Third fucking bottle. I’m fuming. “And the man?”

“Can’t see him.”

“Be there soon.” I hang up and put my foot down, a small part of me willing myself to calm the fuck down to avoid the explosions that are about to go off. It’s no good. I cannot accept such recklessness. I cannot stand by and allow another man to worm his way back into her affections. She’s a sitting fucking duck. Drunk. Vulnerable.

I park illegally outside the bar and dive out of my car, just as Sam screeches up behind me. “Fuck me, Jesse,” he says, joining me on the pavement.

“What’s up? Your pretty Porsche struggling to keep up with a real man’s car?” I pull my jacket in and stalk into the bar, hearing Sam laughing behind me. I spot them in a nanosecond, laughing, staggering.

And then they clatter to the floor in a drunken mess.

And my temper goes from hot to burning, not only because she’s fucking plastered.

The dress. She’s wearing the fucking dress. The dress she didn’t want to even fucking buy but did, solely to piss me off. The dress she probably didn’t want to wear tonight but did, solely to piss me off.

“Keep your cool,” Sam says quietly beside me, holding on to the sleeve of my jacket.

“Still think this is fine?” I ask, tugging myself from his hold and marching over as Kate pushes herself up a little. She clocks me. Her face drops. Yes, be worried.

Her head tilts farther back, keeping me in view as I get closer. “Oh shit,” she breathes, prompting Ava to sit up, quickly but clumsily.

“What?” Her eyes climb my body to my face. I expect panic to find her. It doesn’t. Her lips straighten. Is she restraining laughter? Leaning into Kate, she says something, and as a result, Kate snorts and Ava falls apart. She finds this funny? Side-splitting funny by the look of her rolling around on the floor.

I, however, could quite easily wring her fucking neck.

Sam appears at my side, and I glance out the corner of my eye at him. He, too, is restraining his amusement. So everyone finds this funny except me?

“Jesse, sort your woman out,” Jay says tiredly, motioning to the pile of females littering the bar floor.

“Oh, don’t worry,” I say menacingly, giving Ava the death stare. “She’ll be sorted out. Thanks for the call, Jay.” Ava’s eyes widen. Yes, I’ve been keeping tabs. Yes, I’m fucking livid.

Sam moves in and helps Kate to her feet. “Come on, you pest.”

She falls into him, laughing. “Take me to bed, Samuel. You can tie me up again.”