Page 61 of Full Out Fiend

“You don’t know her like I do,” Anthony pushes. “You won’t take care of her.”

Fielding doesn’t have time to respond before Anthony’s turning the verbal assault back on me.

“You think this guy’s still going to be interested in you when your hips are even wider and you’re nine months pregnant, Daph?”

Fielding springs into action before I have the wherewithal to hold him back. He gets so close, Anthony trips backward on instinct.

“You’re done,” he hisses through clenched teeth. I swear I can see the veins bulging in his forearms as he makes fists, then flexes his hands back open. “You knownothing. That’s the mother of my child you’re talking about—”

“She’s my fiancée!”

“Ex-fiancée,” I remind him.

Thunder cracks overhead, punctuating the air as both men stare at each other, trembling with pent-up rage.

Someone’s going to snap. I don’t want to let things go any further, but knowing Anthony the way I do, it’s inevitable. I can feel his swelling eagerness as he goads us—he’s desperate for Fielding to hit him, if only so he can sayI told you soand double-down on his claim that the father of my child is a loose cannon. I’m not willing to play his game.

I take a few tentative steps forward, threading my arm through Fielding’s in a clear show of solidarity before pulling back gently. “Let’s go home,” I urge, disregarding Anthony completely.

Just because I don’t want things to escalate doesn’t mean Fielding’s on the same page.

He reaches for my hand and grasps it in his, so I know he heard me. But then he turns back to Anthony. Because of course he does.

“You hear that, asshole?Home. She wants me to take herhome. You made your choice when you decided a Vegas hookup was more enticing than honoring the promises you made to this woman. You’re a goddamn fool.”

I tug on Fielding’s arm. But apparently, he’s not done.

“You think you know me? You know nothing about me. So let me spell it out for you.”

Oh God. This isn’t going to go well. I can feel it. Another boom of thunder rings out—louder this time—amping up the adrenaline in my veins and leaving me lightheaded with chaotic energy. I’m torn between getting out of here as quickly as possible and wanting to know what Fielding has to say.

“This woman here? This woman you couldn’t keep? I see her. I see how gorgeous she is on the outside, how beautiful she is on the inside. All I want to do is get to know her better. Take care of her. Love her if she’ll let me.”

I gulp down a rush of emotion as his words crackle through the tension between the three of us.

“And all that has nothing to do with the baby growing inside her. That’s just a bonus.”

I don’t need to look over at Fielding to know he’s got his chin jutted out in that obnoxious cocksure way. I would be tempted to roll my eyes if he hadn’t just practically declared his love for me.

Anthony is clenching his jaw so hard he looks like he’s about to crack a tooth. I’m a mess as I battle with myself over what to do. Should I pull Fielding away? Do I let him continue? Is it wrong that I desperately want to hear more?

“I know Daphne’s worth. While you were taking advantage of your self-granted “free pass” in Vegas, I was here showing her just how valuable she is. With my hands. With my mouth. With my—”

Good. Grief.

He was about to say cock. The man was literally about to brag to my ex-fiancé about how well-acquainted I am with his dick. For better or for worse, the word never makes it out of Fielding’s mouth because Anthony is charging toward us and throwing a punch before he can finish.

“Enough!” I scream as Fielding careens back, his hand instantly going to his jaw.

“It’s over, Anthony,” I declare. “Don’t contact me again. Don’t try to start shit with my family. We’re done. We’re so done you should forget we even existed.”

I reach for Fielding’s arm and pull him toward the car. As expected, Anthony has to have the last damn word.

“This isn’t over!” he growls. “I’m not giving up! You’re making a huge mistake, Daph. You’ll see.”

Chapter 34— Fielding

The silence is thick as I back out of the driveway and navigate out of her parents’ neighborhood. Leave it to me to take things to the extreme. As if it wasn’t enough to get into a verbal spat with Daphne’s father and consequently demand she move out of his house, I had to antagonize her asshole ex into throwing a pretty decent punch.