Book 5 - Page 117 (1/2)

Gideon and Chris pushed back from the table and pulled out our chairs. Since I’d lost all my lip gloss while eating and drinking, I pressed a kiss to my husband’s jaw.

“I can’t wait to hear you talk,” I told him, my smile wide with antic.i.p.ation.

He shook his head. “The things that turn you on.”

“You love me.”

“I do. Madly.”

Following Ireland, I weaved through the tables, pa.s.sing directly by the Lucases. They watched us, looking cozy, with Dr. Terrence Lucas’s arm slung around his wife’s shoulders. Anne caught my gaze and flashed a sharp smile that made my skin crawl.

I reached up and smoothed my middle finger over my brow in a subtle but obvious f.u.c.k you.

Ireland and I had moved a few tables farther when she abruptly stopped in front of me.

I b.u.mped into her back. “Sorry.”

When she didn’t continue forward, I angled around her to see what was blocking our way. “What’s going on?”

She turned to look at me. Her eyes were bright with tears. “It’s Rick,” she said, her voice wavering.

“Who?” My brain scrambled to catch up. She looked so hurt. And lost. The connection suddenly clicked. “Your boyfriend?”

She turned her head forward again and I tried to track her attention, searching the packed tables for … someone. “Where? What does he look like?”

“Right there.” She gave a hard jerk of her chin and I spotted tears running down her face. “With the blonde in the red dress.”

Where? I found a few possibilities, then zeroed in on the youngest couple. One look at him and I knew the type. I used to fall for them, too. Confident, s.e.xually experienced, all the right lines. I felt a bit sick thinking about how many guys like that I’d once let use me.

Then I got p.i.s.sed. Rick was giving the girl plastered to his side a c.o.c.ky, s.e.xy smile. They certainly weren’t just friends. Not when they were both eye-f.u.c.king each other.

I caught Ireland by the elbow and guided her forward. “Keep walking.”

We got to the ladies’ room. The sudden quiet when we stepped inside made it possible to hear her sobbing. I pulled her aside in the vanity area, thankful we were the only ones there, and handed her some tissues I pulled out of the box on the counter.