Page 45 of A Series of Rooms
Jonah had his back to the door. When he tried to turn to find the source of Liam’s distress, a hand tapped frantically against his. “No, no, don’t look,” Liam whispered, ducking his head low. His agitation put Jonah on edge.
“Who is it?” Jonah asked. “What’s wrong?”
“We should go.” He was already pulling a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet, tucking the corner beneath his empty mug.
“Is everything okay?” Jonah asked, sliding out of the booth at his cue.
“Yeah, sorry. Just...a confrontation I’m really not looking to have tonight.”
They made it to the exit just after the hostess led the group to their table. Jonah kept his head down, resisting the urge to seek out whatever threat had Liam so shaken.
They were one foot out the door when a voice called out from behind them.
“Hey, Cassidy!”
They stopped. Liam cursed under his breath, and Jonah suddenly understood why.
Because he recognized that voice, too.
CHAPTER 20
Liam
Nathan caught up with them in the parking lot, apparently determined enough to harass Liam that he left his friends at the table.
“Cassidy,” he said again, undeterred as Liam ducked out from under the hand on his shoulder. “You can’t still be avoiding me.”
I really, really can.
“We were just leaving.” He double-tapped the key fob in his coat pocket, his car lighting up down the row.
“Who’s your friend?”
Jonah, who hadn’t said a word since they stepped outside, kept his head down. Liam placed his hand gently on his elbow and kept them moving toward the car.
Nathan stepped directly into their path, then went still. “Wait.” He ducked to get a look at Jonah’s face, and his eyes went wide. “No shit.” He rocked back on his heels, glancingfrom Jonah to Liam. “Seriously, Cassie? Isthiswhy we haven’t seen you in weeks?”
Liam cringed at the nickname. “I’ve been working,” he defended.
Nathan turned back to Jonah. “I guess you both have.”
Jonah’s eyes hadn’t left the ground. His jaw was a hard line of tension, agitated twitches of muscle under his skin. A surge of protection ripped through Liam.
“Watch it,” he warned.
“It’s a joke,” Nathan said, in the familiar tone of all thejokeshe had hurled at Liam over the years. “He can take a joke, right? Hey, you should be thanking me. I didn’t realize I was playing matchmaker, but it looks like everything worked out.”
His face warmed despite the cold wind, but he didn’t know if it was from embarrassment or rage. “Jonah is just my friend.”
Nathan blinked, cutting his eyes to him.“‘Jonah?’”he echoed.
He felt Jonah stiffen beside him. Liam wanted to run himself over with his own car. It had been so long since he thought of him as Leo, and he was frankly surprised Nathan remembered him by any name at all, but still—it was a careless mistake.
“Don’t let us keep you from your friends,” Liam said, desperately swerving away from the subject.
“Right,” Nathan said, glancing between them again. His eyes lingered on Jonah a few seconds longer. “Are youcoming to dinner next weekend? Or will you still be avoiding me then?”
Liam had already been dreading seeing Nathan and Ben at their families’ yearly pre-Christmas dinner. Now he wanted to withdraw from it entirely. He could only imagine the ways that Nathan would dangle this story over him in front of everyone. In front of Liam’s parents.
