Page 155 of Little Sunshine

I was done.

It was time to go get my sunshine.

Avoiding anyone who’d want to talk, I hurried to Moonlight’s French restaurant, Parisian Crescent.

It didn’t take me long to find Mila. I just followed the sound of her sweet laughter.

Sitting in a corner booth, she had a huge slice of cake in front of her.

Freddy likes her.

Juliet sat on the other with her own piece of cake. I didn’t need to be close to know it was funfetti. Freddy leaned on the table, telling them something they clearly found hilarious.

Marco stood near the table, and Elliot was a little farther away, giving the women space like I’d instructed. I walked over to check in with him and let him know he could take off for the day. Even though he’d been the one to volunteer for Mila duty that day, I asked, “You good?”

“Fine, why?”

“Just making sure you get that this isn’t a punishment or mandatory. I asked because Miles and Marco both said they trusted you.”

I wasn’t sure if the poor bastard had never received a compliment before, but he looked like he might cry.

“I’m happy to do it anytime, and I take it as an honor. I know it’s an important job you’re entrusting me with.”

That was an understatement since, to me, keeping Mila safe was the most important job.

He smiled. “Plus, it beats chasing away minors and dealing with drunken assholes.”

I clapped his shoulder as I continued walking.

The closer I got to the table, the more I focused on Freddy’s words and not just Mila’s reaction to them. “So you’ve got to picture it, chéri. Ash is in front of a room of VIPs. I’m talking politicians, diplomats, billionaire benefactors, athletes, movie stars, and the like. And the test tube shot he’d confiscated for that little snot-nose punk was in his front pocket. Somehow, the lid comes loose. Not enough to leak at once. It was a slow, steady stream?—”

“Okay, story time is over,” I cut in.

“Noooo.” Mila’s grin grew even wider when she saw me. But then she transferred that smile up to Freddy. “What happened next?”

And she likes him.

The damn pretty boy with that damn accent.

I was pretty sure he was laying the French-Creole on extra heavy when he said, “A different time. Otherwise, your man will ruin a good story with facts and accuracy.”

A new server I didn’t recognize came right over like she’d been hovering close to the important table. “Hi. Can I get you anything, or would you like a menu?”

“I’m good.” My gaze landed on Mila. “We’re leaving.”

Mila stabbed her fork toward her plate. “But I’ve finally got fancy cake.”

Like I wore a mask of normalcy, I let it slip so she could see the need that’d been haunting me all day. “Take it to go, sunshine.”

“I’ll take it to go.”

The server swiftly grabbed the plate and rushed away to box it up.

Marco put his hands in his pockets. “What’d she say her name is?”

Freddy’s cheek twitched. “She didn’t.”

“Callie,” Juliet filled in.

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