“Congrats, man,” Tony said. “It’s a good thing we already did your bachelor party, huh?”
My stomach lurched, remembering that night, for more reasons than one. “Yeah, I’m not sure I’d be too useful if that happened tonight.”
Tony let out a big belly laugh. “And I certainly wouldn’t be able to attend. At least not without two strippers on my arm.” He winked at me.
I knew that wouldn’t happen even if my bachelor party was tonight. Tony was Sienna’s date, and like hell would she allow herself to be replaced by strippers.
“So, Sienna is at home?” I asked.
“I think so. You should call to make sure.”
“I’ll do that, thanks, Tony.”
“Anytime, man. See you tomorrow and good luck with everything.”
I nodded and left the way I came in. Other than me dragging Sienna out for wedding stuff, she rarely left work early. I wondered what the Lamontes had said to her, if anything. Maybe she had a doctor’s appointment that she didn’t want to tell Tony about. Woman stuff, or something like that.
I hoped she was home, though. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to last without clearing the air between us.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sienna
After a rough night of non-sleep, I decided to go to work on Friday with a new outlook on life. My days of getting into Parker’s business were over. If he was going to make the biggest mistake of his life by marrying a gold-digging cheater, then that was his problem. Not mine.
It was no surprise to see a lack of texts or phone calls from him. He didn’t believe me, and that was his fault. I’d tried my best, and now we were going to go through the motions of this wedding a day from now.
When I arrived at Sunny’s, I wasn’t surprised to see Tony sitting on the back steps waiting for me. I got out of my car and strolled over to him with a big smile on my face.
“What’s in your mouth?” I asked. He was chewing on something. I hoped he hadn’t switched to chewing tobacco. I was sure to give him shit about that, too.
Tony held a toothpick in his hand and flicked it as if it were a cigarette. “I was sick and tired of you yelling at me.”
“Aww,” I said and patted his cheek. “You really do care about living a full and happy life.”
“I dunno about happy; cigarettes made me happy.”
“Trust me, once your withdrawals are over, you will feel a million times better.”
Tony stood up. “Yeah, yeah. What I’m craving right now is a stack of flapjacks.”
“I can make that happen.” I preened at him. Him quitting had totally made my morning. And after the shit night I’d had, I needed a boost like this to get me through the day. I tried not to think about ho
w hard it was going to be to get through tomorrow at Parker’s wedding. I shoved the thoughts away. I’d deal with that when it came up.
I unlocked the door and we went inside. I hung my bag from the hook by the door.
I shivered at the arctic temperature in the room. “Shit, did we leave the air conditioning on last night?”
Tony went into the dining area and checked the thermostat. “Yup.”
My head had been a mess after learning about Rachel cheating on Parker. I wondered what else I’d forgotten to do.
“I’m sure when we start cooking it will heat up in here,” he said.
I hoped so. It was warm outside, but not warm enough to warrant the chilly temperature in my restaurant.
“So, did you talk to Parker?” Tony asked, coming back into the kitchen.