watched her walk toward the restaurant with variant expressions—his was of shock and amusement while mine was pure fury. What the fuck was her problem? She’d been sleeping silently as a baby when Selena kissed me. No way Tyra could have known.
Whistling, Ever stuck his hands in his pockets as he regarded me with only a smidge of sympathy. “You’ve got major damage control ahead of you, bro.”
I grunted my response. Yeah, it seemed so.
Inside the restaurant, we quickly found our friends since the place was deserted and sat down at the large U-shaped booth with its high, leather backing. I ended up being seated next to Tyra, who sat stiffly while doing everything in her power not to even let her elbow rub mine. You’d think I had a contagious disease the way she sat so tightly wound. I was getting ready to call her out on it when the manager came over.
“I’m sorry, miss. We don’t allow dogs inside our establishment. It’s unsanitary.”
Laying on his belly at Ever’s feet, Jay D’s ear perked as if he understood every word.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Jamie quipped. “We made sure he wiped his paws before he came in.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to remove the dog so as not to disturb our other customers.”
Four started to rise dutifully, but when Ever stayed seated, keeping her from leaving the booth, she frowned at him.
“Look around you, Brian,” he said, reading the manager’s name tag. “We’re the only customers you have, and thanks to you, I’m feeling pretty disturbed. The mutt stays, and while you’re at it, how about a nice juicy T-bone for his trouble? Medium rare, please.”
“I really must insist—”
“If someone comes, I promise we’ll remove him,” Ever attempted to negotiate. “But since you’re closing in less than an hour and we’re in the middle of nowhere, I doubt we’ll have a problem.”
Giving up, the manager reluctantly took our orders, even writing down Ever’s order of steak for Jay D.
“Why did you do that?” Four hadn’t wasted time showing her displeasure when the manager walked away. Her cheeks were red from embarrassment while her eyes filled with fire. “He was just doing his job. You didn’t have to be so rude.”
“I know that, princess,” Ever mumbled. “And I was just doing mine.” He tried to kiss her, but she turned away, so he gripped her chin and made her kiss him anyway.
“Gross,” Lou grumbled when they kept right on kissing as if they weren’t sitting at a table full of people. “Some of us are trying to enjoy our lukewarm, lemon water.” Her button nose wrinkled as she continued to watch them.
Rising, Ever smoothly pulled a starry-eyed Four from the booth, and then they made for the door with Jay D hot on their heels. Everyone left at the table watched them go.
“Oh, my God.” Lou groaned, breaking the confused silence first. “I bet they’re going to do it in the van.” Turning her attention toward Jamie and Bee, she smirked. “Are you sure you guys don’t want to join them?”
Bee immediately picked up one of the extra straws and tossed it at Lou. “Give it a rest, Valentine. That is not what happened.”
Lou snorted before batting her eyes and sipping her tepid water. When she noticed Wren staring at her from across the table, she looked away, her amusement fading. She looked sad now, and I wondered when Wren would finally break down the wall she was slowly building between them.
You’re one to talk.
Somehow, my gaze found Selena’s who was seated next to Wren on the other side of the booth. She didn’t look the least bit guilty about our kiss, and I realized that in the blink of an eye, the wall between Tyra and me had become a mountain to climb.
After Ever tipped the manager generously and Four made him apologize, we were back on the road an hour later. Wren had elected to take over driving while Lou stubbornly reclaimed her seat in the back. Feeling like it was the wise thing to do, I volunteered to keep Wren company and hopped in the front passenger seat. Since it was the middle of the night and everyone seemed to be emotionally exhausted for individual reasons, it didn’t take long for them to count sheep. We were only a couple of hours out, but I figured it was for the best. Even snake-in-the-grass Selena had lost her fight with consciousness.
“If you don’t mind