“Who is she to you?” Tahlia asked him accusingly. “A girlfriend you didn’t tell me you had?”
I spoke before he could. “I came over because I’d insisted he give you one thousand dollars for the covert glances he was shooting me all through your date.”
Stumped, the woman blinked while Jonah’s mouth dropped.
“One thousand dollars?” she asked, her voice coming out high-pitched.
I turned to Jonah. “Go on,” I said. “Admit that you weren’t looking at me. Or pay up.”
He stared at me, part mesmerized and part stupefied before the tips of his lips curved. His hand slipped into his pocket, pulling out a couple of hundred-dollar bills. “I only have two hundred dollars,” he said in a wry voice.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “What about the remaining eight hundred dollars?” I asked with a pointed look, and he caught on.
With unnerving calm, he met Tahlia’s glare.
“Well, the only other expensive thing I’ve got on me …” he said, lifting his left arm to display his bare wrist. “Oh look.” He met Tahlia’s gaze. His silence stretched just long enough to make the air feel heavier. “You’ve already helped yourself to it, haven’t you?” His tone was steady.
All color drained from the woman’s face in a way that suggested she definitely had. She stood up. She shot me an angry look, all bristling before she turned to Jonah.
“If you want to insinuate I’m a thief, why did you lead me on for so long, you jerk?” After saying so, she reached for her drink in a manner that suggested she was looking for someone to fling it on.
Some sort of protective instinct took over, and I took a step forward, putting a hand out to stop her when she turned and flung the contents of her glass on me.
The huge, bright pink martini flew through the air and splashed all over me in a wild arc.
The pink liquid splattered across my white dress, dripping down in streaks. The bar went silent; the only sound heard was the soft drip of the drink hitting the floor.
I felt the cold first before the icy trickle down my cheeks and neck made me gasp. Then the shock of having a martini running down me took over.
I couldn’t believe it.
I’d ended up being the target of Tahlia’s rage.
In the stunned silence that followed, Jonah cursed and swung me around to help.
“Are you all right?” he asked while Tahlia stomped off, her heels hitting the ground with ferocity as she walked out of the bar, taking the watch with her.
I spluttered while Jonah reached for the napkins and handed them to me. I took them in mute shock. This was definitely not the night I’d been hoping to have. I’d responded to a guy’s flirty banter, and now I had vodka dripping into my lace panties, and definitely not in a sexy way.
I wanted to slink away and just get out of here. I dabbed at my dress with a napkin, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and anger. The bar was silent, except for the whispers and muffled gasps around us.
Jonah ran a hand through his hair. “I am so sorry.”
He winced when his gaze traveled down my front as the spill spread.
“Look, Tahlia was … well, she was never supposed to—” He stopped, taking a deep breath as he crouched slightly to meet my eyes. “I swear, I had no idea she would act like this. I’m truly sorry about this,” Jonah said.
He stepped closer, his dark eyes locking on mine with an intensity that made my breath hitch.
“I miscalculated. Badly,” I blurted out.
His jaw tightened, his air of composure fraying at the edges. “I’ll replace the dress. I’ll replace your entire wardrobe.”
I waved his offers off. “It’s okay,” I said, but even I could hear how unconvincing I was.
I wasn’t a stranger to spills on my clothes. It came with the territory when you were raising a child. Considering that I’d been a mom to Evie for the past four and a half years, I’d had more than my fair share of spills.
But this was different.
