Chapter 22 #2
“No fish on tacos,” she agreed.
She made a humming sound I recognized as meaning she liked what she saw on the menu. I leaned in, kissed her shoulder, and waited.
“Shrimp and scallop pasta sounds good.” She hated fish on tacos but loved seafood pasta and steaks.
“I guess I know what you’re getting,” I said.
“What about you?”
She assumed I was as interested in food as she was. I always played the game because I didn’t want her being self-conscious. “Seafood mac and cheese,” I replied without thinking about it.
She nodded sagely. “Always a good choice.”
I laughed, grabbed her around the waist, and tickled, waiting for her to squeal as she always did. It occurred to me that in a short amount of time, I’d come to live for these moments. What would happen if I didn’t have them any longer? I didn’t want to think about it.
“So, writing…” I kissed her. “We’ll leave early for dinner.”
“Yes.” She sighed happily and traced my cheek with her finger, her trepidation about Joey abandoned. “That sounds like a plan.”
DINNER WENT OFF WITHOUT A HITCH, AND when Bree excused herself to go to the bathroom as the readers started arriving, I made my way to the front of the building. Hayley and Nathan had already arrived and would entertain her until I did what needed to be done.
He would come—Joey. There was no doubt in my mind. I recognized his silhouette the second I saw him crossing the parking lot. His shoulders were slouched, and he scuffed his shoes as he walked. He seemed lost in his own little world.
I wasn’t a fighter. Not even a little. I would fight for Bree to feel safe, however.
I was still preparing myself to confront him when I felt a presence move in at my side. I jolted, briefly worried Bree had tracked me down and would try to talk me out of my plan. It wasn’t Bree, though. It was Nathan.
“What are you doing here?” I blurted. I’d told him to stay inside to watch Bree, but in typical fashion, he hadn’t listened.
His smile was flat. “I’m not going to let you confront that guy without backup.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he silenced me with a headshake. “No. The smart thing to do is have a witness in case he decides to claim you threatened him for no reason.”
I hadn’t gotten that far, but it made sense. “I don’t want Bree to know. She’ll be upset. She doesn’t like people fussing over her.”
For some reason I couldn’t fathom, that made Nathan laugh. “Dude, she’s in there having a very serious talk with your superfan.”
I frowned. “Blair?”
“Yes. Bree is explaining why the bullet points might not be the best way to get the acknowledgment she wants.”
“But why?”
“Are you blind?” Nathan shook his head. “She knows Blair tortures you with her lists. She’s trying to save you.”
Just like I was trying to save her from Joey. “Oh.” This was going to be a tense moment, but I was happy hearing the news. “That’s kind of sweet, huh?”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Yes. You guys are adorable. Let’s deal with this guy and get back to the adorableness, huh?”
I nodded. This had to be done. Bree needed to feel safe. “Yeah. Let’s get it over with.”
Joey didn’t look up until Nathan and I were directly in front of him. He seemed surprised at first then offered up a cocky grin. “Are you boys going to jump me?” It was almost as if he was daring us to do just that.
“No.” I shook my head. “We’re not here to cause trouble.” I’d thought about this long and hard and knew exactly how I wanted to approach things. “I just want to make you aware of something you probably don’t realize.”
I was putting the onus of this situation on him.
He wouldn’t be able to claim that he didn’t know Bree was uncomfortable with his presence.
Especially since Nathan was filming the conversation.
That hadn’t been part of the original plan, but I was grateful he’d thought to do it.
Now we would have proof to show the organizers if Joey did something. We would be able to boot him.
“And what’s that?” Joey folded his arms.
“You’re making Bree uncomfortable. I’m sure that’s not your intention.” I spoke in an utterly reasonable way. “You have to understand that as a man, it’s not okay for you to back her in a corner in a hallway or invade her personal space.”
“Excuse me?” Anger lined Joey’s features.
“Just don’t try to box her off, and if she walks away, let her walk away,” I continued. “This is an event for the readers. We want it to be fun for everybody. That includes the authors.”
Joey glowered at me. He didn’t like being singled out. I honestly didn’t care.
“Thanks for understanding,” I said in a faux-bright voice. “I hope you enjoy your evening.”
With that, Nathan and I turned away from him and headed inside.
It hadn’t been a threat, but it had been a warning.
Joey needed to know we were watching him and no more of his shenanigans would be allowed.
Ideally, he would lose interest and leave.
I doubted that would happen, but now, if he tried to make Bree uncomfortable, we had the video to show the organizers.
I would get him banned if it came to it. I wouldn’t feel bad about it either. I needed her to feel safe. That was my sole goal. However it needed to happen, I would do it. She was that important to me.