The hostess seated us with a smile, then returned with our sodas and bread. The restaurant was busy and impersonal, everyone focused on their dinner and lives. The sort of place anyone could blend in without a problem.
I pushed Lilith's problems away and enjoyed dinner out with my husband. It was far too easy to do. Without Gabriel and Michael there to remind me, being Constance was simple. Lilith simply ceased to exist for a short time.
After we finished our entrees, laughing over the enormous portions and the fact that we'd never be able to finish them, we studied the dessert menu, clearly not as full as we claimed.
"I can’t resist dessert," I said. Eyeballing the menu, I decided if there was a better time to go for it, it was at the end of what was sure to be my only pregnancy. I signaled the server. "I'll have the chocolate lava cake."
As I grinned, Lucian ordered the apple pie with ice cream. We joked about stealing each other's desserts, but then my laughter died in my throat as Gabriel walked in. The same hostess seated him at the table behind Lucian. Gabe sat in the seat facing us and shrugged. "It didn't work," he mouthed.
Lilith crowded back into my head. By it, Gabriel meant shoring up the gates and walls of Hell. If it hadn't worked, then demons were still leaking out of the realm. When Lucian looked toward some loud laughter at the front of the restaurant, I gave Gabriel a severe shake of my head, but he just smiled. "Sorry," he mouthed.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I wasn't able to school my features back to a neutral tone before Lucian looked back at me. "Who are you looking at?" he asked.
"Nobody. The man behind you was saying something. I thought he was talking to me, but he wasn't."
Lucian swiveled his gaze, but by the time he looked back at Gabriel, he was peering at the menu. Luc shrugged and smiled at me. "Oh, well."
"Yeah." I laughed and took a bite of my lava cake, which was amazing.
When I opened my eyes, Gabriel was staring intently at Lucian. Oh, no.
Lucian's eyes widened as he gave me a panicked look.
"What?" I asked. "What's wrong."
He waved his arms around, flapping his hands like a bird.
"Luc, people are starting to stare," I hissed. "What is it?"
Abandoning the flapping as I looked around at the diners around us, all of whom were watching Lucian act a fool with avid fascination, he pointed at his throat.
"I don't understand," I said stupidly. "Wait...are you?"
Gabriel stood as Lucian made a gasping noise and realization washed over me.
"Oh, Lucian." I jumped up, clutching my stomach. "Does anyone know the Heimlich?"
As I ran around the table and tried to position myself behind Lucian, a strange man stood from a table nearby. "I do."
I jumped out of the way, and the man took my spot behind Lucian. In seconds, a piece of apple flew from his mouth. The stranger let go of Luc, and he slumped down into his chair, clutching his chest and gasping. The restaurant burst into applause.
Throwing my arms around the stranger, I thanked him profusely before turning my attention to Lucian, whose face was still quite red as he breathed hard at the table.
"I'm okay," he rasped. "But my throat hurts."
"Come on," I said. "Let's go home." The waiter hovered nearby, so I signaled him. "Could we have the check?"
Lucian was on his feet, already walking toward the car. "I'll drive," I called to him. "Hang on."
The waiter held out his hands. "No, no check. After that, it's on us." Lucian disappeared as I was dealing with the waiter; I was sure the scene had mortified him.
I argued, but only for a second. It wasn't the restaurant's fault that Gabriel had caused my husband to nearly choke to death. "Then I insist you take this tip." I grabbed a couple of bills from my purse, made sure they were both twenties, then pressed them into his hand. "Sorry for the commotion."
Gabriel had disappeared, of course. I scurried for the car, unwilling to leave Lucian alone. Gabriel might try something else. I was going to throttle him.
"Luc," I called as I tottered across the parking lot. "Hang on."
He stopped in the middle of the lot and turned back toward me. "Sorry, sweets. That embarrassed me."
