We pulled up at the Continental Hotel, piled into the restaurant, and settled in the waiting area until our reserved table was free.
“Those boys better not be late,” Mel said as we watched the hostess escort a party that had arrived before us. “I told them about three times this morning alone.”
“They won’t,” I assured her. Well,Lukewouldn’t. “It’s still five to six.”
Two minutes later Luke jogged in from the parking lot. He was fixing the collar of his dress shirt, the sleeves already rolled up to his elbows.
“Sorry. Am I late?” he asked.
“No,” the three of us said at once.
I shifted closer to Naomi so Luke could sit next to me. His gaze flittered over me, over the sparkly emerald-green top I was wearing with my favorite white skinny jeans, and I pretended to be distracted with something outside. It was too awkward watching someone watch you.
When I glanced back at him a second later, he was still staring at me, adjusting his collar again, and I wondered if he just needed something to do with his hands. He opened his mouth to say something, but it was swallowed up as Mel spoke over him.
“Honey, do you need help with that collar?”
“No, thanks,” he said quickly.
“Well, you look spiffy,” she said, and smiled at him.
Finally, Luke sat beside me. “Thanks for driving Mom,” he said to me in a low voice. “I couldn’t get out of work earlier.”
“No problem,” I said. As I spoke, I got my first inhale of the Luke scent for the night. I tried hard to hang on to my train of thought. “Plus, if I hadn’t, Naomi would have anyway.”
“What do you want? I heard my name,” Naomi said grouchily.
“We were talking about you, nottoyou,” I said.
“Carry on, then,” she said, and I turned back to Luke.
He grinned at me. “Congrats, by the way. Mom told me you crushed your final.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, feeling my face warm. “Like a B is crushing it to you.”
He frowned. “B is amazing. You get A’s in English and art, and basically anything that isn’t calculus. I wish I could do that.”
I started to argue that he alreadydidgets A’s in all those subjects, but then his knee was knocking mine lightly, and he said, “Just say thanks.”
“Thanks,” I said lamely.
He smiled. “So, anyway, I was going to say—”
“We’re here! Let the party officially commence!” Ro said, pushing through the restaurant doors in a bright red polo and khaki pants. Eric hung back awkwardly, wearing a dress shirt instead of his usual athleisure style.
“Uh, hey, Mrs. Cohen,” he said, nodding at Mel.
Mel stood and walked over to Rowan. “Are youdrunk?” she whispered, horrified.
“What? No,” Rowan said entirely too quickly. Beside me, I heard Luke murmur something.
“That’s it. Get in the car,” Mel said, grabbing Rowan’s arm and beginning to drag him back outside. Mel was cool in every way, but she did not approve of underage drinking. That, coupled with the fact that she detested nothing as much as lying, meant Ro was in for a rough night. “Jessi, give me my keys.”
I stood, but Luke said, “Mom, wait. Why should he ruin everybody’s night?”
“He’sdrunk,” Mel repeated, dismayed. “Eric, please tell me you drove.”
“I drove,” Eric confirmed.
