Page 177 of Second Sets Omnibus

“Idiot,” River mumbles.

“Oh God,” I yelp when her thin fingers grab the top of my ear and yank me out of my chair. “Pretty Girl,” I groan, grabbing hold of her wrist and trying to yank her hand from me.

“Excuse us, Rocco. I need to square some things away with Rad here before we finish our dinner,” she says in a sickeningly sweet tone, yanking me forward.

“Take your time, Doll! We’ve got all night,” he calls, waving us along.

“Pretty Girl, I swear!” I groan, hunching over as she drags me through the restaurant with no shame and throws me outside.

“You swear what? Rad!” she shouts, throwing her arms all around.

“I just…”

“You just what?” she shouts, pointing a manicured nail straight into my chest. “What the hell are you doing here? I don’t—” Her eyes lock on someone behind me, and she groans. “You, too?”

“In my defense, he-he dragged me into this,” Callum stutters, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Liar,” I hiss in his direction between clenched teeth. “Don’t let him lie to you, Pretty Girl. He came all on his own with little to no convincing.” I raise a brow when Callum flips me off with a grunt, kicking a foot at the ground.

River pinches the bridge of her nose, stepping back from us. “Just explain this to me. Why are you two here?”

“Ask him,” Callum says softly, eyeing River with hooded eyes. He watches her every damn move, just like I thought he would.

“Ashton,” she hisses my full name, making my heart leap from my chest when she glares at me again.

“Well, fuck! Pretty Girl. I saw that man at your house, and you look like that,” I say, waving a hand up and down her body.

“Like what?” she asks through gritted teeth. “And having a man at my house is none of your damn business! None of my life is your fucking business!” she shouts angrily, turning redder and redder by the second. “You lost that right when you left.”

Swallowing hard, I take in the rage she exudes. My damn heart hurts when she looks between the two of us. This is not how I saw this going. I guess I should have expected it, though. We’re not exactly on good terms right now. I have a lot of making up to do before she’ll jump into my arms again.

“I’m sorry, Pretty Girl,” I say softly. “I…”

“Just because you’re fucking sorry doesn’t mean you have the right to follow me out. This is my private time. I’ve lived without you assfaces for years now. Do you think I’m just going to open my arms and invite you back in?” she asks with moisture blooming in her eyes.

“No.” I shake my head. “That’s not what I expected at all,” I say seriously, taking a step forward. Gripping River’s chin between my thumb and forefinger, I force her to stare into my earnest eyes and really see what I’m saying. “I am sorry. I will prove to you how sorry I am over and over again. I will be your damn tail, following you on all your dates and outings. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, River. That I left you. That I left our fucking baby. That you had to do all this yourself.” Tears burn the back of my eyes when she stares up at me with those wide, moss-green eyes filled to the brim with much-deserved anger. “I’ll never give up on you,” I whisper. “Not again.”

River pulls back, anger twisting her face. “Just leave me alone. I’m your damn boss. Not your girlfriend. Not your romantic interest,” she chokes, bringing a fist to her lips. “I’m going back inside and…”

“Here you go, Doll,” Rocco says, emerging from the door with a grim expression. Handing her a Styrofoam box, he kisses the top of her head with affection, keeping his eyes firmly locked on us. “We’ll postpone this to another time.” Looking between me and Cal he frowns, shaking his head. “Take care of my girl, yeah?” He raises his brow, taking a step away. “Call me later.” With one last wave, Rocco disappears into the shadows, leaving the three of us.

“Wait!” River shouts, turning on her heel and groaning when Rocco’s sports car speeds down the road, leaving her behind. “Well, there goes my ride. And my phone. And my damn purse. This is just great!” she shouts in frustration, clutching the take-home box.

“Who is h-he, Little Star?” Callum asks softly, bringing her attention back to him. Almost.

Her eyes fall to the ground, and she shakes her head, refusing to look at him. There’s something so broken between them, worse than all of us. She can’t even stand to be alone with or look at him.

“Come on, Pretty Girl! Spill the beans. Is that your boyfriend, too? Are we adding him to the firehose brigade? There’s always more room for cocks, I guess. Is he nice? Is he hung…”

“He’s not my fucking boyfriend, you assface!” she shouts, her voice echoing off the surrounding buildings and filling the air with her rage. “Do you think I’ve had a fucking second to have any sort of relationship these past few years?” Her gorgeous chest heaves when she covers her mouth with her fingers and shakes her head like she didn’t mean to yell that. “You think I had any time to date while finishing college, raising a baby, being an intern, and then running my own department?” Pain encases my chest when the first tear falls, and she growls out with frustration, curling her fingers. “I barely had time to think, let alone chase dick.”

“We’re-we’re sorry,” Callum whispers, stepping toward her with a twisted-up expression, dripping with the grief I feel pouring through me.

We weren’t there for her. At all. We fucking abandoned her when she needed us most. Not only did she soar through the clouds, she fucking flew higher than the sun and achieved her goals. Just like we did ours. But the worst part about it is we didn’t do it together like we had planned. We promised to bring her with us and help her start a new life with us out here. We failed her. Miserably.

“You’re sorry?” River asks, shaking her head.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Pretty Girl. We both are. Aren’t we, Callum?” My eyes snap in his direction, catching the emotions building in his gray eyes.