Their waiter, who had been super attentive so far, approached once more. “Mr. Churchill, there is a man here who says he’s part of your party. A friend of Miss Bennett’s.”
Jordan was here? She half rose; then Eric tugged her down. “Sit down, EJ.”
She sat, not wanting to draw more attention to herself, rankling at the way Eric seemed to think himself superior. How dare he tell her what to do?
Her eyes scanned the dim restaurant, then—oh, thank goodness.Thank You, God.It was Jordan.
But not like any Jordan she’d ever seen before. This Jordan looked serious, tense, like a soldier on a mission, ready for battle. Jordan’s gaze flicked to her, and she found a small smile, but he still didn’t. Her heart grew tight. Hadn’t he read all her messages pleading for his forgiveness? She moved to her feet—she needed to explain!—but Eric grasped her arm and muttered, “Stay.”
She sank uncertainly back in her seat. Jordan’s face didn’t hold warmth, not like the easygoing man she’d always known. Had she hurt him that much?
“Jordan.” Eric remained seated as he stretched out a hand. A power move. “This was unexpected.”
Jordan gripped Eric’s hand then glanced at EJ. She bit her lip, then mouthed,Sorry.“EJ felt it was important that I be here. And to be honest, I felt it was important to be here too.”
“Sounds serious,” Gwen said, going in for two cheek kisses.
Jordan moved his head away. He still hadn’t touched EJ.
He nodded to the other guests, then took the open seat. Which just so happened to be the farthest away from EJ.
“We’ve all ordered, but there’ll be time for you to order too.”
Jordan seemed to hesitate, and for a second she thought he was tempted to walk right out again. Then he shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
Eric clicked and the waiter appeared again. Jordan glanced at the menu then ordered the beef.
“You look like you’ve got beef already,” Gwen observed.
Jordan sipped his glass of water the waiter had just filled and ignored her.
Okay. This was going well. EJ had to talk to him, but the way he was carrying on, barely acknowledging her, and the way Eric was acting all possessive made her wonder how to manage that. She stood. “Excuse me for a moment.”
She eyed Jordan, then picked up her bag. Hopefully he’d pick up on the fact she needed to talk to him privately.
“Where are you going?” Eric asked.
“To the bathroom.” Via a conversation with Jordan, she hoped.
“Oh, good. I’ll come too,” Gwen said.
EJ faked a smile like her foiled plan didn’t matter, then sent Jordan another silent message with her eyes. He had to know she needed to talk to him, right? If not about last week, then at least about Dream Match. Hadn’t she made that clear in her message earlier?
But he didn’t move, so she resigned herself to going to the bathroom after all. Inside the gold-decorated room, she took a stall far away from Gwen. Then waited for Gwen’s door to lock. Then flushed the toilet and instantly went back outside again. And sure enough—thank God—Jordan was there.
“Oh, Jordan, I’m so sorry!” She flung herself at him, clasping him in a hug that felt like home.
But two seconds later, he pushed her away. “You can’t do that here. People are watching.”
“He’s so controlling.” She shivered. “And I didn’t know how to speak to you, or if you’d even speak to me, and—”
“EJ, there is something you need to know.”
“What is it?”
“Look, I hate to be the one who tells you this, but Eric and Gwen—”
“Eric and Gwen what?” Gwen’s voice snipped behind them.
