Page 142

“Alright. Let’s do it,” I said.

Lorelei clapped excitedly. “Yay!”

“Thank God,” Siani said.

We were outside forty minutes later, dress ordered and alterations scheduled for two weeks out. Lorelei hopped into a black car, and Siani’s Uber was pulling up to the curb.

“Text me later,” Siani said, hugging me. “And eat something, you look like you’re about to pass out.”

I waved her off but right then, my stomach rumbled like it’d heard her. I needed a full meal but all I could think about was Spicy Doritos and a pickle. I hadn’t eaten that combination since I was like fourteen, but suddenly I needed it expeditiously.

Marco rolled down the window of the truck as I approached.

“Give me a minute. I’m gonna grab a snack,” I told him, spotting a convenience store on the corner.

“I’ll come with you,” he said, turning off the car.

“Marco, I’m walking two hundred feet. I’ll be back in like five minutes.”

He frowned. “Five minutes.”

“Thank you!” I turned and started power walking toward the store before he could change his mind.

The store was small and cool inside. The teenage boy at the register barely acknowledged me when I walked in. I found the chip aisle and made a beeline for the Spicy Doritos.

There was a slight shift in the air as the bell over the door rang again.

When I glanced over my shoulder, there was an older man at the other end of the narrow aisle, looking like he was deciding between Cheetos or Hot Fries. He was in his sixties with salt and pepper hair, solidly built for a man his age. He looked way too put together for a deli run in a blue polo and pressed trousers.

He turned and looked at me. Something in his cold gaze made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It wasn’t the once-over he gave me—men did that all the time, and I barely registered it anymore. It was the flicker of recognition in his eyes, like he knew exactly who I was..

“La’Belle Evans,” he said, a smile spreading on his face.

I kept my face neutral. “I know you?”

He set down the chips in his hand and made his way to me.

“No,” he said. “I’m an old family friend of the Montague's.”

“Uh huh.” I tried to play it off like I wasn’t bothered, but his energy was all wrong. “Excuse me.”

“My bad.” He stepped aside but not enough, forcing me to turn sideways to get past him in the narrow aisle.

I went to the register and set the Doritos on the counter, still feeling his eyes on my back.

“Let me get one of those pickles too,” I said to the kid, who finally looked up from his phone to grab a pair of tongs and a piece of parchment paper.

“I got hers,” the man said from behind me.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said.

He moved beside me and pulled out his wallet. “It’s not a problem. I need you to give your fiancé a message for me though.” He leaned close enough that his breath was hot on my neck. “Tell him that anything that’s his can still get touched, including his bitch.” His eyes dragged over me slowly. “Whenever I feel like it.”

“His bitch?” I took my items off the counter and looked at him. “Oh, you must want this nigga to kill you.”

He chuckled. “I’m definitely expecting him to try.”

I gave him a final glance before leaving, making sure to memorize his features.