Page 35 of The Night

Gideon smirked. “Apparently not when you’re with a VIP.” He nodded at Hazel, who’d already taken a seat.

Our table was short a chair, but in the same instant I noticed it, someone stood up from the next table over and moved their chair next to Hazel.

“Thanks, Micah,” Gideon said with a chin lift.

“Sure. Welcome to O’Leary, Liam,” Micah said to me.

“Um. Thanks.” What was with this town being so overly friendly? What was with themknowingwho I was? “You sure you’re not using it?” I asked, nodding at the chair.

“Yep, positive. I’m already late opening the shop. Constantine’s beendistracting.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the guy sitting behind him.

“Hey!” His companion—a guy whose blue eyes reminded me a little of Julian from the night before—glanced up, and the two exchanged a look so hot I nearly gasped. “Do I hear complaining?”

“Nope. But your tardiness will be noted in your annual review. You’ll have to work extra hard if you want that raise.”

Constantine gave him a smile that managed to be angelic and filthy at the same time. “I appreciate the opportunity,boss.”

Micah braced his hand on the back of Constantine’s chair and leaned down to kiss him, Constantine’s hand came up so his fingers could grab at Micah’s shirt just above his waist in this desperate littleclutch-release-clutch-releasemove that was hotter than many a cumshot I’d watched over the years, and when Micah leaned back five seconds later, Constantine looked at him with this expression that just…gah.

Extremely similar to the look Gideon had given me last night.

The whole thing was PG or PG-13 at most, but I felt like I needed a shower. And honestly, was that reallyappropriate? Did a person really need to bevisually assaultedwith a bird’s eye view of everything he wanted and would never, ever havebefore he’d eaten breakfast?

“Sit,” Gideon directed, holding out a chair for me with a vaguely amused expression. “Before you attack someone. What’s got you worked up?”

I huffed out a breath and dropped into the chair.

“Sorry.Sorry.Just, like… have you ever felt like the whole world was full of fu—fa la la-ingsunshine and fairies, and you just wanted to be left alone to be a human pillar of salt?”

“Who, me?” Gideon’s lips twitched, but he shook his head solemnly. “Never.”

“Never, huh?”

“I’m a perpetual ray of sunshine, Liam. Especially around the holidays.”

I snorted and shrugged out of my jacket, noticing that Gideon had already helped Hazel out of hers. “Sorry,” I said again. “Not sure what my problem is today.”

Except I was pretty sure Idid. And it was sitting next to me, watching me with tawny eyes.

“I’d sort of imagined you’d be… relaxedtoday. Did you sleep alright?” Gideon asked, a tiny pucker between his brows. “Bed uncomfortable?”

Yes. The sheets smelled uncomfortably just like you and I was uncomfortably aware that I’d just come down my soon-to-be-ex-husband’s throat and I felt uncomfortably similar to the way I’d felt five years ago.

“Nah,” I said. “It was great.”

“Hey!” Cal appeared next to our table with a tray in his hands. “So, kind of a good news, bad news situation for you.”

Gideon lifted an eyebrow. “What’s the bad news?”

“Wellll, Paul Fine’s sick with the stomach flu. So… still no notary in town.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Really. This wouldn’t be a ploy to get us to stay an extra night?”

Cal winced. “You, ah… you cottoned on to that?”

“Just a little,” I confirmed.

“You’re saying I won’t be nominated for an Oscar?”