Page 23 of Truck Stop Tempest
He didn’t wait for me to answer before jogging through the double doors toward Slade’s office.
A strange rumble rose from Erik’s chest.
Lucia made a funny noise, and I looked down at her hair, all fuzzy and soft, and the dark shade of her skin. Her green eyes widened when they met mine and her chubby face cracked in a wide grin, effectively cracking something in my chest.
“What the fuck you been doing here, Tuuli? Making friends?” Erik mumbled.
My heartbeat thrummed loud between my ears. I was so angry I wanted to scratch his eyes out or grab a fork and stab him in the throat. Even though the counter separated us, I took another step away from the horrid man.
Tucker burst back into the room. “Thanks,” he said, snatching his daughter from my arms. “I had to grab some papers from the office.” He took Erik in, shifted Lucia against his chest, and stepped around the counter to offer his hand. “Tucker Slade.”
Erik straightened his shoulders and acted the gentleman, shaking Tucker’s offered palm. “Erik Meyer.”
“You Tuuli’s brother?” Tucker asked innocently. “You two look almost identical.”
Horrified, I sucked in a breath and waited for the inevitable explosion.
Eerily calm, Erik laughed. “No, sir.” He shot a glance at me.
The cowbell rattled again, but I didn’t look to see who had entered.
Erik continued his exchange with Tucker, stating, “I’m Tuuli’s fiancé.” He then rapped his knuckles on the counter, said, “See you tomorrow, love,” and headed toward the door, leading my gaze to the mountain of rage standing behind him.
Tito’s molten eyes bore a hole straight through me.
As Erik made his exit, Aida and Slade came through the door. I stood, speechless, disgusted, and dangerously close to fainting.
Without so much as a word, or a grunt, or even a disappointed grimace, Tito turned on his heel and left.
“Hi, Tuuli,” Slade grabbed her niece from her brother’s arms. “Who was that hottie?”
“Her fiancé,” Tucker chimed in.
My stomach roiled. That cheesy grin would’ve been gorgeous if he hadn’t been talking about Erik.
Aida crossed her arms and quirked one of her perfectly formed brows at me. Although she’d been nicer to me since she’d given birth, I was still terrified of the woman.
“He’s not my fiancé,” I said. “The jerk refuses to take no for an answer.”
“Explain,” Aida ordered.
My drama was nobody’s business. Deep down I knew that, but I’d been raised to obey. So, obey, I did. “We went to school together. He’s been after me since we were kids. That’s all. Erik is used to getting what he wants. He hasn’t figured out that I’m a person, not an object.”
Aida eyed me suspiciously, making my skin crawl. Then again, she always looked at me like she knew my life was a lie. What I couldn’t figure out was why she hadn’t confronted me.
“Good,” Slade said, peppering the baby with kisses. “Clean-cut suits are not your type.” She lifted her head and winked at me like we shared a secret.
Aida, of course, not missing a beat, asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I suspect she’s more attracted to the tall, dark, and brooding type,” Slade said. “Right, Tuuli?”
I chose that moment to grab the coffee pots, decaf and regular, and start my rounds. I also chose to ignore Aida when she blurted, “Tits? Oh, hell no. He’d destroy the little mouse.” I also ignored the snickers, and ssh’s coming from Tucker and Slade.
I ignored them because their opinions didn’t matter. At least, that’s what I tried to tell myself. Truth? Maybe they mattered too much. Perhaps I feared they believed me unworthy of Tito.
So, I tried to convince myself that they didn’t matter.
And Aida’s words didn’t cut deep.