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“That’s enough Jake,” she cut in with wondering how he’d learned about her and Walker.
“Is it? How many of the men in the room tonight have you crushed Stacey?” he countered. “Why did our host greet you as an old friend and let you know that Philippe isn’t here, and Paul didn’t know you were at our table? Who are they?”
“The chefs here, yes, I dated Philippe briefly, very, very briefly as in didn’t make it to dessert on date one because he was an egotistical jerk and I’d rather not deal with him when I come here. Cole is typically here most evenings and I’ve been on my fair share of dates in this restaurant because I know the fastest route out of it. Paul hates that I don’t always admire his cooking. Typically, he comes out and starts arguing with me over the changes I have to the dishes.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really Jake, just because you’re friends with Miles doesn’t mean you know me.”
“So why do you change the dishes so much?” he added as the others watched them.
“Because Paul loves asparagus and I’d rather not die,” she stated with a light smile.
“Sorry?” John said confused.
“I am allergic to asparagus, found out courtesy of Emma who has nut allergies and carries an EpiPen with her everywhere. It’s how we became such fast friends. She nearly kills me then saved my life all in two minutes.”
“Asparagus is an odd allergy,” John said.
“It is but it’s the only one I’ve found that actually causes anaphylaxis thankfully. Yes, it was the asparagus and not something else because I was forced to endure allergy testing in order to get Emma off my back about it all. The doctors said it wasn’t surprising then that I have reactions to garlic and onions as well but they’re not threatening in moderate quantities. I also have allergies to lilies they discovered since they’re all part of the same family.”
“Well then we’ll make sure there’s no asparagus or lilies at the charity dinner,” Tammie said when the waiter came to take their order.
He got around to her and lifted an eyebrow. She nodded and he moved off causing Leroy a defensive lineman to ask, “You’re not eating?”
“Matthew knows what I want. Yes, I know most of the waiters by name; it helps get me away from the lunatics my friends set me up with.”
“Such as?” Gary asked.
“There was the lawyer who was thirty-five and still lived with his mother whom he called to ask which wine to order and then called again about which entrée to order and then called to discuss the palate of said entrée.”
“Seriously?” Gary laughed shaking his head.
“Mmm yes or there was the musician who called everything fetch, yes fetch. He used it as a noun, a verb, an adjective, and an adverb. Then there was the pilot who thought the best dinner conversation was a list of the celebrities he’s flown on a jet and then proceeded to tell me what exactly they had done on those flights.”
“Poor Stacey,” Jake said with a wink.
“What was that?” Lizzie asked catching it.
“Well, the reason why most of my dates are so short is because the guys can’t keep their lies or embellishments going,” she stated.
“And since Stacey has a photographic memory along with being able to recall every single conversation, she’s probably ever had they don’t tend to stick around long,” Jake added.
“What?” Lizzie stated looking at her. “How is it he knows that, and I didn’t?”
“I was a jerk to her at the wedding and when I went to apologize the next day, we argued a bit more. She proceeded to recap our discussion word for word before I had to concede that I’d been a monumental jerk. She reminded me that my mother raised me to be a gentleman which is why I agreed to this so easily,” he answered for her. “But don’t look now Stacey, I’d say broken number seventeen is headed our way.”
“You number them?” Charlie asked her.
“It’s the number we’re up to there was at least twelve at the wedding and we’ve ran into several others while putting the beginning of this auction together,” he added as she stood up.
“Please excuse me for a few minutes,” Stacey told the table as Jake and the other men stood with her. She turned but apparently, he was faster than she was, and she found herself face to face with the creep.
“Stacey, I thought that was you. How have you been darling?”
“Darling?” she stated shaking her head at his nerve.
“Don’t be like that, Kristin and I have divorced.”
