guy’s name or simply his station in life as a friend of Joey’s.
“Want a napkin?” Joey glanced at her but didn’t address her so she didn’t respond. “Hey., Marti,” he tried again, louder this time. “Do you want a napkin?”
And the way he said…enunciating every word and getting louder, only annoyed her more. “No, thank you,” Marti said, both annoyed and embarrassed. “You didn’t have to yell. How was I to know that you were speaking to me? You didn’t address me the first time. You’ve been talking on the phone the entire meal.”
Her words were lost on him. He had already jumped up from the table, grabbed a few spare paper napkins from the counter, and landed back in his seat while she was talking. The longer they were together, the less she liked him, really. He was so…arrogant. He was so…rude. And she was so…confused. What did it matter to her?
“Yeah, Buddy,” Joey said brusquely. “I’ll talk to you later. I can’t hear. There’s a woman trying to talk to me while I’m on the phone.” And he gave her a look that implied she was the rude one.
“That is it.” She stood up, made eye contact with Laurel who was working behind the counter, and asked her a question. “Laurel, should I leave these here, or bring them to you?”
“Leaving already, Marti?” She sighed and walked to their table. “I had hoped to talk to you more. I’ve just been so busy with the lunch rush…” Her voice trailed off and she looked first at Joey and then at Marti. They were glowering at each other. “What did you do?” She had her hands on her hips as she glared down at him.
Joey looked at her innocently. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I was the perfect gentleman. I even offered her a napkin.” He shot a look at Marti that dared her to contradict him.
“Yeah, well you might try using one you pompous fool.” Marti pointed at his goatee. “Or are you saving that hot sauce for later. Enjoy your table. And I thought I should let you know that I plan to stay in tonight. No need for you to worry that we’re going to trip over each other for yet another meal today, unless it’s your habit to eat dinner in the blue room at Hope House.”
Marti was leaving. He was going to have his table to himself. And she looked so damn cute when she was angry. There was a fire in her cheeks and something about the way her eyes flashed when she looked at him. He practically wanted to stand, taker her face in his hands and kiss her. As angry as she was, he wondered how long it had been since someone had loved her. Then he shook his head. Why did he even care? That didn’t matter. It sure as hell wasn’t going to be him. What the hell did he know about love anyway? He toyed with the idea of joking with her, but she didn’t much look like she could take a joke at the moment.
“Nope,” he said through a mouth full of fries, “I’ll be grabbing Bojangles to start my celebration of the new year.”
“That’s right,” Laurel added. “I forgot about the First Night celebrations. You should come!”
She was about to continue and explain, but Marti interrupted. She was still fuming over Joey. It was rare for anyone to make her that angry. She had never even grown that upset with Blaine and lord knows he deserved it. “I just want some fresh air. Yesterday was a long drive. Today has already been a long day. Can I think about it?”
“Absolutely, hon. Take your time.” Laurel gave her a pat on the shoulder as she walked past.
And with that, Marti headed out the door and down the sidewalk to the real estate office. Maybe Deb would have time to show her the listing on Dogwood now. Maybe she would finally catch up with Blaine tonight. Maybe she would check out the festivities. She did, after all, come here to find hope. And the chances of finding it in her room at Hope House were pretty slim, no matter how perfect the décor, the fire, the Jacuzzi bath, and the room service was. Any place she was alone was pretty low on hope these days.
Pushing through the door, Marti discovered she was once more alone with Deborah. And the woman was just as welcoming as