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Nick did that shrug thing. “I’ll wait in the car until you text me. Come on.”
And now, her stomach twisted in a knot. She couldn’t summon the words to tell Emma, Hey, I am dating! Surprise.
“Are you sure everything’s okay? Grace was off a little today too. I mean not much because she is a pro, but you could tell something was on her mind.”
“It’s nothing,” Mulberry said, not wanting to bring up the break-in. “How’s your dad?”
“Distracted. I’m so glad to be out of the hotel. He is directing an action movie for the first time next year,” Emma clamped her hand over her mouth. “Shoot. I wasn’t supposed to say anything.”
“It’s fine. I won’t tell anyone.”
“You’re the best,” Emma said. “So he has all these big burly guys in, going over scenes. I think they’re stuntmen or chorographers or something. They leave takeout containers everywhere and make a mess. I wish he’d just buy or rent a house.”
“Maybe he will, now that you’re part of the show too,” Mulberry said.
“Yeah. Those guys are totally annoying. The woman who is with them is nice, though. She must be a production assistant or something.”
“Why didn’t you ask Sheldon who they were?”
Emma rolled her eyes. “He’d take the question as me being excited about his work, and I’m not. I can’t believe I accepted this role! What have I done?”
Emma laid her head on her arms, and Mulberry patted her shoulder.
“You’ll be fine. Think of it as one and done. You only have to take this role before going to the academic career of your dreams!”
Emma smiled. “Okay. Another drink?”
“Sure.”
Emma flagged down their waiter. “I guess we should order.”
“Wait,” Mulberry said as the waiter stopped at their table.
“Another round, please,” Emma said. “Wait for what?”
“I have news to tell you” Mulberry played with a braided gold bracelet on her wrist, a gift from her dad for her last birthday.
“Good! I can’t be the only one to share stuff. What’s up?”
“So I invited someone to dinner to join us.”
Emma smiled, her dimples showing. “Cassie? That’s fine. I was sorry to miss her when I stopped by last night. Her pottery is so beautiful.”
“Yeah, it is” Mulberry took a sip from her water glass, her fingers trembling. “So the thing is, I’ve actually been dating someone.”
Emma clapped her hands together. “What? That’s great. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her best friend glared at her as if she could read the source of guilt on Mulberry’s face.
“I don’t know. With all that’s happened, I just wanted to be cautious. Wanted to wait until I was sure it wasn’t a fling, you know?”
“Okay, I can understand that,” Emma squeezed Mulberry’s hand.
The guilt churning in her stomach exploded.
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. It was hard not telling you.”
“So, what’s his name?”
