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She frowned. “How do you suppose that?”
Sighing, she hated having to spell it out for her friend. “With Maura and Patrick and Tristan and me, you might feel, well, a bit singled out.”
Audrey stared at her with her jaw gaping open for so long, Sonya wondered if she wasn’t clear on her meaning. “Sonya—”
She raised her brow waiting for her friend to continue. Surprisingly, she looked distressed and slightly pained. “You’ve been interested in Tristan a long time now and—” She bit her lip, looking as if she was unsure how to continue.
Sonya frowned at the girl. What was so difficult to spit out? “Of course I have. I’ve made no secret of it. Even he is fully aware. What’s your point?”
Holding her friend’s eyes, she softly said, “He’s asked me to be his guest this weekend. I said I would agree if I could invite you and Maura along.”
Her hearing must have gone haywire because she misunderstood Audrey. She must have. There was no way what she said could be true. Tristan was hers. Had been from the moment she laid eyes on him. But her friend continued to stare unsmiling at her with a look of concern in her eyes. She felt the blood drain slowly from her face and a chill run down her spine.
He was a dirty, lowlife, scum of a man. How could he openly flirt with her then just as quickly turn his attention to another woman? Easy when your conquest is as gullible as Audrey. The attention and attraction of a man such as Tristan would give any woman’s self-esteem a boost. But his regard held no truth. He was interested in only one thing. All men were.
“I’m sorry, Sonya.”
Her face felt tight as she gave the girl a short nod saying, “I see.”
“I can cancel if you want.” Her eyes looked pleading and the very evident concern was etched across her face. It was apparent the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Sonya.
Well, Sonya wasn’t so easily hurt.
“No, this is probably for the best. Our cottage only had the two rooms.” Then forcing herself to sound cheerful, she smiled tightly and added, “Where would I have slept?”
“Are you sure?”
Nodding, she picked up her tray and turned to go. “Of course. It will be fun. This will give you and Tristan a chance to get to know each other.”
This last sentence was forced through clenched teeth as was her smile for the rest of the evening. She could hardly wait to end her shift and get home.
At six o’clock, she plucked up Daniel’s jacket and left the bar. On the way home, she stopped off at the liquor store and bought a bottle of wine, snatching up a second one at the last second as she had a feeling tonight would be one of those nights. Deciding she wasn’t the best of company, she disregarded Daniel’s invitation for left over dinner, preferring her own solitary company instead. It wasn’t as if she was sure he still wanted her anyway.
She closed her apartment door quietly behind her then placed her sandals in the vacant spot on the shoe rack, feeling the smallest onslaught of self-pity. Her stocking feet dragged across the floor as she made her way into the kitchen. She left Daniel’s leather jacket draped over her shoulders, savoring in the warmth and comfort it created.
From one of the cupboards in the tiny kitchenette she pulled out a wineglass, examined it, and then placed it neatly back on the shelf. It wasn’t nearly big enough. Instead, she took a hi-ball tumbler from the shelf then hunted around her utensil drawer until she came across the corkscrew remover. She had just filled her glass to the brim when her phone rang.
For a brief second, she contemplated ignoring it, but then changed her mind. Maybe someone was calling to invite her to a party. She could really let loose tonight. With very little energy, she dropped onto the sofa and picked up her cell phone lying on the side table next to it, and placed it against her ear.
“Hello?” She burrowed further down into the pampering warmth of Daniel’s leather coat and raised her glass to her lips.
“Are you still coming for dinner?” It was Daniel, and the way his voice had the ability to sound unusually appealing over the phone, gave her an unexpected shiver.
She drew the coat closer. “I don’t think so.”
He went silent for so long, she began to think he had hung up. Then at last he said, “Through with me already?”
Her eyes squeezed shut feeling the beginning of a headache, so pressed the cool glass of wine to her forehead. What was he talking about? “Look, I’ve had a really bad day and the only thing I want to do is drown in my own self-pity in this here glass of wine.”
“You seemed perfectly fine at lunch.” He sounded a bit perturbed.
“Well, yeah, that was before Tristan invited Audrey up to his cottage for the weekend.”
Again the line went silent and the thought that Daniel didn’t give a damn about her personal life crossed her mind. “Look, thanks anyway. But I’m not in the mood for company.”
She hung up before she gave him a chance to respond.
Leaning her head back against the sofa, she closed her eyes and drew her knees up and under the warmth of his coat. Her mind drifted back to earlier that afternoon and her conversation with Audrey. She still could hardly believe it. What game was Tristan up to?
