The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) - Emma Doherty Page 0,9
then that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. She’s always been good at schmoozing, especially with the right people, as if she thinks it might get her somewhere.
An announcement from somewhere tells us dinner is about to be served, and I make my way over to my assigned table, grateful that it’s finally underway and I’m one step closer to getting out of here. The table fills up around me, and my sister slides into the seat next to me. I turn to her, ready to tell her how great she looks, but I’m distracted by her fingers, which are smoothing down her already smooth dress and then start fidgeting with her napkin. I look closer at her face and see that her eyes are darting around nervously and she’s worrying her bottom lip with her top teeth.
“What’s wrong?” I ask quietly.
She looks at me in surprise, like she wasn’t expecting me to be here, even though we’re in a room full of people, sitting at a table for ten people.
Eric slides in next to her and immediately drops a hand into her lap, stopping her fidgeting, and she briefly closes her eyes before slipping her hands out from his then smiling at him radiantly. She turns back to me, and while her smile is wide, it doesn’t meet her eyes. “Nothing’s wrong at all. I was just thinking about the baby.”
I don’t believe her for a second, and as the meal progresses, I watch her carefully, trying not to be too obvious as Eric holds court at our table, my mother jumping in to support him when necessary and keeping everyone else entertained. It’s only when I see Eric give my sister a subtle but firm nudge in the arm that she starts to make any contribution to the conversation at all, and even then, it’s not her best work. She’s distracted and kind of all over the place, which honestly just confuses me because she was raised exactly the same way I have been, and we both know exactly how to act when at a dinner like this.
Something has definitely shaken her.
Luckily for her, the musical entertainment starts after the main course is served, and everyone turns their attention to that. That’s when I notice her eyes dart to the bar more than once. It’s sly of her, really, because the bar is at a forty-five-degree angle to the entertainment, so it’s not very noticeable unless you’re like me and ignoring the music act entirely and instead watching your older sister. At first I don’t notice what it is she’s looking at because the bar is relatively quiet as everyone is seated. There’s just a couple of old guys standing over there drinking what looks like whiskey. It’s only after the fourth time I’ve seen her look over there in as many minutes that I quit watching my sister and instead watch the bar.
This time I get why she’s looking that way.
The surfer-looking bartender looks up from his glasses, and their eyes lock for a second before my sister is turning away again.
He doesn’t look away, though. He continues to stare Ellie in a way that is entirely inappropriate when she’s sitting at her husband’s side.
Maybe tonight just got a lot more interesting after all.
“Are you having an affair with Ellie Lawrence?” I ask an hour later as the bartender in question leans against a wall, smoking a cigarette on his break. Once the band finished their set and dessert was served, Eric pulled my sister into the middle of the dance floor and this guy immediately disappeared outside, presumably for his break.
I’ve been watching them since that first look they exchanged, and quite honestly, I don’t know how nobody else has noticed it. The sexual tension between them is palpable.
He bursts out laughing at my frank question and throws his cigarette onto the ground, stubbing it out. I half-expect him to brush past me and head back inside, but he turns to me with bright eyes and a grin on his face. “No, I am not having an affair with Ellie Lawrence.”
“Oh.” I feel quite disappointed at that. Granted, it would have been way out of character for Ellie to do something like that, especially since I’m pretty sure she loves Eric, but still, it would have been something, that’s for sure. “So then why do you guys keep watching each other?”
He shakes his head, but he’s still smiling. “We’re not.”