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The same warm smile lights her face, causing a heaviness on my chest.
“His name is Spencer. Spencer Duncan.”
My features are schooled as she walks away with a spring in her step, but inside, I’m freaking the fuck out. There’s no way I can stay now, but Cat will be so upset if I bail, and how the heck would I explain that to her?
Without even realizing it, I grab my bag and jump to my feet, my flight instinct kicking in. My mind is still racing as I begin to walk away from the table. But I don’t make it far before I’m forced to halt, avoiding a collision with someone.
My eyes lift, and my body goes rigid.
“Lori?”
Spencer
She doesn’t move or speak. She merely stands there like a deer in headlights. Two months. That’s how long I spent trying to get her to give me a chance. Countless phone calls and voicemails, hours wasted hoping I’d run into her. It’s been three months since I first laid eyes on her, and I spent two chasing her.
Then, about a month ago, while I was stalking the same coffeehouse where I first saw her, I met someone who enjoys my company. So, of course she would show up now, right on time to fuck up my date.
I have a good thing going with Cat. She’s smart, funny, beautiful, and most importantly, she doesn’t get skittish about the possibility of building a real relationship with someone. She didn’t run away and stop speaking to me when I asked her out on a date. Still, if Lori wanted to walk out of here with me right now, I would do it in a heartbeat.
“So, you’re refusing to speak to me in person now too?” My question comes out harsher than intended. I try to cover it up with a laugh, but it too is short and sharp.
Lori’s expression sours and she turns to look over her shoulder. Mask back in place, her gaze returns to me. She folds her arms, her weight shifting to the right and hip popping out to the side. “People normally speak to each other when they have something to say, and you and I have nothing to talk about.”
This woman is infuriating, but I can’t help smiling at her response. She works so hard at putting up this tough exterior, but she can’t fool me. I’ve seen signs of the soft interior she’s trying to protect.
“Well, I disagree. I think we have plenty to talk about.”
“You’re right.” She gives me a crooked smile, but her eyes look almost sad. “We have plenty to talk about now.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
She looks over her shoulder again, almost as if she’s searching for someone. When she gives me her attention, she seems nervous, teeth scraping over her bottom lip and posture straightening.
“Cat,” she says.
Not realizing she’s answering my question, I shake my head in confusion. She presses her lips together, her eyebrows raising, and it hits me.
“Cat?”
Fuck, Cat.
I’m supposed to be meeting her, not standing here talking to Lori. Wait…what does Lori know about Cat? My eyes move past Lori to the back of the restaurant where Cat told me she was sitting, but I don’t see her.
“That’s right, Cat, as in the woman you’re seeing. Cat, as in my best friend.” My stomach drops. Cat told me her best friend was going to meet us here tonight, but I guess she never mentioned her name. How is this happening right now? “Well, I was going to ask if you knew she and I were friends, but the way your face drained of all its color, I’m guessing you didn’t.”
I shake my head and run a hand through my hair. She sighs, her gaze flickering away again then back.
“Come on,” she says, turning and motioning for me to follow. “We need to sit before she comes back.”
My head is reeling as I try to process what’s happening, but I follow her to a table only a few steps away, taking a seat across from her. A silence falls between us, my eyes studying her while hers avoid me altogether. A thousand things are running through my mind—mostly a lot of cursing—none of it appropriate to say aloud. All that time spent holding onto faith that fate would find a way to bring Lori back into my life, I never dreamed this would be the way it would happen.
“She’s really happy.” Lori’s eyes finally focus on me, but I almost wish they hadn’t. There’s a despair in them that leaves me feeling like someone punched me in the gut. “You’re making my best friend happy, and that makes me happy. She doesn’t need to know anything about what transpired between us before the two of you met. None of that matters now.”
“It matters to me,” I say.
There’s another glimmer of sadness in her eyes as she shakes her head. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but closes it without uttering a word when something draws her attention. She sits back in her chair, clearing her throat as she plasters a big smile on her face.
“What are you two talking about so intently over here?” I look over at Cat as she steps up to the table, standing to greet her with a kiss on the cheek before pulling out her chair. When my gaze lands on Lori again, she’s watching us with a stoic expression on her face.
