I look at the put-out candle on the table, then at the fondue without fire beneath it, and then back at Jake. “Yes, I can see how that would absolutely be within her character.”
He freezes like he recognizes by my sarcasm that he’s been caught in a lie, then turns his attention to the bottle. He pops the cork, and it shoots into the ceiling, straight into a light fixture, which breaks into a million little pieces and rains down on Tank.
I gulp.
Jake gasps.
“Oh my god, someone shot the light out!” Quincy yells.
“Oh, stop it, you know that was just the cork,” Wendell says as people start crowding into the entryway.
Tank rises, shaking his head, and glares at Jake, who shrinks.
“Get them a new table,” Tank growls. “No glass.”
Where on earth is Bea?
Did she set this up?
But no—I ordered the bubbly, which is spilling out of the bottle.
Likely stored wrong.
And she didn’t pop the top herself.
She—
“Mr. Camille?” Aileen pushes through the small crowd that has gathered in the doorway. “Mr. Camille, there’s a guest stuck in the bathroom. The door won’t unlock.”
I look at Tank.
He looks back at me.
“Oh, dear,” I say. “I’m afraid that must be my date.”
Is my date a witch?
Is that how she made the bottle of bubbly explode? But how would she have known I’d order another bottle? And how would she have known to be away when I did?
Did she plan this with Lana?
Impossible. Lana would’ve ordered ahead to make certain there was red wine for me. Except did they know that the menu was all cheese and that red wouldn’t be available?
How the bloody hell does a restaurant not have red wine? They’ll need it tomorrow, will they not?
Tank turns toward the door. Jake does the same.
I grab the champagne that Jake has set on the table and follow them.
There’s a door at the end of the hallway, and the hostess—Olivia, I believe Bea called her—is leaning against it. “Try turning the handle the other way,” she’s saying.
“I’ve tried turning it every way you can turn a handle,” Bea’s voice replies.
It’s high.
High and panicked.
Do her fears extend beyond fire to enclosed spaces as well?
