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Everyone in the wood-paneled eatery is wearing nice dresses or slacks and collared shirts. I’m instantly aware of my jeans and T-shirt. A few couples are even in suits and fancy dresses. When I glance at Babs, she doesn’t seem to notice. She approaches the greeter and says, “Table for two please.”
The woman gives Babs a once over, but when the greeter stops at Babs’s face, she smiles warmly. “Ms. Babson. So nice to see you again. We have an opening near your favorite spot.”
Babs inclines her head. “Thank you, Shauntel.”
Shauntel leads us to a corner table in front of a massive bank of windows overseeing the lake. The outsideis midnight blue now, but lights from boats and nearby buildings still reflect off the water, giving it a magical feel.
After we are seated and order our drinks, Carrie picks up her menu. “Okay. Now I think we’re safe to talk.”
She glances over her menu at me and our eyes lock. My brain starts turning to goo again, but I give myself a mental slap in the face and put my menu down. Here goes nothing.
“I miss you.”
Her eyes drop back to the menu. “I’ve missed you too.”
“Have you?” I say, drawing her gaze back to me.
Her face softens, and she nods. “Why didn’t you call me back?”
I drop my gaze and stare out the window into the night sky. Guilt pulls at my chest. “I don’t know. I guess I felt… I don’t know. Maybe like I didn’t know you the way I thought I did. I remember the girl who lived in a split-level home with her parents and brother, who played sports and loved to laugh and have fun. When I dropped the car off at your house, I realized you’d changed, and…” I shrug. You’re rich. I’m not. What do I have to offer you? Nothing.
Babs puts down her menu and leans over the table toward me. “When I first went home–”
The server stops at our table. “Are you ready to order?”
Babs snaps her mouth shut and smiles up at her. Then she turns to me. “Have you chosen something?”
I’m not really hungry. Not anymore. But we’re here. Plus, she doesn’t want to talk in her hotel room. I drag a hand through my hair and shake my head. “I’ll have what you're having.”
Babs's brows shoot up. “Are you sure? I might have a craving for the goat cheese gnocchi, or the lobster bisque.”
I fight the urge to gag. Neither of those sound like something I’d choose voluntarily. I don’t eat fancy foods. I’m a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Picking up my menu, I skim the page for my options and choose the first thing that sounds appetizing. “I’ll have the Prime rib with clam chowder, please.”
“And you, ma’am?” the server says to Babs.
Babs grins at me and says to the server, “I’ll have your signature burger and fries, please.”
As the server walks away, I narrow my eyes at her. “You were going to order that all along, weren’t you?”
“Well, yeah. Didn’t you see the burger in my room? It was cold. I wanted a new one.” A slow smile spreads across her lips. “If you really want a burger, I’ll share mine with you.”
“I didn’t come here to eat a burger. I came to talk to you.” Sliding my hands along the smooth surface of the glossy wooden table, I wince and rock my head from shoulder to shoulder. “That’s not entirely true. We were playing truth or dare for my birthday, and I chose a dare.”
The smile slides off Babs’s face. She leans away from me. “What does truth or dare have to do with you showing up at my hotel?”
I stare at the table and mumble, “Because they gave me an address, the black box, and said to give the box to the person who opens the door and convince them to come back to Walla Walla.”
I scrub a hand down my face. Now that I’ve said it out loud, it sounds pathetic. Like I don’t even want to be here.
I glance up to gauge her expression. Her lips are pressed thin and her nostrils flaring.
Oh, no.
“So, you weren’t looking for me. Your friends found me and tricked you into coming here.”
It isn’t a question. It’s a statement. It sounds even worse coming from her.
I hold my hands in front of my chest and wave them, hoping to placate her. “It’s not like that. I’ve been miserable and they knew it was because I’ve been upset about you.”
