Sidecar Crush

Before I could reply, the color drained from Kelvin’s face, leaving him stark white—maybe even a little green. His eyes were on the door and I knew immediately what—or more importantly, who—he must be looking at.

Not two seconds later, our booth was surrounded by Bodines.

Gibson leaned against the table across the aisle. It wasn’t empty, but the couple sitting there just glanced at him and went back to their breakfast. Jonah and Bowie took a slightly more subtle approach and sat at an empty table—facing us. Scarlett joined them, an amused smile on her face.

Jameson crossed his arms and casually leaned against the back of Kelvin’s side of the booth.

“Really?” Kelvin asked, his voice thick with disdain.

Jameson didn’t answer.

“Are these assholes for real?” Kelvin asked.

I glanced around at each of them, my gaze stopping on Jameson. He picked at his fingernails like he was bored.

Clarabell came out with a stack of menus and held them out, offering to anyone who needed one.

“We won’t be needin’ those, sweetheart,” Gibson said.

I sighed. I didn’t need Jameson to fight this battle for me—and I really didn’t need the rest of his family doing it, either. I was about to say something to Jameson, but Kelvin started in again.

“You think you know her?” Kelvin asked, twisting to look up at Jameson. “You don’t get to come in here and speak for her.”

“No one’s speakin’ for Leah Mae,” Jameson said. “She’s perfectly capable of doing that all on her own. We’re just here to make sure you behave yourself is all.”

I bit my bottom lip to keep from smiling. They weren’t here to rescue me, or fight my battle because they didn’t think I could. They were just here to make sure I was okay. And their presence helped. With Jameson and his family backing me up, I felt like I could take on the world. Or, my ex-fiancé-agent, at least.

“This town is insane,” Kelvin muttered under his breath and scooted farther from Jameson.

“No, I’d say what’s insane is you flying all the way to West Virginia because you saw gossip about me with another man,” I said. “You’re the one who kept insisting my so-called relationship with Brock Winston was a good thing. And let’s not forget, you were willing to put me on dating show with not one bachelor, but six.”

Jameson raised his eyebrows. Gibson cracked his knuckles.

Kelvin glanced around, like he didn’t want to talk with so many people around. I didn’t blame him, but I certainly wasn’t going to ask them to leave. I folded my hands in front of me and pressed my lips together, waiting.

He lowered his voice, but of course everyone could still hear him. “Those were strategic decisions for the benefit of your career.”

“My career went down the toilet because of you,” I said. “But you know what? I’m glad. I’m glad everything happened the way it did. Because if things had been different, I might not have realized what a lowlife bottom feeder you really are.”

“Leah, I made you,” he said. “You’d be nothing without me.”

Gibson growled—he actually growled—but Jameson held up a hand and then nodded to me, as if to say it was my move.

“You made me?” I asked. “I made you, asshole. Your agency was nothing before you signed me. I was the one who broke you into high fashion, and you’ve been riding my coattails ever since. Without me, you’d be nothing, and we both know it.”

Someone whistled; I wasn’t sure who, but it might have been Scarlett.

“That’s bullshit,” Kelvin said. “We worked together for everything we had. You can’t just walk away from that.”

“Actually, I can, and I did.”

A vein in Kelvin’s forehead looked like it might burst. “This is what you want? To go back to being a country bumpkin and be this redneck’s whore?”

“Now you’re finished, son,” Jameson said. “You shouldn’t have called her a whore.”

He grabbed Kelvin’s shirt and hauled him out of the booth like a rag doll before Kelvin had a chance to react. Gibson took one side while Jameson held him on the other and a second later, Bowie and Jonah were ahead of them, holding the door open.