Page 33 of New Girl in Town
Chapter Seven
The night should have been romantic. Keyword:should. Of course, that was under the pretense of my date only having two participants, myself and Ben, which didn’t seem so outlandish considering it was a date Ben had asked me—andonlyme—on.
But that was in an alternate universe where dates only included two people.
Thisdate included Ben, but also Grant...and Grant’s date.
I was one wrong comment or chilly breeze away from stalking straight out of this tapas bar, catching an Uber—alone—to wallow in bad reality television, pizza, and whatever the else hell struck my fancy. Anything would be better than enduring the surprise double date no one had asked me if I wanted to go on.
My date had started out nice enough. Ben had swept me off my feet, an easy feat with the fine figure he cut in his tasteful suit and the bouquet of red roses he had given me. The man looked good, and everyone knew it, if the measure of lingering lady gazes when Ben entered the bar was anything to go by.
I’d felt a glow of pleasure at the attention, because I was the one on his arm. Plus, there was the fact that I looked every bit as good as him in a dark red dress that flared around my knees. The pair of Louboutins I’d borrowed from Melinda were doing their part in showcasing my legs. I felt invincible in those red-bottomed shoes, which matched my red lipstick. It was fun to dress up, to embrace pure drama for the night with smoky eyes and curls that tumbled over my shoulders.
I’d been reveling in how good we looked together when I saw them: Grant and the auburn-haired bombshell on his arm.
At the sight of them, my heart had squeezed so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised if the damn thing had bled through my dress.
What the actual fuck?
Hadn’t the man just told me he’d wait for me? That all was fair in love in war? Did Grant St. John mean to make me jealous?
I swallowed hard and worked to keep my face composed. Again, my heart seized at just the moment our eyes met, his blue to my brown. I inclined my head in acknowledgment before I put my hand on Ben’s elbow and guided him in the opposite direction. Just because Grant was here didn’t mean I had to play whatever game this was.
I shook my head at myself. I was a grown woman. This was not how you won the girl, and it was a mark in the con column of dating someone younger. For all his maturity and seeming patience, he still was what he was.
And I was who I was.
God, was this how the youth went about things these days?
I grimaced, catching sight of Grant and his date again. Ben had noticed my exchange with Grant, and caught my hand as I marched forward.
“You know Grant St. John?” he asked in near shock.
I raised an eyebrow at the tone of his question. “Um, yeah,” I replied, distracted, while I tried to find a table far away from Grant. I could see him out of the corner of my eye, pulling his date along behind him and motoring toward me.
Was he a madman?
Of all the places, of all the nights, I fumed, but couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d planned it this way. I screamed like a banshee in my head when I heard Grant calling my name over the chatter of the bar.
“Aurora.”
“I think there’s a table over there that’s free,” I said, pointing to a corner table and ignoring Grant like it was my damn job.
“Aurora, hey,” Grant called again.
“If we go now, we can probably get it,” I told Ben, dragging him behind me.
“I think your friend is trying to talk to you,” Ben said, the confusion apparent in his voice. He twisted around to look behind us.
“No, he’s not,” I replied as I kept walking, and wondered if I could throw Ben over my shoulder and make it to the table before Grant got any closer.
“Yes, yes he is. He’s waving at you.” Ben pointed to the side, where Grant stood. I glared at Grant and came to a halt when he stepped in front of me.
“Aurora, didn’t you hear me?”
I sucked in a deep breath to stop my heart from hurting. I knew anger caused tension, which made you hold your breath, so a deep inhale was what I needed to stay upright and focused.
I sucked in another and then slapped a look of fake surprise on my face.
