“Yes, we’ll take the kung pao cauliflower, the Brussels sprouts, the short rib dumplings, the shishito peppers and curry, the hanger steak, and the charred octopus.”
James looked a little flustered as he hurried to keep up with Claire. “Okay, great choices.”
Claire looked annoyed at the compliment. “Oh, and the roasted bone marrow. Also, we will be having dessert. Thank you.”
James nodded at me instead of Claire. “Great, I’ll have it right out for you.”
I suppressed a smile. “You don’t always have to be so scary,” I told her.
She tilted her head. “I do though.”
We spent the incredible meal dissecting this problem with Will and our meal while drinking mediocre cocktails that were almost right but not quite there. Still, they were decent enough to drink.
Claire felt the exact opposite. The drinks were delicious, but the food was only passable.
We came up with lots of solutions to kick the food and drinks up a notch, but not so many for how to deal with Will.
“If he’s already talking to a real estate agent, do you think it’s too late?” Claire asked while she skimmed the dessert menu.
I was borderline sick from eating so much, but Claire couldn’t go anywhere without ordering dessert. It was one of the things I loved about her. She kept up with savory dishes to compete with her sister and phenomenal chef, Kaya, but desserts were her world. Not to mention her outrageous sweet tooth.
Her love of sugar could not be contained.
I let out a slow breath and thought through her question. Meanwhile, my phone buzzed. “Will is hard to talk out of anything once he’s made his mind up. To be honest, I’m not even mad about the business venture. I want him to be successful. It’s the secrecy that really hurts.”
“Siblings can be so stupid,” she said consolingly.
“Truth.”
I checked my phone and saw a text message from Jonah. The instant smile that transformed my misery into joy was annoying. But also, what could I do about it?
Jonah:Will and I are bored. Where are you and Claire? Want to meet up?
Something about his text was suspicious. First, I highly doubted Will wanted to meet up with Claire and me. He liked Claire—actually more than Jonah did—but he was never excited about hanging out with anyone outside his inner circle. And while Claire hovered nearby the circle, she had not gained entrance.
Second, wasn’t this Sunday supposed to be all about their bromance? Why were they trying to ruin the vibe by crashing our girls’ night?
Third, and most importantly, Jonah did not like Claire. So the fact that he wanted to hang out with her must mean they were having an awful time tonight. Oh, boys, why couldn’t they do anything on their own?
“Who is it?” Claire asked after I’d been staring at my phone for over a minute.
“Jonah,” I told her. Nothing out of the ordinary there because he texted me all the time. But then I added, “He wants to meet up with us. He’s with Will.”
Claire’s eyes bugged out of her porcelain face. “What? Why?”
I shrugged. “He says they’re bored.” I nibbled my bottom lip, trying to decide what was polite here. I didn’t want to ruin Claire’s night, but it might be fun for them to join us. Okay, it might be fun forJonahto join us. I could take or leave Will at the moment.
Lifting my gaze to meet Claire’s, I asked, “What do you think?”
She shrugged. “Tell him sure. They could meet us at The Mission.”
“Are you sure? They don’t have to.”
She gave me a smile very similar to the one she’d scared James the server with. “No, it will be fun. We can do some investigative work on Will, and I can torture Jonah with my charm. It’s a win-win for me tonight.”
“This is why I love you,” I told her sincerely. “Someone has to keep the men in my life in line. It sure as hell isn’t going to be me.”
If possible, her smile turned even more villainous. “It’s a gift.”
