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“Absolutely not. I’ve wanted to meet Holly’s friends.” He rested his hand on the back of the empty chair. “But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he said to me.

“It’s fine.” I smiled. “I’m the one taking your reservation.”

“I think we both know who’s responsible.” Tyce glared at Holly, and she rolled her eyes.

They sat. Tyce was on my left and Callum sat to my right.

“Fine,” Holly said. “But I’m eating as soon as my food is on the table.”

A server approached with two menus. “I’ll take the special,” Tyce said, handing the menu back. “And a glass of the Brut Prosecco, please.”

“Same.” Callum handed over his menu.

“I’ll take another.” Holly held up her nearly empty drink glass.

Awkward silence fell over the table. “Are we going to talk about your text message?” Tyce asked her.

“I was vague because you get annoyed when your schedule is altered.” She crunched a nugget of ice from her drink. “I’m more spontaneous.”

A dark chuckle slipped from his lips. “I’m annoyed because I cleared my calendar for you. You could’ve told me that Jaymi needed a night out.” His gaze briefly shifted to me. “I would’ve understood.”

Holly coyly tilted her head. “I didn’t think we shared our personal lives.”

Callum leaned into me. “Let the kids fight. Sorry about this.”

A hesitant smile found my lips, but I eased back in my chair to put a little space between us. “No need to apologize. I know how she can be. She’s my best friend.”

“So you’re used to her games?”

The server returned with drinks. “The kitchen is going to try to get your orders out together.”

“Thanks,” I said because Tyce and Holly were still negotiating with lowered voices, and he had one arm along the back of her chair and the other high on her thigh. “I wouldn’t call it games,” I said to Callum, getting a bit annoyed at his assumptions.

“I’m not saying a game of cat and mouse isn’t fun.”

“I don’t think that’s a fair assessment.” Not that I knew what was going on in Holly’s sex life except that, in the beginning, Tyce had been closed off, and Holly was an open book. A spicy, nearly pornographic book. But I wasn’t going to let someone trash on her. And who was Callum to say anything when he and Tyce gave off billionaire player vibes? I mentally snorted. Holly’s type, but not mine.

Callum plucked a breadstick from the basket on the table. “I’m just saying sometimes the cat gets tired of chasing.”

“And I’d say it’s in the mouse’s nature to run if pursued by a predator.”

Callum chuckled, leaned back in his chair, and took a sip of his wine. “Tyce would appreciate being called a predator.”

“Holly wouldn’t like being called a mouse.”

A few minutes later, the server arrived with our food. Tyce and Holly seemed to reach a truce since he was sampling from her plate, and she was taking from his.

Callum rested his forearm on the table, encroaching into my space again. He leaned over and commented on my meal. But I wasn’t going to be swapping bites or anything else.

No matter how it looked, this wasn’t a double date. I barely had an appetite. I just wanted to go home.

“You’re a teacher,” Tyce said. “Grade school or higher education?”

“First grade.” I cut a piece of my chicken. If I kept my mouth full of food, I wouldn’t have to talk.

Callum shifted on his chair, somehow scooting even closer to me. The scent of his cologne fought with the spicy aroma of Italian food. “It’s early. We should head over to Roosters.” His arm snaked across the back of my chair.

Shivers crawled over my skin, like a million tiny scorpions. Not only no, but hell no.