Josie cocked her head. “Of M. Santiago?”
“One and the same,” Maddie said.
“I’m wearing one of your dresses right now.”
“I noticed. And quite nicely, too.”
“Thank you.”
“Thankyou. And if you ever need anything special for one of your films, please don’t hesitate to reach out. It would be an honor.”
“Why do I feel like they’ve forgotten we’re here?” Stone said to Mike.
“Because they have,” Mike said.
Maddie smirked. “Why do men feel like they need to be the center of attention all the time?”
“Because they do,” Josie suggested.
“We deserved that,” Stone said.
Mike nodded. “We did.”
One of the staff approached. “Mr. Barrington, your table is ready.”
“It was a pleasure meeting both of you,” Josie said to Maddie and Mike.
Similar sentiments were echoed, then Josie and Stone were led to their table.
“What’s good here?” Josie asked as she perused the menu.
“Everything,” Stone said.
“I was hoping for something a bit more specific.”
“I’m partial to the sirloin or the Dover sole.”
“That’s better.”
A waiter approached. “Another Knob Creek, Mr. Barrington?”
“Please.”
“And for the lady?”
“A bourbon sounds great,” Josie said. “I’ll have the same.”
As the waiter left, Stone heard the buzz of a phone.
Josie started to reach for her purse, then stopped. “Do you mind if I check that?”
“Not at all.”
She pulled out her cell, read something on the screen, then looked at Stone and smiled.
“I talked to Xavier this afternoon about using his equipment,” she said. “He said he’d be happy to help. He just needed to check on availability.” She looked at the screen again. “He says the ship with the ROV equipment is undergoing maintenance this week but should be ready to go out either Sunday or Monday.”
“That’s great news. I’ll let the Coast Guard know and make sure they’re okay with it. If you could find out how much it will cost, I’ll have a check sent over.”
