Ethan grasped the back of his neck. “It must’ve slipped my mind. I’m sorry.”
“Hmmm,” she cocked her head and looked over at Jonah.Shit.The last thing he wanted was to get involved, but it seemed Emory was going to drag him into it anyway. “Jonah, doyouknow what my plans were tonight?”
Ethan jerked his gaze. It only took a moment for him to realize who she’d been with.
“Jonah?”
He sighed. “Out to dinner with Roxanne.”
She smiled and hooked her arm through Ethan’s, staring back at Jonah. “Aw, remember when you knew my whereabouts, and you were utterly obsessed with me, E?”
“I’m still obsessed.”
It was a smart and smooth move, even in front of an audience.
“Good answer.” She kissed him and turned toward the hallway. “Now, excuse me while I go to the bathroom. I’ve been holding it for two hours, and my bladder is about to burst.”
Bogs snorted. “You know, they've got these things at restaurants now? What do they call them? Oh yeah, bathrooms.”
Jonah was thinking the same thing. He knew some people were particular about using public restrooms, but Emory didn’t come across as one of them.
“It was daring enough I ate there. I wasn’t using the bathroom.”
“Where did you go?” Ethan asked.
Roxanne hadn’t mentioned their destination, and he hadn’t thought to ask.
She narrowed her gaze and pointed at Jonah. “His girlfriend thought it’d be fun to drive an hour to hit a dive bar in the middle of nowhere. I love her, but she’s got some crazy ideas about new adventures.”
Considering the options they had readily available in the city, driving an hour away for a night out seemed absurd. Especially for a dive bar. Jonah’s curiosity was officially piqued.
“That’s where you had dinner?” Ethan asked.
“Well, I don’t know if you can call stale beer and greasy fried pickles a meal. It was this little dive bar about thirty miles away. A pit, but it was Rox’s idea.” Emory shook her head and headed toward the hallway off the living room. “And considering how gross the floors were, I refused to use the bathroom, so now I have to go to the point of pain.”
“Em,” Bogs shouted. “You remember the name of the bar?”
“Thatcher’s. I memorized it so I’d remember to never go there again.”
Fuck.Jonah froze, and the room drowned in silence. It was clear everyone remembered the name of the bar Pryor left before the incident.
“Looks like someone’s been doing their homework.” T’s deep tone echoed through the room.
“You gotta tell her before she puts it all together, Jonah. And she fucking will, if she’s already gone this far.”
Roxanne was forcing his hand, leaving him backed in a corner with only two options.
Neither of them good.
Chapter Nineteen
Roxanne had been standing at her window watching the road for the last ten minutes. With him coming from Ethan’s office, he should’ve arrived already. She waited a few more minutes until she saw his truck pull down the road, then ducked behind her curtain. She leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath.
Maybe it was guilt about what she’d done, but when she got the text from Jonah asking if she was home, she almost canceled their plans. What if he asked where they’d gone? She didn’t want to lie, but she couldn’t tell him the truth either. She pushed off the wall, pacing around her living room.
Her head jerked up, and she froze when she heard the knock on her door. Roxanne wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and made her way to the door, opening it.
“Hi.”
