Chapter 5 Sunshine

As soon as she left, Nash turned to me, all concern and business written across his face. Nash has always been like a brother to me. I guess that makes him my new best friend… Only this time I can actually trust him not to go after my… Well, it doesn’t matter because he is happily married to my sister.

“So from what you told me, you aren’t giving Belle anything that isn’t in her own account?” He starts off.

“Yeah. That was her own little stash and I don’t care about it. But she isn’t getting anything from me. She’s been playing me for who knows how long… Well, according to Anna, probably from the very beginning. So I don’t see any reason to give her anything,” I state coldly. Everything seems so cold inside me right now. There is nothing happy to light my life… I don’t know how long I’ll stay like this, but I don’t actually like feeling like this.

“Noted, and I agreed with Anna. I just never said anything,” he gives me a sheepish smile. He doesn’t have to feel bad. He didn’t do anything wrong.

“Yeah, I didn’t listen to her and chances are I probably wouldn’t have heard a word you said anyway…” I sigh. I can’t believe how badly I messed up and everyone knew it except for me.

“Good afternoon,” the softest, sweetest voice I’ve ever heard says as she approaches us. The sound chips a tiny piece of ice covering my heart.

My eyes latch on to the prettiest sky blue eyes. The brunette has her hair in an efficient ponytail. She’s skinny… Almost too skinny… But she still has beautiful curves in all the right places... My sunshine.

“Hey, Rory. How Ya doin’ tonight, hun?” Nash asks, smirking at me.

Rory blushes. “Hey, Nash. I’m not too bad today,” she says looking at the both of us. “Do you still need a minute to look at your menus? I can come back if you aren’t ready… Or I can give you our specials for the night?” She suggests shyly.

“What are they tonight?” Nash smiles at the girl.

“Tonight we have clam chowder with the fish ’n chips or we have the pot roast with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies,” she states with a soft blush.

“You know I love Donna’s pot roast,” he says with a friendly wink.

“Got it,” she giggles, writing his order down and looking over at me. “And you sir?”

“I’ll take the same,” I smile, because I can’t help myself from smiling at this sweet girl in front of me.

“Right! It’ll be a minute. I’ll bring you out your waters. Becky got busy,” she smiles at us before turning away and heading back to the kitchen.

“Ya know, Rory’s a sweetheart, and she’s single,” he says with a wink.

My brain freezes as I watch her leave and then my brain catches up with what he’s saying.

I shake my head in frustration. “I’m not even rid of my wife yet! I really shouldn’t be looking…” I sigh, looking back at the door she hid behind like someone stole my sunshine.

“Dude, I’ve already got the paperwork started. There isn’t much for you to do, and I can have it filed tomorrow morning. You already gave Belle the boot. There’s no reason you can’t look while you wait for the paperwork to go through,” he suggests with a sparkle in his eyes…

And then I wonder if she is the whole reason he brought me here. He told me it would be worth it… I thought he was talking about the food, but suddenly, I think it has to do with her… How did he know?

I sigh and try not to think about what he is suggesting. Wouldn’t that be cheating? Yes, I’m planning on divorcing the hussy pretending to be my wife and she knows it… But would I be no better than her if I can’t even wait for the judge to sign off on the decree?

I can still see the twinkle in Nash’s eyes. He has always been good at reading me and he can see the internal struggle I’m going through right now.

“You don’t have to do anything, Colt. I get it. I’m not gonna push you, but if you want my opinion, she would be so much better than Belle the b-” He’s cut off as Rory sidles up to our table.

“Here’s your waters,” Rory says, placing the waters in front of us. “Let me know if you need anything,” she flushes before leaving us alone again.

Nash smirks as he watches me watch Rory… I really can’t seem to control my eyes from roaming her beautiful body, the gentle sway of her thin hips that lull me into a stupor… Still it looks like she could stand to eat a few more meals… I could help with that…

The moment she goes behind the kitchen door, I clear my throat and look at my buddy. I need to focus on what’s important before I start daydreaming about something I shouldn’t be wanting right now. “I need to take care of Jack, too. I sent you the original contract this afternoon. Everything I’ve got. I don’t owe him a damn thing,” I grumble, thinking about how my partner and best friend screwed me over.