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Chapter Nineteen
When I got to the restaurant where I was meeting Tanner, I was resolute. I’d lectured to myself during the subway ride to get there, fitting in very well with a few other subway riders who were also talking to themselves. Josh was definitely in my past. Tanner was my bright, new beginning. I owed it to him tonight to give him my undivided attention and to invest fully in our relationship and not dwell on things that were dead and freshly buried, despite the shiny new bling around my neck.
Tanner was waiting for me as promised. He stood when I approached the table and gave me a big hug. It was pleasant and warm and fashionably scented.
“Is that a new cologne?”
“They were sampling Rocky Outcrest today in men’s cologne. What do you think?”
I bobbed my head, considering. “I like it. Though I think I liked Mountain Cliffscape better.”
He smelled his wrist and frowned. “So did I.”
“See?” I waved a finger between us and smiled. “Somuch in common.” My hand made a flourish in the air.
He glanced around the room and smiled. “We do have a lot in common, though who are you proving it to?”
I laughed. “Oh, I was just talking to myself. I’ve been doing that a lot today.”
He opened his menu. “Well then, please tell yourself you’re hungry because I am famished. How about an appetizer?”
I pretended to think about it. “I love appetizers. They’re second only to dessert. And entrées.”
“So basically third place then.”
“At least.”
The waiter stopped by our table and took our drink order. Actually he took my drink order and I had to relay Tanner’s requests for him. What was with the lack of attention Tanner got from waitstaff? I thought if you were a model you’d get more attention, not less.
We ordered a creamy crab dip with toast points, and I studied the list of entrées, trying to decide between the panko-crusted chicken with parmesan sauce and the steak. In my head, I could hear Josh telling me to just get the beef. And then somehow I could hear Josh’s voice outside of my head as well.
“Margot! Margot!”
I lowered my menu and there was Josh, striding through the restaurant, calling my name, as if my thoughts had summoned him.
“Josh! What are you doing here?”
He knelt beside my chair, which was probably a good idea given that heads had turned as he’d made his way to my side. At least scrunched down he was less conspicuous. And less like performing Hamlet onstage for the other diners.
He grabbed my hand, urgency pinching the corners of his eyes. “Lindsay just told me something ridiculous about your boyfriend, and I had to come and see for myself. I…I don’t understand what the situation is, but I want to know if you’re okay.”
I frowned and glanced at Tanner. To his puzzled look I gave a shrug and returned my focus to Josh. “I’m fine. Great, even. What in the world did Lindsay say to you?”
He glanced from me to Tanner and back again. He licked his lips. “Lindsay said Tanner was a mannequin.”
I laughed. “Was she joking? Of course he’s a mannequin. At Bainbridge’s daily from ten to noon.”
Josh glanced at Tanner again. A light flush stole into his cheeks, and his eyes darted away with visible discomfort. “No, she said he was a mannequin. Like an inanimate object—a dummy, a doll, a prop.”
“What?” My head reared back. “My sister thinks my boyfriend is an actual mannequin? That’s absurd.”
He shook his head. “I know, but—”
“Dude, I’m sitting right here,” Tanner interrupted.
Josh turned on him. “Dude, I can see that. I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to Margot.”
My brow furrowed, and I rolled my shoulders in a helpless gesture. “Um, that’s just so weird.”
