“Well,” Griffin said, “mine too.”
“Will one of you explain what’s going on?” I asked.
I turned to look at my best friend. For some reason, I couldn’t maintain eye contact with Griffin. My cheeks heated up whenever he zeroed in on me.
“It looked like Marshall was accosting you, so I figured a date would help the matter.”
“And I volunteered,” Griffin said.
“That sounds a bit weird, but thanks again,” I said honestly.
Veronica laughed. “Well, you know me. I’m weird and wild, and apparently so is Griffin.” Then she asked, “So, what happened exactly? What the hell did he want?”
I took in a deep breath. “To tell me he’s getting married to the woman he’d been seeing on the side.”
She gasped. “Oh my God, I knew it. I was sure he had someone else. That jackass!”
“He proposed to her on the trip.”Oops, here come the tears.I vehemently pushed them back.
Veronica jerked her head back. “He actually went on your trip with another woman?”
I nodded. “Never mind. I don’t want to rehash it. I just can’t believe he had the nerve to say he wanted to talk about the house after he dropped that bombshell.”
It felt a bit bizarre to talk about my life with a stranger at the table. But Veronica didn’t seem to have any problems.
She fixated on Griffin. “Just to fill you in, they bought a house together and were supposed to renovate it. Now she’s stuck making mortgage payments while living in that dump.”
Veronica really had a gift for synthesizing things. Was my life really as pathetic as it sounded?
“What the actual fuck?” Griffin asked. “Sorry, that’s just fucked up.”
“Right?” I said, pleased with his reaction, then turned to my friend. “How about we talk about something else?” I turned back and this time did manage to make eye contact with Griffinandheld his gaze. “So, Griffin, do you usually chat up strange women in bars?”
His smile faltered for the first time. I had the feeling that I’d struck a nerve. But what kind of guy agreed to do what he just did?
“As a matter of fact, I do. Seems I even have a reputation of doing that. And it cost me a business deal tonight.”
Goodness, that was raw. Obviously, I hit the nail on the head.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I wish we could help in some way. I mean, to return the favor,” I said, realizing that there was no way we could help him. Still, it seemed the right thing to do considering he’d done me a solid.
“Unfortunately, no.” He looked from me to Veronica. “It was great meeting you tonight, ladies.”
“You were a great help,” she replied. “Thanks again.”
“Mission accomplished, then. Now, I’ll leave the two of youto enjoy the evening. Don’t want to be a third wheel and all that.” He tried to flag a waiter, but it was pointless. “I’ll pay at the bar.”
I took out my wallet. “No, let me pay for that,” I said, even though I was absolutely broke. “It’s the least I can do.”
Griffin cocked a brow, clearly taken aback. “I won’t hear of it. In fact, I’m going to leave my credit card on your tab. Tonight is on me.”
“What? No, no, no. Why would you do that?”
“Because your night could possibly be worse than mine. There isn’t much I can do about it, but I can offer you drinks. Grab some appetizers too. Go wild.” He winked, and I melted.
I didn’t protest this time, because Griffin’s smile seemed genuine.
“All right, thanks,” I said. I was just going to have the one drink, though.
