Page 26 of Fire

Allie nodded in understanding. “Okay. I get that.” Then being a true understanding best friend, she said, “We’ll go to my favorite restaurant instead.”

Gwen smiled gratefully. “Charlie’s?”

“Yep. Get ready so we can get the party started.” She hopped up from the bed. “You’ve got thirty minutes.”

Gwen sent her a salute as Allie scuttled out the door.

Charlie’s didn’t take reservations, which was a good thing because they would have never gotten in otherwise. As it was, they had a forty-five-minute wait for their table. They spent that time at the bar, starting the celebration early with an appletini party. Gwen, knowing she hadn’t eaten all day and would be driving them home, sipped at her one while Allie had four. She took her celebrations seriously.

Finally seated with menu in hand, Gwen couldn’t decide if she wanted the snapper covered in butter sauce or the prime rib. On her empty stomach, they both sounded good. She looked around her menu, ready to get Allie’s drunken opinion, when something caught her attention.

Or should she say someone.

Someone dressed in all black.

Shit. What were the odds? He was walking her direction, so she quickly hid behind her menu, stealthily peeking around the side.

He wasn’t alone. Stopping at a booth, he sat a beautiful blonde before sitting across from her, his back to Gwen.

Heart squeezing and feeling like she couldn’t breathe, she leaned across the table and, still using her menu as a shield, whisper-hissed, “We need to go.”

“What?”

“Shush. Not so loud. Blake ishere. We need to go. Now.”

Allie started to rubberneck.

“Don’t look!” Yes, she was still whisper-hissing.

Allie leaned across the table until their faces were just inches apart, and whispered, “Are you sure it’s him?”

“Positive. And he’s not alone. He’s with some blonde.”

“You’re kidding?” Bless her friend for sounding offended.

“Guess he hasn’t been pining away for me all week, huh?” Gwen swallowed down the ache that suddenly filled her throat. “What I can’t figure out is what he’s doing here? Shouldn’t he be at work?” Although, he had taken time off last Saturday to spend it with her, and he’d said he had a manager that he trusted.

“Maybe he’s taking a dinner break. We’re only a few blocks from Fire. It’s not that big of a stretch he’d be here. This place is the bomb.”

Gwen nodded distractedly, trying to keep an eye on the back of Blake’s head.

“Okay, what’s the plan for escape?”

God, she loved her best friend. Even shitting all over her celebration dinner, Allie still had her back.

“As soon as we get out of here, we’ll go someplace else,” Gwen promised.

“Only this time we’ll stick closer to home.”

She gave Allie a half-smile. “Deal.”

Gwen took one last look at the back of Blake’s head and the laughing blonde who had perfect teeth, and explained, “He’s sitting at a booth to your left with his back to us. We need to pass his table to get out, but it seems his focus is on his date, so if we stay calm and walk casually, I don’t think he’ll even notice us.”

“Okay, let’s do it now, like ripping off a Band-Aid, but keep your head averted until after we pass.”

“God, this is so stupid. I feel like a teenager getting caught by my parents somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be.”

Allie reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I know you liked him, and I know this sucks, but we’ll get through it. Next stop, Jerry’s. We’ll eat our weight in ice cream.”

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