Page 45 of Forking the Billionaire

I forced myself to look back at my sandwich. I tried to listen to Juno and Chester’s conversation.

“The bartending, does that—” Gabriel’s voice cut short. “Are you all right?”

“I think…I’m….” Esme shot up from her seat.

Concerned by the tone in her voice, I stopped pretending I wasn’t listening, and fully turned my head to look at her. The conversation around me stopped. Juno and Chester were looking too.

Esme’s face had a sickly green tint to it.

She turned around, took two quick strides, and barfed in a potted plant.

I shot up to my feet.

Halfway to her, Gabriel was already there, rubbing her back.

“The chicken you ordered,” Gabriel said. “Perhaps it was prepared with the tangy Polynesian jerk infusion BBQ sauce that you’re allergic to. I’ll call for assistance to get you to a physician.”

“I’m fine.” Esme waved her hands. “You’re probably right. It was definitely the sauce.”

Her voice was too even, almost like Gabriel’s. There was a slight catch in her breath.

Esme was lying. But why?

FOURTEEN

ESME

Bile coated my tongue, and my stomach churned with the promise of round two. “I think I’m going to bail a little early tonight.”

“I’ll walk you home,” Gabe said.

“You don’t have to do that.” I put on my most competent smile. “I’m really okay.”

“I insist.”

He wasn’t going to take no for an answer, even though he should be here, enjoying himself instead of worrying unnecessarily about me. Then I’d just end up feeling sickandguilty. I sighed.

“I’ll take her.” Jasper strolled over from the table.

Gabe assessed him.

“Then you can stay and enjoy. You’ve hardly had a chance to eat, Gabriel.” Jasper gestured to Gabe’s full plate.

He definitely had a point.

“You haven’t finished your dinner, either,” Gabe told Jasper.

Jasper popped back over to the table and reached between two of Layana’s sisters to the other side of the table where he’d been seated. The sisters shot wide eyed expressions at each other as they leaned out of his way.

Jasper stood back up, a sandwich in hand, opened his mouth wide, and proceeded to shove the entire thing into his mouth. It was way too large a chunk to fit, basically half his meal, all in one bite.

His cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s. He awkwardly chewed, a near-impossible task with so much food stuffed in there.

The sisters whispered their disapproval. But I chuckled at Jasper’s ridiculousness.

It was weirdly reassuring that I wasn’t the only one here who made questionable decisions. Jasper making a fool of himself made me feel a little less alone, and even if it wasn’t really for me, it wasn’t nothing.

“Walking me home is an easy peasy job, completely within the realm of best man duties,” I said. “Or, better yet, I could just walk alone.”

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