“Then unless you have a gown rolled up in that bag, we definitely need to go shopping,” he said.
My shoulders relaxed somewhat, and Gretchen bounced in her chair. “Fine,” I relented, and he gave me his amazing, boyish grin that I just about lived for.
“Since my firm handles Revelin’s PR, I’ll be there too,” Gretchen said. “I’m bringing Greg.”
I looked back at her. “I thought you guys broke things off because you went home with another guy at thelastRevelin party. Are things back on?”
“Yes,” she said with a shy smile. “He didn’t care about the other guy since nothing happened. It took a while, but he finally convinced me that this time is for good.”
“For good?” I asked, my eyes big.
“Yup. I’m tired of playing it safe.” She looked at David and explained, “College boyfriend who dumped me two days before graduation. I’ve been butt-hurt about it ever since, but I think I’m ready to move on now.” She turned back to me. “He says he’s changed, and I could either go on not believing him or take a chance. We decided a couple weeks ago to give it a real try.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I said sincerely. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around to talk to.”
“You were around,” she said. “You just weren’t reachable.”
“You can thank David for that,” I said, nodding at him.
“We weren’t even speaking a couple weeks ago,” he said.
“Exactly.”
David squeezed my leg under the table again, higher this time. It sent a thrill up the inside of my thigh. I couldn’t wait to be back in his arms, just us, exploring each other . . .
David raised his eyebrows at me, jerking his head toward Gretchen.
“Right,” I said, forcing myself out of the fantasy and back to the table. “So we’ll make a night of it then? We can all meet up at Revelin.”
As the waiter returned with our food, David sat forward and picked up a fork. “Should I see if Andrew wants to come? I can put him and Lucy on the list.”
I shoveled some oatmeal into my mouth.
Gretchen looked down into her coffee cup.
“Hmm,” David said with the ensuing silence. “What’d I miss?”
I swallowed my food, shifting in my seat. “Lucy isn’t . . .”
“Ah.” He lifted his chin. “Not too thrilled with us, I take it.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Gretchen muttered.
David reached out to touch my cheek. “I’m sorry. You need her right now.”
I shrugged helplessly. “She doesn’t agree with what we’re doing.”
He dropped his hand and drummed his fingers on the table. “I’ll talk to Andrew,” he decided. “Don’t worry about a thing. Just eat your breakfast.”
I smiled inwardly at his confidence. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so sure he could fix this. I doubted he’d endured the wrath that came with threatening the values of someone as steadfastly good as Lucy.
By the time I’d finished my oatmeal, David still had a side of bacon and a stack of pancakes to get through.
Gretchen dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “I have to run soon. Revelin isn’t my client, but I offered to help with set-up this afternoon. Should I get the bill?”
“I’ll take care of it,” David said absentmindedly.
“Actually, there’s something I need to do,” I said to Gretchen, “and I’d really like you here with me.”
