He gave me a look that said don’t be crazy as we left the I-10 and began driving into the heart of town. In no time at all he was pulling into The Georgetown’s parking lot.
For a moment it looked like he might ask me to stay, then he said, “Of course I’m sure. I can’t keep you all the time, can I?” He said it lightly, but was there a hint of wistfulness in his tone or was that just wishful thinking on my part?
I spotted Layla and Ember by the entrance to the restaurant and sighed. I loved my friends, but all I wanted was my bed and maybe some ice cream. Wine would be a good substitute in the meantime, I decided. Lots and lots of wine.
“Call me when you’re done and I’ll come get you,” he said as he came to a stop in front of the entrance.
“I will. Don’t study to hard, Dr. Walsh.” I hopped from the cab and turned to give him a smile.
“I like it when you call me that, Nurse St. James.” He waved to Layla and Ember, who’d come up behind me. “Ladies,” he said with a killer grin before driving off.
“Boy have you got some ‘splaining to do,” Ember said, and she tucked mine and Layla’s arms into hers and marched us to the door. “But first, wine.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
Normally we’d all meet in Layla’s apartment for a Tequila Tuesday game night, but this week we all had cramming to do for papers or tests and even though we’d been around the block a time or two none of us could risk failing. I followed the girls and the hostess through the dimly lit restaurant to a seat in the back. After taking our drink orders, a sangria for me, white wine for Layla, and a margarita for Ember, the waitress left us, and I almost called her back to save me based on the way both of their stares honed in on me.
“What?” I said and resisted—barely—the urge to cross my arms over my chest.
They shared a look.
“Don’t ‘what’ us,” Ember said as her dark green eyes sparkled with attitude. Her dark red hair came to life in the wash of the flickering candlelight despite the messy topknot she wore it in. She was a knockout, but she didn’t have time to fuss with it much considering she cared for her two younger siblings and still managed to save lives as an EMT.
Layla’s beauty was quieter, subtler. Her dark hair fell in soft waves around her pixie face. She wore thin-framed glasses that accentuated her big blue eyes and despite her aversion to makeup, she was a dab hand with eyeliner. “Yeah, what the hell happened?” she asked.
I snatched one of the napkins from the dispenser and began ripping it to shreds. It wasn’t the memory of what happened with Andrew that had me nervous. Honestly, he was barely a blip on my memory. It was Liam.
I don’t know when it had happened, but he’d shifted from a support role in my life to the leading man and I wasn’t sure what to think of it.
“I thought he was going to propose—”
“What?!” They screeched simultaneously.
“Whoa, wait a second,” Ember said, holding up a hand. “Rewind and start at the very beginning.”
By the time I finished relaying what happened, we were on our second round of drinks. “And then, um, Liam got him to leave me alone and brought me back to Nassau so we could visit his parents for the weekend.”
Layla leaned back in her seat and drank deeply from her glass. She gestured in my direction. “There’s something you’re not telling us. Did you want to say yes to his proposal?”
My head shot straight up. “No! Of course not.”
“Then why are you on your fifth napkin?” Ember asked.
Shocked, I glanced down at my lap and found a veritable mountain of shredded paper. I forced myself to knot my hands on the table. “Look, it’s not a big deal.”
“I call bullshit,” Layla said primly.
Ember nodded emphatically. “So do I. Spill.”
“Well, Liam came up when Andrew was saying all these awful things,” I had to take another long draw from my glass of sangria to keep from choking up. “Anyway, Liam was working that night and he must have heard or seen Andrew come up to me. The next thing I know, he’s kissing me and then Andrew left.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Ember said. “Liam.Liamkissed you?”
“Wow,” Layla added, adjusting her glasses. “I definitely didn’t see that coming.”
“You and me both.”
“Then Lay, you may need to get your glasses checked because you’re blind. They’re perfect for each other.”
