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I nodded, the feel of the whiskey burning as it made its way down.
When he set the next one down, I took my time with it. I needed to get Clare out of my head and focus on what I should do next. I was going to ignore her words about Mandy and come up with a game plan to win her back.
“Wes? Is that you?”
The female voice caused me to turn around. Mandy stood there with another woman, a huge smile on her face.
“Mandy, what are you doing here?”
She tilted her head and asked, “I could ask the same of you. What are you doing here kicking back whiskey in the middle of the day and here in Boston?”
I let out a bubble of nervous laughter. “It’s been a long week, and I moved back to Boston.”
A look of surprise crossed her face and she adjusted the large amount of papers she held in her arms. “You moved back? For good? I mean, I heard you were in town a couple months back, but I didn’t know you had moved back.”
I lifted my hands. “I’m back, for good.”
She stared at me for a few moments before turning to her friend, she said, “Wes, this is Loren. We work together and she is one of my very best friends.”
Loren held her hand out and flashed me a flirty smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Wes.”
I raised my brows as I looked back at Mandy. “Is that so?”
She shrugged. “I may have mentioned you a time or two.”
Loren laughed. “Yes, a time or two.”
“What, um, what brings you to this side of town?” I asked.
“My fiancé lives right around the corner. He just left a few minutes ago. We came here for lunch after we went and picked out our wedding cake flavors.”
It felt like someone placed a lead bar in my stomach. “Oh, so you’re still engaged then. What was his name again?Don, was it?”
“Ron. His name is Ron Reynolds and yes, we’re still getting married this spring, May 7th.”
“And you booked Ron’s favorite band, The Launchers.” Loren looked back at me. “That was a huge win for Mandy here. It’s Ron’s favorite band and she surprised him with it. It was the only thing he truly wanted for the wedding.”
Mandy grinned. “Yes, we were able to land them for our wedding reception.”
“That’s great,” I said with mock happiness. What self-respectable man likes a band called The Launchers. Sounds like a pussy band.
“Never heard of that band.”
Mandy looked at me. “Oh, they’re a jazz band, you wouldn’t have heard of them. Not your type of music.”
I forced a smile. “You always were a jazz lover.”
Mandy grinned.
“Well, we really ought to be going, Mandy. Our lunch break was over a long time ago.”
Mandy nodded, then reached out and put her hand on the side of my arm and gave it a light squeeze. “It was so great seeing you again, Wes.”
“Yeah, it was nice to see you again, too, Mandy. And it was nice meeting you Loren.”
Loren gave me a polite smile. “You as well.”
“Bye, Wes,” Mandy softly said before turning and walking out of the pub. Something fell from the pile of paperbacks she had been holding. I got up and picked it up. It was a calendar. I looked up at the door and almost ran out to give Mandy back the calendar she had dropped. But then I paused. Opening to today’s date I saw the entry for the cake testing and noticed the other appointments and events that Mandy had scheduled. With a grin, an idea—my plan of attack—started to take root.Turning back to the bar, I grabbed the whiskey and drank it. Holding it up, I said, “Another one, please.”
