Page 83 of Between the Lines

I extend an arm to her. “We have a reservation. Come. Let’s see what you’ll think about the Stones.”

She hesitates only a fraction of a second before sliding her arm through mine.

I’d told her she wouldn’t be here as my date. But as we walk past the lengthening line and straight into the dimness of Velveteen, I find it very hard to pretend otherwise.

CHAPTER 31

CHARLOTTE

Caleb and Nora Stone are in their mid-thirties. They’re East Asian, both tall and slim, and they’re already inside when we arrive.

Nora is in a two-piece suit, with no blouse under the jacket. The outfit is beige but covered with brightly embroidered flowers. It looks designer, and with her pixie cut and dark lip, she looks like a model. She smiles warmly and talks fast.

Her brother is a sharp contrast. He’s just as tall, but he’s sporting a buzz cut. His suit is a size too big. He’s a technical engineer at heart, but clearly a social person, talking nearly as much as his sister.

Nora’s older than her brother. Maybe holds more decision-making power, I think.

We’re halfway through our drinks when she cocks her head to the side and looks at me with a bit too much scrutiny.

“Are you sure we haven’t met before, Charlotte?”

I laugh a little. “No, I’m fairly certain we haven’t. I would have remembered you.”

“You don’t work in the TV business,” she continues. “Are you sure?”

I look back down at my menu. “No, I’m sure.”

She sighs dramatically and elbows her brother. “Does she not seem familiar to you?”

Caleb’s voice is smoother. “No. If she was, there’d be no doubt in my mind that we’d met.”

I look up in surprise at him. He’s smiling at me a little. Is he...flirting?

I smile back at him. “Thanks.”

“Just the truth,” he says simply and looks back down at his menu. “We should get oysters for the table.”

“Oh, good idea,” his sister continues. “They also do that steak here, the one four can share. Let’s do that as the main.”

It’s clear to me, after just a few minutes in their presence, that they don’t want to discuss business. Not here. Not yet. They want to vet Aiden.

He seems to realize it, too.

Because he just nods and closes his menu. “That sounds great to me. Should we ask for their mocktail menu?”

Nora’s eyebrows rise. “You know we don’t drink?”

“I didn’t,” he says smoothly, “but I’m not tonight. I’m driving.”

“Good man,” Caleb mutters and closes his own menu.

I glance at Aiden out of the corner of my eye. He knew they weren’t drinkers. I know it, bone-deep, and he’s playing the game. Charming them without making it seem like he's trying.

He’s good at that.

The oysters are delicious, and so are the mocktails. The Stones are talented conversationalists. If I had thought they would be technocrats who preferred their books over people, I would have been wrong. Nora is the driving force behind our exchange, but Caleb interjects here and there in the comfortable way of a sibling.

“So, how long,” Nora asks as we all reach for strips of the giant medium-rare steak that has been served on a flat stone, “have you two been dating?”

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