check your nipples for hair or something.”
“Don’t be dramatic.” I laughed harder. “You can add milk or cream or whatever to yours.”
“Dramatic?” Kujo asked. “Brother, I feel like I need to shave my tongue.” Kujo stuck his tongue out while raking his teeth over it. “What brand of coffee is that?”
“It’s called Jardin.”
“Christ on a cracker that’s strong.” He tapped his lips as though he thought that would take the taste out of his mouth then exhaled loudly. “How’s Tianna holding up?”
“She’s angry.” I replied. “Other than that, I think she’ll be okay. She wanted to kill him.”
“No offence, but we all want that toad dead.”
“It’s more than that.” I set my mug down and flopped back in my seat. “This man has taken from her—sure, Joseph was an ass, but he was her brother. I don’t think she was prepared for the pain having Solva at her mercy like that would have caused.”
“I have a weird question.” I leaned back and rubbed my eyes for a moment. “And I’d like to think I’ve never been a vain man. But…”
“And you were never the man to beat around the bush either.” Kujo pointed out.
I chuckled. “Do you think Tianna is still in love with Montana?”
“The honest answer is, I don’t know.” Kujo replied. “If I was being completely straight with you, I don’t think she ever really loved him. You can’t cheat on someone you love and besides, like I said before, they were too young to be that serious. We all get into those relationships we think is going to last forever. Most often than not, we go in for all the wrong reasons.”
“Like?”
“I don’t know.” Kujo shrugged. “We see something shinny and think it’s gold. Then the rain comes, and we realize—fool’s gold.”
“Kujo…”
“You do understand what I mean, right?”
I nodded. “It wasn’t real to begin with.”
“That’s right.”
His words echoed through my head and played back to him repeatedly. What if what I was feeling for her was fool’s gold? There were no guarantees when it came to love and the by products of love.
“And.” Kujo’s voice cut through my thoughts and I looked over at him. “Even if she is, nothing will come of it. Listen, she’s here with you, isn’t she?”
“But is that because she had to?”
“I’m sure it started out that way.”
I nodded in agreement and understanding.
“But the two of you have been spending a lot of time together. She’s seen the way you react to things, has had a chance to look at you—truly look at you.” Kujo cleared his throat. “That’s when the realness of whatever you’re both feeling begins to set in. The real, true feelings come from moments together—times when you’re both unguarded.”
“You sound like a romance novel.”
Kujo smiled. “I got the girl, didn’t I?”
“You got the girl.” I chuckled.
“Listen to me, brother.” Kujo met my gaze. “As men, we sit around, and we talk shit. We say things like, I just don’t understand women. And, women are so complicated. They’re not really. See, all women want is for us not be complete dicks. They want us to love them, take out the garbage once in a while and put down the toilet seat. See? Not complicated at all.”
I laughed softly. “When you put it like that.”
“What I’m trying to say is this.” Kujo leaned back. “Don’t overthink this. If you and Tianna are going to work, you can’t bring Montana into the mix. He’s moved on, the world went back to spinning right. Let Tianna find that peace. If you can’t get over the fact that she was with Montana first, then you need to walk away.”
“I can’t walk away.” I admitted. “But thinking she might still have something for Montana—it drives me crazy.”
“Look, here are my two cents.” Kujo leaned in. “There is a risk in every relationship. After all, sometimes they don’t work out and it sucks. But that’s life. What the two of you need to do, is lay your cards on the table—all of them. Figure out what you are to each other and what you want from each other, then go from there. If it works, I’ll dance at your wedding. If not, you lick your wounds and try again.”
Before I could speak again, Tianna joined us and after she was caffeinated, we set to work plotting how to get Solva out of the country and back in US hands. After Hex booked the flight with my private jet, I gave Tianna her phone back. She