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“Hello, Zach,” she said.
The waitress turned to Emily and smiled. “You must be the new coach. I’m Taylor Jones. I’m married to the sheriff.”
The woman had a pregnancy bump and Zach was happy for her and Ryan. They had all gone to school together here in Cupid.
“I’m Emily Martin,” she said.
“Welcome to Cupid. I hear you’re coaching the girls’ basketball team,” she said.
“Yes,” Emily replied.
“What would guys like to drink?”
“Would you like to share a bottle of pinot grigio? Remember how we liked to drink that wine in college?” Emily said.
He’d forgotten and he did remember how much they enjoyed splitting a bottle between them. They were younger and walked home from the restaurant, so it was no big deal.
“I think I just want a glass,” he said.
“That’s probably for the best,” she replied, gazing at him the way she used to look at him. The look that always made his heart do summersaults while his blood rushed through him, heating him all the way to his toes. Today was no different.
They ordered the wine and he told Taylor they would order dinner when she returned.
“You enjoyed Italian food and they have some really good dishes here,” he told her.
“Remember that time we tried to cook Risotto and it tasted awful,” she said, laughing.
He did remember that and all the good times they had together. The way they played, laughed, and teased until they found themselves in bed.
Damn! Why was he thinking of that now?
“Yes,” he said, smiling at the memory of how hard they had worked on the dish, and finally, they had gone out to their favorite restaurant.
The waitress came back with their drinks and they each ordered the baked spaghetti. With a grin, she nodded. This had been their go-to meal whenever they were anxious about grades, classes, or even their favorite game.
After Taylor took their order, she smiled at him. “We’ve played some pretty good tricks on each other, but I’m calling a truce.”
Damn! Why now?
“I’m in a very precarious position and expect to be fired at any moment. I’d hate to somehow implicate you and drag you into my world. In a couple months, after basketball season is over, things hopefully will change, but not now.”
What was she referring to? What did she expect to change?
“You’re probably right. But the reason I asked you here tonight was because I overheard something that you need to be aware of,” he said, dreading telling her. “The coaches are going to ask you to go to the local bar with them. There will be a group of parents there who will confront you. The coaches were going to sneak out and leave you to fend for yourself.”
A visible shiver rippled through her.
“Thank you for telling me,” she said. “Brian asked me to go with them tonight, but I turned them down because I was coming here to meet you, and I don’t go anywhere with married men without their wives present.”
He couldn’t blame her for that after what happened that got her fired. It was all he could do not to ask her about her relationship with the man in the front office, but he doubted she would tell him, and he didn’t want to make her distrust him.
His conscience pricked at him as he wanted to get her to run around the Cupid statue. It would be all he could do to speak to Brian tomorrow at school. How could the man be involved in trying to bring down another coach?
Even Kyle and Cody had been a part of this plan, and he’d found it disgusting. Max refused, telling them they were cruel.
Now he really felt like a traitor. Wasn’t that what he was doing? Trying to get her fired?
Suddenly, he didn’t want to harm Emily.
