Page 112 of Slow Hands Cowboy

Walker looked up, eyes pinned on the door.

She looked over her shoulder, just in time to see Jill, her husband and kids, Alan, and Alan’s parents walk into the restaurant.

“Oh, no way.”

She turned her head away.

“We can go somewhere else,” Walker said.

“No, I don’t have to go somewhere else,” Addison said. “He created this situation, not me. And he was a douche last time we saw him, but none of that’s my fault, and it certainly isn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know if I want to see how this is going to play out.”

“Nothing is going to happen. It’ll be just like when we saw Jill at La Befana. They’ll ignore us.”

And that might have happened, except when the waitress came over to take their drink order, she stopped, looked back at the table with Alan and his family, and then whipped her head back around to Walker and Addison. “Oh, my God. You’re the bride. And he’s the guy that got roped. And you’re the guy that did the roping,” she said, theatrically pointing to each of them and speaking loudly enough for everyone in the place to hear.

Addison froze.

“Sorry,” she said. “I just can’t believe it.”

That was when Alan seemed to not be able to pretend he didn’t see them anymore. He looked up, his eyes meeting Addison’s from the table.

Addison shook her head and looked away.

But the other diners were staring. And somebody walked over to their table and asked if they could take a selfie with Walker, who didn’t respond, and the person took a picture standing in front of him anyway.

And that was when Alan lost his temper. He stood up and walked over to the table, looked at Addison, and said, in a low, furious whisper, “I want to talk to you outside.”

“You don’t need to talk to her,” Walker said, standing up, drawing up to his full height, which was at least four inches taller than Alan.

“I do need to talk to her,” Alan said. “She was my fiancée only a month ago.”

“She’s not yours now,” Walker said, his voice feral.

Addison knew she had to separate them. “Yes, you can talk to me. Come on.” She walked quickly out the back door of the restaurant, and Alan followed her. But no sooner had the door closed behind the two of them than Walker was out there, too.

“It’s okay, Walker. I’ve got it.”

“You can have it with me here,” he said. There was something wild in Walker’s eyes, something she’d never seen before.

“You need to leave the restaurant,” Alan said. “I’m trying to celebrate my nephew’s birthday, and this whole circus is embarrassing my family.”

“I guess you shouldn’t have run away from your own wedding,” Walker said, “because from my perspective, you’re the embarrassment. And Addison and I are trying to have dinner.”

“You stay out of it,” Alan said. “If it weren’t for you and your dumb cowboy bullshit, it wouldn’t have turned into this. I can’t go anywhere without people doing that. I can’t go anywhere without people⁠—”

“Calling you out for being the fucking coward that you are?” Walker said, stepping between Alan and Addison and squaring up with him.

Panic arced through Addison’s veins.

“You are nothing,” Walker growled. “You’re a coward. And I’m glad that the whole town knows it. Hell, I’m glad the whole world knows it, because men like you are so small and so insignificant. Men like you, who waste the affection of a good woman, you are the kind of men that shouldn’t be allowed to go out in public. Why should she carry the shame of your bullshit?”

The rage that was emanating from Walker was so intense that Addison had a feeling this wasn’t only about her anymore. There was something else. Another rage that was rising up inside of him, and all she knew was that she needed to do something to keep this from escalating into a fight, because if it became a fight, Walker was going to end up in prison.

“He’s not worth your time,” she said to Walker. But Alan didn’t seem to hear that, and neither did Walker.

“Don’t you have any pride?” Alan asked. “She rejected your ass once. Sure, maybe she wants to fuck you, but that’s all that it is. It’s like your mom and dad all over again, don’t you think? The way that your dad could have her whenever he wanted, but he’d never acknowledge her in public because of what she was. That’s all this is ever going to be.”