he’d gotten progressively worse. What do you think he would’ve done if you’d tried to leave him and he’d been home?” He clenched his teeth just thinking about it. “Without your sister there pointing a gun at his ass, you would’ve been black and blue. I guarantee it.”
Dani stared at him, still a bit wide-eyed. “It was scary.”
“And now you’re letting him hug you?” The calm Orlando had managed to summon was slipping away again.
“It was awkward, Orlando,” she explained as her shoulders slumped in that odd way he’d seen her do often when she was explaining something to him. “He made this whole show of begging and tearing up. Even got down on his knees for a few seconds there. I just wanted to get the hell out of there and in my car. So, when he asked if he could hug me, I just let him so we could be done with it.”
There was a knock at the door and Orlando frowned, turning to it. “Come in.”
“Don’t kill the messenger,” Byron said, holding up his hand. “But De La Hoya’s here. We thought they’d just deliver his car, but he showed up with it. Beast is on his way now.”
“No shit.” Even for something as exciting as this should be, Orlando couldn’t even crack a smile right then. “Alright, I’ll be right down.” He turned back to Dani, curious about one very important thing. “If I hadn’t smelled the cologne, were you planning on telling me about running into him today?”
Dani chewed the corner of her lip in that nervous way he’d seen her do often. “Probably not.” Orlando clenched his jaw in reaction. “I didn’t see the point,” she added quickly.
“Look,” he said, trying his damnedest to remain calm. “I know you and I haven’t discussed the details about what’s happening between us, and the last thing I want is for you to compare me to that controlling fucker. But fair warning, Dani, hearing about you around this asshole, especially now that I know he put his hands on you like he did is gonna piss me off. Every time. But . . .” He held up a finger, wanting this part to be even clearer. “I’m gonna ask you to please not keep it from me. You keeping it from me will only piss me off even more. So, please don’t, okay?”
Dani nodded, and Orlando leaned in and kissed her softly. “I’d hold you longer like I love doing, but that smell is making me nauseous.”
“I’ll stop by my house on my way to yours and change.”
“Thank you.” He was finally able to crack a very tight smile as he grabbed the baby’s things. “I’ll help you out to the car with all this.” Orlando didn’t miss the way the guys watched them as they made their way out of the shop. Clearly, they’d seen their embrace and him kissing her earlier. When they reached her car after getting the baby in the car seat, Orlando made a point of pulling her to him and kissing her deeply again. He knew the guys would likely still be watching, and he wanted this out there already.
“This is new.” She licked her lips, squeezing his arm and motioning to the window.
Orlando turned to see the guys gawking, including Nine. He turned back to Dani. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“Not at all. Just surprised me.”
Shrugging, Orlando smirked. “Yeah, I got to thinking, why the hell should we hide it from anyone? We’re two grown-ass adults and now these fuckers will have to answer to me if they keep trying to throw the moves on you.” Her tinging face made him smile.
“No one’s ever tried to throw the moves on me, Orlando.”
“The hell they haven’t. I’d make out with you right here right now to really drive my message across, but seriously . . .” He frowned as the stench of the cologne hit him again. “Go home and throw that blouse away, please. I’ll buy you another one.”
She giggled now, looking playfully remorseful. “I will.”
He laid another long deep kiss on her before he walked away, knowing he’d have a million nosey inquiries as soon as he got back in the shop.
Chapter 23
Orlando
It’d been weeks since Orlando had stopped trying to pretend his ass wasn’t as sprung as he felt. Everybody at the shop knew now that they were together, but he’d still tried, for the sake of not spooking Dani, to tone down what he was feeling. Only