tell the hostess. Give me a second. Mark ran to the bar to get me a glass of wine.” She offered me a tight smile and then hurried away.
“Well, that was fun,” Lex said. “Thanks for not telling her I was coming. It made for a real warm and fuzzy reception. Next time, consider having me jump out of a large cardboard cake. I hear that always goes over well in a crowd.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I mumbled, watching Lauren walk away. “Why does she seem so nervous?”
Lex shrugged. “Probably the same reason you brought a dat—friend as backup.”
“Mmmm,” I hummed, something not quite sitting right as Lauren weaved through the crowd on her way back to us.
“Okay. All set,” she said. “It will be about ten more minutes until our table’s ready. Let’s go find Mark at the bar.” She paused and craned her head back to peer up at me. “Please be nice.”
“Why wouldn’t I be nice?”
“Of course.” She nodded and then turned on a toe, her heels clipping the tile as she led the way.
Lex and I exchanged suspicious glances and then followed after her.
The bar was packed, not a single seat to be found, so when Lauren stopped behind an older gray-haired gentleman at the bar, I didn’t think much of it.
And then he turned.
And then he kissed her.
And then Lex audibly gasped.
And I blinked as my son’s soon-to-be elderly stepfather extended a hand in my direction.
“You must be Hudson. Can I get you a drink?”
Stupefied, I clasped his hand and rumbled, “Whiskey. Neat. Double.”
“Beer,” Lex interjected, extending her hand. “He’ll have a beer. I’m Lex, by the way. I’m sure Lauren’s told you all about me. And I would love a beer too.”
Lauren sawed her bottom lip with her teeth. “Mark, you remember Alexis, right? She’s David and Judy Lawson’s daughter.”
“Oh,” he said, his eyes wrinkling as he smiled. “You’re Calvin’s little sister. Yes. Now I remember. Your parents brought you and your brother out on my yacht when you were much younger.” He cupped her hand in both of his. “So good to see you again, dear. And all grown up too.”
Lex laughed uncomfortably. “Uh, yeah. So…good to see you again, twenty years later, quasi-engaged to my friend. What are the chances?”
“Whatever they are, they were definitely in my favor.” He released her hand and kissed Lauren’s temple before turning back to the bar.
With Mark’s back to us, I bulged my eyes at Lauren in a silent what the fuck?
She bulged hers back in a silent shut the fuck up and be nice?
But it was Lex’s tugging on my arm before pressing up onto her toes to whisper, “Oh my God, I am so glad I came for this,” that put the smile back on my face.
I stared down at the mischievous green eyes, the corners of my mouth twitching. “You should have let me order the whiskey.”
Her cheeks pinked in the least Lex way possible. “It’s going to be a long time before I let you order the whiskey again.”
I don’t know why I did it.
We weren’t talking about it. We were pretending to be normal.
For fuck’s sake, Lauren was standing right there.
But I regretted nothing as I dipped low, my cheek grazing hers, and put my lips next to her ear. “I was sober last night. Tonight, with you in that sexy-as-fuck dress, you probably would have been safer if I’d had the whiskey.”
She went solid and her breathing shuddered as I traced a finger down her arm, careful to block the movement from Lauren’s view. The last thing either of us needed was this thing between us getting back to Cal before we’d even had the chance to figure out what the hell it was.
And as the night went on, I became less and less patient with the idea of waiting to do just that.
Dinner was great. I learned Lauren’s parents had set her up with Mark’s son, Mark Junior. It was an oh-so-hilarious story of mixed-up phone calls, late-night texts, and finally a date before either of them realized he wasn’t the Mark she was supposed to be dating. Lex had a field day with that story, gasping and laughing in all the right places. My favorite part was every time Mark would call Lauren a beautiful young lady, Lex would squeeze my thigh under the table.
Luckily, old man Garrett thought Lauren was a seriously beautiful young lady, and it got to the point where Lex didn’t even move