“Can it wait until later?” Archer’s voice is low, deadly. “It would be rude of me to leave Grace alone just totalk to you aboutbusiness.”
“It’s okay!” I don't want to cause any problems. “You can talk to him. I have to run to the restroom, anyway.”
Archer nods, but a muscle is ticking in his jaw as he stands to pull out my chair. I hurry to the restroom, unable to catch what Viktor says under his breath as I round the corner.
I take my time washing my hands and fixing my hair in the mirror, and by the time I come back to the table, Viktor is gone, and Archer is wearing the easy smile I’m accustomed to.
He pulls out my seat, but I can’t shake the uneasy sensation that has come over me.
“So… who was that? You didn’t seem to like him very much.”
Archer stiffens, but when I turn my head, he’s still wearing his easy smile. “He’s an old friend. We don’t see eye to eye on certain… things.”
He takes his seat, then takes a bite of his crepes like nothing had happened. But I still can’t shake this uneasy feeling.
“He said he wanted to talk about business. Does he work for LoveBytten?”
Archer shakes his head. “Different company. We used to work together, so he wanted my advice on a project he’s working on.”
I frown. I guess that makes sense, but something still doesn’t add up. “You worked with him here? In Moriton? Didn’t you fly here from overseas?”
Archer’s face goes slack, but it returns to normal a heartbeat later, leaving me to believe I might have imagined it. “I did. It’s not my first time being in Moriton, though. I worked with Viktoryearsago.”
“And he wanted your advicenow?”
His jaw ticks. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Archer was getting irritated. “Yes. I guess he heard I was back in town.”
“It’s weird how he tracked you down here, though, right? I mean, there’s no way he’d know you’d be eatinghereat this exact hour.”
“I guess he happened to be eating here, saw me, and came over.” He scoops up another bite, rather aggressively. “Why are you so worried about this, Grace?”
“I’m notworried.Just curious. It’s weird.”
“It’s notweirdto get approached at a restaurant by an old friend.” He blinks slowly, his shoulders tensing as if he’s putting a lot of energy intosomething.“Your crepes are getting cold.”
But I’m not hungry anymore. I don’t know why, or about what, but Archer is lying to me. I’m sure of it. “I think I’m full, actually.”
He tilts his head. “Grace… is something wrong?”
“No.” I let my eyes fall to the table. “Not really.”
“Liar, liar…”
My head snaps up, all the blood draining from my face.I’ve heard that before. But where…?Before I can figure it out,Archer passes his fork across the table, pushing a bite against my lips. “Open up, Grace.”
I do, chewing slowly around the mouthful. I’m anxious all of a sudden, my skin crawling. And I know it has to do with that strange man who came to our table.
I try to relax and enjoy the rest of our date, but that unease swirling in my gut never goes away. When Archer drives me back to my apartment, I can’t find anything to say, and we spend the drive in rare, uncomfortable silence.
As he’s parking the car, a text notification pops up on the car screen, displaying a text message.
Dorian
Need you for cleanup at 55 Botson Ave.
I whip my head toward Archer, but he doesn’t seem to be reacting.Weird.
That text was strange, but I can’t think of what it could be in reference to. Pushing it to the back of my mind, I lean over to give Archer a kiss goodbye, then head up to my apartment.
