For a millisecond, I contemplate spitting some of my wine back into the glass but vote against it. “Oh, right. My bad. Let’s toast to forty years! Yippee…” I softly clink my glass against their unmoving ones while I lock eyes with Bobby and give him the universal hand gesture for “keep these coming.” I have a feeling that this is gonna be a long night.
* * *
I’m holding on by a thread by the time we’re done with appetizers.
Justin finally got the hint to move his arm from my chair, and I was able to move my breasts off the table just in time to make space for the calamari.
I’m peppering Deb and Carl with questions to avoid having to answer any of my own, but I’m running out of things to talk about.
Carl is in the middle of explaining what vegetables they grow on their farm when I see my newly engaged best friend stroll into the restaurant, closely followed by her fiancé. They haven’t spotted me yet, and I’m about to raise my hand to get their attention, when a suit-clad Tony saunters in behind them with his hands in his pockets and a sexy smirk on his face. His eyes immediately land on me, and he gives me a quick wink before anyone notices.
What are they doing here? And why the hell is Tony wearing a suit? He knows what the visual of him in a suit does to me. So he must know how badly I want to abandon this table and make a chair out of his lap.
Oh, he totally did this on purpose.
No wonder he was so relaxed about me coming here tonight. Because he would be here as well.
Well played.
Amelia finally spots me and has to do a double take when she sees the company I’m in. She knows Justin and I are broken up, and that I have no desire to reconcile, so it must be taking all the decorum she possesses to not mouth “what the fuck” to me.
They step up to our table, and I’m instantly on my feet. “Oh, uh, hi guys. W-what are you doing here?” I scratch my neck nervously, hoping to God that I’m not breaking out in hives as I speak.
Amelia eyes the table suspiciously as she hugs me, then says, “Tony invited us out for a little post-engagement dinner. What areyoudoing here?” I don’t miss the accusation in her tone. She wants facts, and she wants them now.
Unfortunately, Deb answers for me. “Justin and Nikki invited us to dinner to celebrate our forty-year wedding anniversary. Who knows, maybe they’ll come back here in forty years and celebrate theirs.” She gives a knowing look to Justin as he coughs into his fist.
I don’t miss the clench in Tony’s jaw, and it is taking all my restraint to not jump into his arms.
Evan bites down on a smile he’s trying to contain, but he’s not fooling me. He moves in to give me a hug, and whispers low enough so only I can hear. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”
I give him a quizzical look, and he just shakes his head while looking at the floor. And since I’ve greeted two out of the three people, I wiggle farther away from my chair to hug Tony. I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea, given the fact that he growls two words into my ear. “Eres mía.”You’re mine.
Two words in Spanish, and I can already feel the slickness between my thighs.
I release Tony when Evan clears his throat, and a part of me wonders if Tony told him about us, even though he promised not to.
“Well, then, we’ll head over to our table and leave all you love birds to it,” Evan chirps.
I involuntarily send a glare his way, and his smile only broadens.
Fuck, if he was suspicious before, that definitely gave him the confirmation he needed.
I sink back into my seat like a man bracing himself for the electric chair. And because the restaurant is tiny, the hostess ends up seating the fun trio right across from us. Naturally, Tony takes the seat that faces me.
I have a feeling that this is about to turn into a shit show.
45
Nikki
I’msurprised I haven’t burst into flames with the looks Tony is sending my way.
I’ve barely touched my main dish, which is a travesty in itself, since it’s a delicious-looking lobster ravioli.
Ever since Tony arrived, I’ve gone from chatterbox to mime. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to carry on this ruse, especially when the man I love sits six feet away from me, along with my best friend, who is in the dark about this entire situation.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t realize I’ve been asked a question until Justin squeezes my hand on the table. My eyes go straight to Tony, and I see him gripping his glass filled with dark amber liquid so tightly I’m sure it’ll burst any second now. The fact that he’s drinking hard liquor instead of beer is enough of an indication that this whole night is about to go to hell in a handbasket.
