Silence follows, and I’m worried Sebastian will try to keep her trapped in the bus. I understand his point of view, sort of, but I also want to make Niki happy. And right now, it sounds like Thai food is going to do the trick.
While they have a stare down, I punch in the order for an Uber, my fingers speeding across the phone screen.
“Are you sure you’re feeling up to it?” Sebastian asks, his voice thick with concern. For someone who screams like he’s summoning a beast straight from Hell, he sure is caring. About her, at least.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She waves him away fussily, and pulls her long faded hair out of its bun. It tumbles around her face in waves. “Besides, we won’t be gone long.”
He must know that he’s not going to change her mind, because he sighs. “Alright. But if you need anything, promise you’ll call.”
“Of course.” She giggles. “Now, go shower. You’re sweaty.”
As he begrudgingly heads for the back of the tour bus, Niki hauls herself out of the recliner and stretches. “I hope you don’t mind me wearing this,” she gestures to her T-shirt and leggings, “because this is my uniform for the next few months.”
I roll my eyes. “If it makes you feel better, I can put on my pajamas. Niki, you know I don’t give a single fuck.”
She laughs and her round belly wiggles with the movement. “Alright. Do I have time to brush my hair? How long until the Uber gets here?”
I glance at my phone. “Three minutes.”
“Yeah, I have time.” With that, she takes off waddling toward her bedroom.
Going out to dinner with Niki in theory sounds amazing; it’s been so long since we’ve done anything, just the two of us, that I’m bursting at the seams to get out of the bus and hit the town.
In practice, taking her out probably isn’t the best idea. She’s already stressing me out by the time we make it to the restaurant. As we slide up to the hostess station, she blows out a big breath and sways on the spot, grabbing the stand to catch her balance.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” I ask, puttingmy hand on her arm. “If I even think you’re going down, I’m calling Sebastian.” He’d make it here before an ambulance would stand a chance.
She purses her lips. “I’m fine, really, Jos. My center of gravity is just different now, and sometimes I lose my balance.”
I don’t believe her, but I don’t say anything. Luckily, I don’t have to, because the hostess shows up and leads us to a little table in the corner.
An intricate wood carving hangs above us, matching the rest of the darkly-stained decorations. The entire restaurant is elegant, but somehow cozy, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the menu.
Soft instrumental music plays through the space as we get settled and flip through several pages of entree options. I try to remain cool, calm, and collected, but really I’m on high alert, watching for any sign that Niki might pass out.
“How far did you say your hotel is from the event center?” she asks as our waitress sets our drinks down in front of us. She already asked twice, but I’m not going to point that out; I guess that’s the pregnancy brain my mom always talked about when she was pregnant with my siblings.
We give our waitress our orders and hand back the menus before picking up the conversation where we left off.
“It’s only a few blocks,” I assure her. “Not far.”
“Is it nice?”
I nod. “Nicer than I expected, honestly. Your boyfriend has good taste.”
“He does.” She flips her hair over her shoulder, and I snort a laugh. It’s good that she’s joking. Maybe she really is okay and I’m overreacting. “I told him you’d complain if he put you up in a roach motel.”
We laugh together. “You know me so well.”
The hostess leads a family with three kids to a booth near ours, and they stuff their chubby toddler into a high chair. As he giggles and coos, trying to reach for everything on the table, I don’t miss the way Niki’s eyes track in their direction. She watches silently, the corners of her mouth lifting in a tiny smile, and I can almost read her thoughts.
She can’t wait to have a family moment like that with Sebastian. I wonder if he’d finally take off that mask of his and have a normal sit-down dinner.
“Tell me more about this new job,” she says, tearing her eyes away from the adorable baby. “You run people’s socials? Make posts for them? Things like that?”
I nod slowly. “It’s easy, but making content is time-consuming.”
“Oh yeah, that’s why Rhage’s socials are so neglected. You should see them.” Niki laughs and rolls her eyes. “Tobias used to be in charge, but he said it took up too much time. Now, Emrys posts occasionally. He’s not the greatest, but they refuse to hire anyone.”
