“When I came to watch Nick?” She leans back and tilts her head to watch me over the top of her glasses.
“Yeah.”
“While you went off with that fancy man?”
“Oh, God, don’t.” I close my eyes briefly, then scoop up my glass of wine. “That was just a work thing.”
“A work thing in your home?”
Before I can reply, the waiter arrives at our table with food in tow. He flashes a charming smile while depositing plates of tacos down in front of each of us, then he leaves while Stacey fails to hide the fact that she’s watching his ass as he leaves.
“Stace!”
“What?” She drags her attention back to me and smirks. “Have you seen the ass on that guy? I could bounce a quarter off that thing.”
“Is this confirmation that you and Henry are over?”
At the mention of his name, she rolls her eyes and aggressively tackles one of her tacos. “That prick.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“It’s the same old bullshit. I thought we were going one way, he thought it was just a fling, and did I really expect him to delete his dating profiles? We’re not an item until I have a ring on my finger, apparently.”
“You didn’t…” I glance down at her fingers to check. “Oh, thank God.” All bare.
“Of course not! Do you think I’m that stupid?”
“Remember Las Vegas?”
“Drunk proposals don’t count.”
“Oh, that’s the criteria?” I delve into my food with a laugh, happy to have distracted the topic from Elijah for now.
“Yup. That’s the line I’m laying down.”
“Alright, my mistake.” I grin widely around my next bite, savoring the sweetness of the salsa as it collides with the spice of the beef.
“Although, speaking of Las Vegas, I think I might go back this year.”
“Ooh, when were you thinking?”
Stacey leans against the table to catch lettuce escaping her taco, then chews slowly. “Summer, I think.”
“That would be nice.” Around us, the restaurant hubbub rises slightly as a large group of people sweeps in and is seated at the far end. While it’s not a huge change, it’s enough for Stacey and me to bring our chairs closer together around the table.
“You should come with me,” Stacy says. “We could have so much fun together.”
“I can’t. Nick.”
“Have your Mom watch him.”
My next bite is chased by a mouthful of wine. “There’s no way she’d last watching him for a full weekend or longer.”
“She’s watching him tonight, right?”
“Yeah, but only because he’s spent the day with a friend and he’ll be dropped back home at bedtime so she’ll only have to tuck him in. Anything else is a… challenge.”
“Is she okay?” Stacey’s brow dips. “Scratch that, are you okay?”
