Chapter Thirty-One
Liam
Walking down one of the streets lined with local businesses, I wave at Sav, the owner of the female-run brewery.
Our group stops by Clear Horizons Brewery fairly often for a quick bite and drink.
I learned that the hotel in La Jolla isn’t the only restaurant Calypso has helped curate a menu for.
There are only appetizers at the brewery, but like the hotel, they credit her.
Since the cruise last weekend, things have been mostly calm with the exception of the large bouquet of black dahlias left at our front door from none other than Stefan himself.
The note he left said he hoped she was having a good vacation, and that they should talk when she’s back.
I took the note and flowers straight to the trash while Calypso called Mia; I think we were both surprised by how easily Calypso accepted the help.
The downside of that means she’s more unsettled by his presence.
Mia reached back out to her PI contact, lighting a fire under his ass to get back to us sooner rather than later.
We’re still waiting, and my concern for Calypso continues to grow.
She’s clearly dealing with her own shit when it comes to Vivi’s wedding and I can only assume the should-be joyous occasion will garner his attention.
I’m doing my best to prepare for it—to block some of his rampage and make sure as few of his blows hit Calypso as possible.
Speaking of the devil, Stefan comes around the corner as I’m about to cross the street to The Loop. He looks disinterested in his surroundings, until he does a double take and slowly stops in front of me.
“Lenny, was it?” he asks with a deprecating smirk.
I nod. “Yeah, man, that’s it.”
The look he’s sporting instantly drops when I don’t take the bait. Truthfully, I don’t give a fuck if he knows my name or not, but we both know he does.
Looking over my shoulder, he takes in the large, crowded seating area across the street. “I see you’re meeting my ex-wife for lunch.”
Crossing my arms, I broaden my stance and straighten. He’s only about two inches shorter than me, but to a man like Stefan, that may as well make him five inches tall.
“I’m not—I’ll be seeing her this evening.”
I don’t mean for it to sound as suggestive as it does, but fuck it.
He can take it however he wants. I would never disrespect Calypso, but I also fucking hate the way he talks as if he owns her.
Marriage doesn’t equal ownership, and entitled men who act like it does are one of my biggest annoyances in this world.
His upper lip twitches. “Maybe I’ll go pay her a visit, then. Sure, Ruby’s younger, and arguably hotter, than Calypso. But I do miss when she’d cook before fucking me like the slut she is.”
Taking a step forward, until we’re nearly chest to chest, I tell him, “You’re a small-dicked piece of shit who doesn’t deserve either wife you’ve somehow managed to get.”
Stefan hasn’t tried going back to Brighter Daze since his one attempt a few weeks ago, but the thought still has me on edge. I don’t want to tell Calypso what she can or can’t do, especially when it comes to being at her own business, but I didn’t like hearing that he went in.
Calypso swore that Gavin or Chuck are always in the store, and neither would tolerate Stefan’s presence. It did calm my nerves, but it’s partly why I still stop by the store almost every day despite living together.
Plus, I can barely go a few hours without seeing her, now. I really am addicted.
“Doesn’t matter if I ‘deserve’ them when I own th—” he starts but is cut off when my knee comes up and nails him in the balls.
“Sorry, man,” I say easily, but inside I’m seething, and take a step around him. “You should watch where you’re walking.”
He cups himself and falls against the wall of a small tourist shop called Just Visiting. The older woman who is sweeping the sidewalk outside the entrance looks at him and calls out, “No loitering!”
Stefan growls and tries to stand. “Sally, he just assaulted me.”
She looks right at me then shakes her head. “I didn’t see anything except you harassing Calypso’s new boyfriend on the street.”
My brows flick up, suddenly understanding why this random woman stuck up for me. Calypso is still surprised by how much our little plan has worked, but I experience the benefits of it every day.
“Fuck this,” he spits at her and shoves past me, still limping from my hit.
Turning toward the woman, I shrug helplessly and say, “Sorry about that.”
She waves her hand in the air. “Nothing he didn’t deserve.”
Without another word, she walks back into her shop but I actually feel a little bit better. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten in a fight—at least a decade. It’s not something I want to make a habit again.
I have to say though, that felt fucking good.
Taking out my phone, I wait for the light to change to walk.
Me: I need to tell you something
Calypso: …ok?
Me: Ran into Stefan while walking to meet Lucas and I kneed him in the nuts
The typing bubbles appear and disappear a couple times before my phone rings with a FaceTime call.
Answering it with a smile, I catch the light and greet her, “Hey, honey.”
I’m surprised to see two faces in the frame.
“Nice to see you, handsome,” Lexi teases before Calypso shoulders her out of view.
“Ignore her,” she demands but there’s amusement in her voice. “What do you mean you kneed Stefan in the nuts?” She can barely get the words out without snickering.
I sit on the wall surrounding The Loop and quickly give her a play-by-play. I don’t specify what he said about her, and she doesn’t ask. Her giddiness is palpable by the time I finish the story.
“That is… amazing,” Lexi sighs out. “It might even beat the time I threw an iced coffee at Vivi’s ex.”
Calypso’s eyes are twinkling as she looks at me and says, “Yeah, it’s definitely up there.”
There’s muffled talking on the other end but all I catch is Lexi stepping away to help a customer. She quickly says she’ll see me later and leaves the call.
When it’s just Calypso and me, she’s still staring at me like I hang the stars in the sky.
Chuckling, I grin at her. “You know, I thought you’d be angry. Not turned on.”
“Why would I ever be angry about this?” she asks, amused. “I’ve never had someone defend my honor before.”
Smirking, I say, “Oh, so now you don’t mind if I ‘protect you or whatever’?” I’m teasing her about the first night we met, when I stepped in when that creep wouldn’t leave.
She twists her lips to the side. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You did that just as much for yourself as you did it for me.”
Maybe a small part of it was for me—though I expect there to be a problem later because of it. The majority of it was for the strawberry blonde goddess whose spell I’ve fallen under.
“He deserved it.” No point arguing about that fact. “And a woman named Sally was my witness that nothing happened.”
Calypso chuckles. “I worked at the tourist shop during the summers; I know Sally and her broom well.”
My lips lift, starting to appreciate how predictable this town can be.
“Are you still meeting Lucas for lunch?” she asks.
“Yeah, I just stopped to text you but he’s waiting for me.”
“Go enjoy lunch, and I’ll see you after work?” She frames it as a question, like I wouldn’t crawl across the entire state to get to her.
“I’ll be there to pick you and the cakes up,” I say with a wink. “Bye, honey.”
She doesn’t say anything, just smiling and waving before the screen goes black.
Hoping the rest of the day goes by quickly, I find Lucas and tell him about my run-in over tacos. He agrees that things with Stefan feel too calm, like something is coming, but neither of us can predict what.
I’ll be here for Calypso when the time comes.
I’ve been on edge since running into Stefan earlier. The satisfaction of seeing him almost crumble to the ground is still pumping through me, but so is something darker—more possessive.
All afternoon, Calypso was all I could think about. Never in a million years would she go back to Stefan—I know that for a fact. It drives me up a fucking wall to know he ever had her to begin with. That a piece of shit like him was ever lucky enough to touch her at all.
If it were up to me, no one else would take up a second of her time ever again. I feel like a fucking caveman, which has never happened before.
Calypso, mine. Bed, mine. House, mine. Mine, mine, mine.
Jesus fucking Christ.
I enter Brighter Daze, waving at Gavin and some of the employees I’ve gotten to know, but make a beeline straight to the back. The door swings open, banging on the metal counter. Calypso is expecting me, but she looks up in surprise at the loud noise.
“Hey, bab—”
I cut her off when I grab her cheeks and lay a fat, sloppy kiss on her lips. She scrunches her nose and pushes me away with her elbow, laughing. She has a piping bag in hand and is currently finishing Jo’s birthday cake.
I insisted Calypso didn’t need to make one, but she wouldn’t hear it. My sister’s going to love it.
“Hi, honey,” I say, still holding her mouth to mine. “How was your day?”
Pulling out of my hold, she raises her eyebrows. “Good, but clearly not as good as yours.”
Smiling, I shrug. “It was eventful, but I missed you.”
She rolls her eyes, turning her focus back to the cake. With a side-eye glance, she quietly admits, “I missed you too.”
I wrap an arm around her waist and hold her back close to my front. “Can you say that again? Maybe louder?”
She shakes her head with a smirk. “How about I get on the rooftop and yell it to the town?”
“You wouldn’t hear me complaining, but just saying it again would be enough.” I kiss her neck and a soft, breathy moan falls from her lips in response.
Tilting her head toward me, she whispers, “I missed you, babe.” It’s even lower than the first time, but her lips brush against mine, like a secret only for me.
I lean forward, ready to deepen the kiss she’s teasing me with, but her elbow comes up and pushes into my ribs.