He laughed. “I’ll give it some serious thought and you’ll hear from me on Monday.”
As he left, my head turned toward the building that housed LanCorp’s headquarters. Landon wouldn’t find me with my back turned again.
—
“SHE started crying the minute you walked out.”
I looked at Arnoldo over the rim of my tumbler, which held two fingers of scotch. I swallowed, then asked, “Do you want me to feel guilty about that?”
“No. I wouldn’t feel sorry for her, either. But I thought you should know that Corinne isn’t completely heartless.”
“I never thought she was. I just thought she’d given that heart to her husband.”
Arnoldo lifted one shoulder in a shrug. Dressed in well-worn jeans and a tucked-in white dress shirt that was open at the collar and rolled up at the cuffs, he was drawing a lot of female attention.
The bar was packed, but our section of the VIP balcony was guarded well, keeping the rest of the patrons at bay. Arnoldo sat on the crescent-shaped sofa where Cary had sat the first night I’d met with Eva outside the Crossfire. The place would always hold strong memories because of her. It was that night when I realized she was changing everything.
“You look tired,” Arnoldo said.
“It’s been one of those weeks.” I caught his look. “No, it’s not Eva.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Nothing to say, really. I should’ve been smarter. I let the world see how much she means to me.”
“Passionate kisses on the street, even more passionate fights in the park.” He smiled ruefully. “What is it they say? Wearing your heart on your sleeve?”
“I opened the door, now everyone wants to walk through it. She’s the most direct way to f**k with my head, and everyone knows it.”
“Including Brett Kline?”
“He’s not an issue any longer.”
Arnoldo studied me and must have seen whatever he needed to. He nodded. “I’m glad, my friend.”
“So am I.” I took another drink. “What’s new with you?”
He waved off the question with a careless sweep of his hand, his gaze sliding around us to take in the women nearby who were swaying to the music of Lana Del Rey. “The restaurant is doing well, as you know.”
“Yes, I’m very pleased. Exceeded profit projections in every way.”
“We just filmed some promotional teasers for the new season earlier this week. Once the Food Network starts airing them and the new episodes, we should see a nice boost in business.”
“I can always say I knew you when.”
He laughed and clinked his glass to mine when I held it up in a toast.
We were back on track, which settled some of the unrest I’d been feeling. I didn’t lean on Arnoldo the way Eva leaned on her friends or Cary leaned on her, but Arnoldo was important to me all the same. I didn’t have many people in my life who were close to me. Finding the rhythm he and I had lost was at least one major victory in a week that had seemed like a losing battle.
18
“OH MY GOD,” I moaned around a bite of chocolate toffee cupcake, “this is divine.”
Kristin, the wedding planner, beamed. “It’s one of my favorites, too. Hold on, though. The butter vanilla is even better.”
“Vanilla over chocolate?” My gaze slid over the yummies on the coffee table. “No way.”
“I would usually agree,” Kristin said, making a note, “but this bakery made me a convert. The lemon is also very good.”