Page 18 of Wine and Research
“Ut oh, he came with attitude,” Faith said, unnecessarily.
Jenna twisted to glance at her brother then turned back around. “Did you two have a fight or something today?”
She ripped her gaze from him to look at Jenna. “No. Today was our first amicable day.”
“Maybe that’s it,” Sophia said, before sipping her wine. Since her fiancé was her designated driver, she was the only one drinking alcohol tonight. “He may not know how to handle it.”
Faith nodded.
“So, nothing strange happened?” Jenna asked, scooping out a spoonful of her limoncello mouse.
Elle snorted. “Just the opposite. It was strange. Guess he saved his attitude for tonight.”
She glanced over at him again, and her pulse kicked up. He was still watching her with annoyance bunching his brow, but when Evie arrived and slid a pizza pie between him and Scott on the bar, it effectively broke their gazes.
She blew out a breath and stared at her tiramisu.
“Do you want to switch seats with me?” Sophia asked. “I don’t mind. I enjoy looking at my fiancé.”
It would give her friend a clear view of Ryder, who sat on the other side of Scott, but moving would show weakness, and she wasn’t weak. Stupid maybe, when it came to the exasperating guy, but not weak.
Elle shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m good. He’s the one with the problem, not me.”
Faith slapped the table. “Amen!”
The smiling woman held up her hand to Elle for a high five. Then Jenna got in on it, followed by Sophia.
All the men at the bar stopped what they were doing to stare at them. One of the ones she didn’t recognize smiled at them and raised his glass before turning to say something to Nico. She had to assume the guy had wanted to buy them drinks, but Nico’sreply had him dropping money on the counter and scurrying from the restaurant.
“And that’s why Jenna and I have a tough time getting a date around here,” Faith muttered, stabbing her remaining piece of cheesecake with her fork. “I’m tempted to join my sister in Texas. Piper was there less than a month and snagged herself a former Navy jet pilot and got herself some top gun action. I can’t even get a nibble around here.”
Faith’s sister was a talented artist, and Elle had been lucky enough to purchase one of her local landscape paintings before she moved to Texas to open a gallery.
Jenna huffed. “You and me both.”
Elle glanced at Jeremy. His pizza was gone and so was half of his beer. Maybe a full belly would curb some of his attitude. Probably not. She’d wager a bet he was born with it. And she had no trouble envisioning Officer Mercer running background checks on any man who even looked at Jenna.
But he wasn’t looking at Jenna now. No, his gaze flicked to her again, and she got the impression it was going to take more than a few slices of pizza and a beer to lighten his mood.
What was his problem?
Elle held Jeremy’s steely gaze with one of her own. So much for that short-lived miracle. Officer Mercer was back. Apparently, she’d done something to tick the guy off, without being near him.
Too bad.
And too bad for her, he still managed to look sexy, all brooding and annoyed. His irritation was on the rise again, too, if the flash in his eyes was anything to go by.
Time to leave. She’d have to put up with Officer Grumpy all day tomorrow, but tonight, she still had a few hours of peace left to enjoy.
“Think it’s time I called it a night,” she said, rising to her feet. “I’ll settle my bill with Evie on the way out.”
Elle gave them each a hug, then walked around the other side of the tables so she wouldn’t have to pass the bar and the sexy man with the steel-blue gaze. She stopped by the register to pay her bill, and although she wanted to cover the entire check, Elle knew the ladies would read her the riot act.
Because it had happened on their first dinner out. Her friends were independent, and Elle respected that, and never tried to pick up the tab again.
But she did pick up her pace.
Above, the sky was awash with streaks of pink and orange melting into deepening shades of indigo as the sun went down behind the mountains in the distance. The parking lot underwent a subtle transformation with the sunlight softening into a warm golden hue. Streetlights flickered to life and their soft, amber light danced across the parked vehicles, creating an inviting ambiance in the gathering dusk.
