouldn’t hurt, I’m sure,” I said.

“We’ll see about that,” Jake chuckled. “All right, let’s wrap this shit up and get this fucker reunited with his girl so they can take that annoying ass dog out of my house.”

I was excited to go to Jake’s tonight. Enough sitting on the sidelines in this mess. I needed to see for myself how Andie looked and how she felt after that glamorous weekend with Titus. I had to know if I still had a shot at this or if it was time to walk away with whatever self-esteem I had left.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Andie

Titus’s jetlanded close to seven in the evening on Monday night after one last long and delightful day at his resort. The morning after his grand opening began with brunch on Titus’s private terrace with the same friends who shared a table with us at the opening ceremony the night before.

It was all lovely and dreamy, but I struggled to stay present with the people around me. I was just ready to be home. As much as I looked forward to seeing Jace and whatever might come next, I really couldn’t wait to see my son. By the third day away, it always hit me—how much I missed picking him up, seeing his bright eyes light up when he smiled, and hearing those happy little shrieks of his.

That moment was finally coming.

“Thank you again,” I smiled at Titus, who shared the backseat of his car with me. “Whatever will I do without these extravagant weekend getaways, the personal drivers,” I glanced at his driver Edmond, who was on chauffeur duty tonight,and turned back to Titus, “and of course, your handsome self, ensuring I’m treated like a queen?”

“I have no idea,” he smiled, his amber eyes illuminating brightly, “but if Jace can’t figure out how to treat you right, you know I’ll be waiting in the shadows to snatch you up at the first sign I get.”

“You’re too funny,” I said, smiling. “Seriously, Titus, thank you for everything. This has all been a lot of fun and a verydreamyexperience.”

He took my hand in his—his signature romantic gesture—and brought the back of it to his lips, “It’s my wish that you and Jace have a relationship that poets envy and fairytales strive to bring to life, love.”

I shook my head and smiled, “You are a man of very beautiful words, you know that?”

He nodded, his humor displayed in the subtle curve of his closed lips, “Of course I know. How else would I be the man I am today?”

“This is all very true,” I turned to step out of the car after Edmond opened my door, “Titus?” I said before I got out of the vehicle.

“Yes, love?” he answered, pulling his head up from where he glanced down at his phone while I stepped out of the car.

“I know you’ll make some remarkable woman very happy one day.”

“I know I will as well. Thank you for joining me on our adventures, and again, all the best to you and Jace.”

Maybe it was cheesy for me to tell him that, but it was the only thing that came to mind, hoping he’d eventually put his words into action with the right woman. The more I thought about Titus and me, the clearer it became that beneath all the superficial bullshit, we were never really each other’s type.

It was eight thirty by the time I’d arrived at Jake and Ash’s place, only to find a bunch of sleek motorcycles parked and tucked into each other on the driveway.

“What the hell?” I said to myself as I pulled into Ash’s driveway and froze. Three blood-red and sleek Ducati motorcycles were parked diagonally near the garage like they were guarding the place.