“Oh no. I’m actually from Idaho.” I told him about moving for college with my best friend, keeping the details vague, not mentioning anything about temporarily going back to Idaho or all the tragedies that had befallen me. Those memories were still so raw and painful, and I wasn’t comfortable sharing all the dark, gritty details of my life with him.
We chatted amicably until our entrées arrived. It was nice, but there was nothing substantive to it. It was just… boringly civilized with no deeper layers beneath the banality.
It wasn’t until I was halfway through my poached salmon with hollandaise sauce that I noticed Steve’s attention kept drifting to something over my shoulder.
“Is everything okay?”
“Look….” He hesitated. “I don’t want to startle you, but there’s a guy... I noticed him come in earlier, and he’s been watching you for a while now.”
“What?” My back shot straight and I spun around to look over my shoulder. “You havegotto be kidding me!” I snarled.
“Do you know that guy?”
I pulled my napkin from my lap and slapped it down on the table. “I do,” I replied as I stood from my chair. “Would youexcuse me for just one second?” I stomped toward the man sitting four tables away, ready to rip his freaking head off. “What the hell, Ian!” I whisper-yelled, leaning close so he could see how truly pissed off I was. “You’re spying on me now?”
“I’m sorry.” He held his hands up in surrender and at least had the good grace to look guilty. “I really am, but Mr. Wilder was adamant I keep an eye on you tonight.”
I straightened, slamming my hands on my hips, and gave Ian a vicious smile. “Is that right? And you’re what, texting him with updates every ten minutes?” He didn’t answer, but the way he winced told me I’d hit the nail on the head. “Well, now you can tell your boss you’ve been busted and get the hell out of here.” I turned and started back to my table when I had another thought. “Oh, and if you think I’m not going to tell Corrine about your little project tonight, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“Oh come on! It’s not like I had a choice!” It was almost laughable the way such a big man whined. I might have cracked a smile if I hadn’t been so livid.
“You okay?” Steve asked when I got back to him and plopped into my chair. I held one finger up and fished my phone from my purse.
Me:U know where ur boy toy is right now?
Corrie texted back almost immediately.
Corrine:All he said was he had to work. Why?
I engaged the camera on my phone and turned to snap a picture of a crestfallen Ian, then attached it to my message.
Me:Apparently his job is to play spy tonight.
Corrine:WTF?!?!?!
Confident that she was just as incensed as I was, I quickly stashed the phone and twisted in my chair to watch. Sure enough, Ian reached into his pocket a few seconds later andlifted his phone to his ear. Of course, I couldn’t hear what was being said, but the way he pulled it away and flinched told me all I needed to know. My girl was going to rip him a new asshole.
Served him right. Maybe next time he’d have second thoughts before date-crashing just because his boss told him to.
Steve’s concerned voice called my attention back to the present. “Uh… Gwen, what’s going on?”
I lifted my glass and downed the last of my wine. “I’m so sorry. I know this hasn’t been the most… conventional date.”
He dabbed at his mouth with his napkin before clearing his throat. “I feel like I’m missing something pretty major here. Is that guy dangerous?”
“No,” I sighed in defeat. It was safe to say my date was officially over. “He’s just a pain in the ass.”
All of a sudden, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere but on our date. “You sure? We can call the cops if you need—”
“I’m sure,” I butted in. “He’s not dangerous, just huge. He works security for Liddy’s father.”
“Wow.” He sat back in his seat, seemingly flabbergasted. “You’ve never mentioned your ex. He a politician or something?”
“Or something,” I replied dryly, grabbing my clutch. “And he’s not my ex. We were never actually together.” I stood, ready to put this utterly humiliating failure of a date behind me. “Look, Steve, you’re a really nice guy, and any other time in my life I’d be thrilled to date you, but things are… complicated for me at the moment.”
His expression grew bewildered. “You’re leaving?”
“I am,” I stated firmly. “I’m so sorry to bail, but I have to go find Liddy’s father and murder him. Thank you for the lovely evening. And again, I’m so sorry.”
