My Dark Romeo: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance(80)

Yes, your plan backfired.

Yes, I know you want Madison Licht a little less than you want to have your limbs amputated by a shark.

And yes, we both know that Madison is, in fact, more rotten than yours truly.

Madison tossed his napkin over his plate. “You took her virginity.”

“Don’t be such a prude, Licht. Your own virginity was lost so long ago and so scrupulously, I’d be surprised if it’s even in the same cosmos as us. Besides…” I spun my head back to Dallas. “Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? A way out of this marriage?”

“Yes.” The word shoved past her lips. “But not so I could enter another toxic relationship.”

Tsking, I fingered my jawline. “Should have specified.”

Madison’s eyes darted to Shortbread. “I’m not marrying her.”

She pushed back in her chair, unaffected by his rejection. “Same.”

“How devastating.” I yawned. “And here I thought an angel would earn its wings through my matchmaking skills.”

When I stood, they mirrored my movements, glued to me with an intoxicating mixture of horror and trepidation.

“Mr. Licht…” I angled my entire body toward him. “Kindly evacuate the premises.”

Madison pulled his shoulders back, straightening to his full height, ready for the showdown he’d anticipated. “You can’t tell me what to do. This is not your restaurant.”

“Actually, it is.” I collected my phone and slanted the screen in his direction. “The deed was signed earlier this hour. Admittedly, waking Jean-Pierre from his slumber in France to convince him to sell me this fine establishment was a challenge, but as you’re well aware, I never shy away from those.”

Madison gaped at the contract. “You bought this restaurant just so you could kick me out of it?”

“And every other restaurant and food cart on this street,” I confirmed, aware of the cameramen still surrounding us, too far away to eavesdrop. “Which means lunch breaks have become particularly challenging for you.”

“You can’t do that.”

“What is the point in telling me I cannot do things I clearly just did?”

“You’ve officially lost it. I heard rumors, but now I see it’s true.”

“Doubt I ever really had it.” I sighed. “Any parting words before I call security?”

Sadly, if there were such, I did not get the opportunity to hear them, because Madison all but stomped out of the place without as much as a farewell to the woman he’d shared brunch with.

I swiveled to Shortbread.

This was the second workday in a single month she had completely ruined for me. Though one couldn’t blame me for not being fond of Senior’s company, I needed to at least pretend to care about it.

“Feel free to enjoy any of our wonderful desserts. My apologies for your lack of company.” With that, I strode away.

She followed me, as I knew she would. I slid into the back seat of my Maybach, not sparing her a glance when she scooted in from the other side, uninvited.

“You have two options.” I lounged in the brown leather seat while Jared weaved his way out of Le Bleu’s parking lot. Dallas leaned closer, drinking every word, knowing her entire life depended on them. “Since I know how badly you want to both have children and return to your family, I shall grant you neither, instead tucking you away in my Hamptons mansion, where you will remain far enough from everything and everyone you love while stripped of your ability to inflict serious damage on my life. Or…”

I stroked my chin, giving it some thought.

As a general rule, I did not reward bad behavior.

But in Shortbread’s case, I often found myself making exceptions, including but not limited to the box of books I’d gifted her for attending the charity gala despite her unruly behavior during the third dinner course.

(She’d tried to take an uni shot off a pop star’s tits. When I’d pried her away and lectured her on behaving in public, she shrugged me off and informed me that with great power comes great responsibility.)

And this time, the same forgiving part of me I’d never unearthed before she’d swaggered into my life wanted to give her a second chance.

Or rather, a trillionth chance.

I chucked it to my ruining her life. That must have been the reason I still possessed an iota of patience for the creature in front of me.

Shortbread’s eyebrows flew up, almost kissing her hairline. “Or?”

“I will give you what you want. I’ll grant you a divorce. You will return to Chapel Falls and become a living, breathing scandal. Ruined for all intents and purposes. You will probably marry a widower or a divorced man with kids. But you will have the freedom you crave so much.”

It angered me to no end that my breath recoiled in my lungs as we stared each other down, waiting to see which option she would choose.

I purposefully left out anything remotely appealing for her to fall back on. Dallas needed to comprehend the graveness of the situation.

Finally—finally—she ruptured the silence. “Can I think about it on our way to the house?”

Somehow, it was the worst thing she could have said.

The waiting would be pure torture.

I shrugged, diverting my attention to my texts. Once Jared dropped us off, a waiting Hettie and Vernon stood on the driveway.