Page 37 of The Wilder Widows

“We aren’t talking about this anymore.”

“You’re right. Talk is cheap. It’s time for action. Excuse me!” Alice waved toward the waiter. “Excuse me!”

When I saw him look up at her and start our direction, I choked down my piece of cheese. He was a tall drink of water with blue eyes and dark hair framing a chiseled face. And he couldn’t have been over thirty-five. Half my age. “What are you doing?”

A cat with a canary held nothing to the sinister smile pulling up Alice’s lips. “What I do best. Picking up men.”

“Don’t!” I whispered, leaning across the table and tugging at her Chanel jacket. “Stop it!”

With a quick shrug, she dislodged my hand and gave him a wave.

Marge sat back and crossed her arms. “This oughta be good.”

“Alice, Doris looks pretty uncomfortable. Maybe we should ease up.” Worry lines creased Sylvie’s face while she looked me over.

And she was right. Alice was taking this one step too far. Heck, we were one step too far about a mile ago.

As the waiter approached, my heart hammered inside my chest. The last time it rattled my ribcage this hard was when I got the call Harold had a heart attack. I didn’t like the feeling then, and I didn’t like it now.

“Bonjour, Madame. How can I assist you?” he asked when he arrived at our table.

It was all I could do not to get up and run, knowing the things Alice was capable of.

“Bonjour.” She smiled, her long, manicured finger crooking to him and encouraging him closer. Holding her gaze, he leaned in.

Even at her age, I watched her seductive gaze spark desire behind his eyes. It matched the promises brewing behind hers. A soft pink flush crept across his cheeks as he closed in on her space.

“How can I help you, Madame?” he asked, his voice mirroring her seductive tone.

I watched in awe as she traced her pink nail across his cheek, finishing beneath his chin and pulling it closer. She was like a siren sitting at the edge of the sea, charming sailors right into the rocks. And from the way his eyes sparkled, it seemed he would steer his ship straight at them if it meant getting a chance to have her make good on the promises flickering behind her eyes.

“What is your name?”

“Gabriel.”

“Well, Gabriel. Do you know two things in this world that get better with age?”

“Wine and women,” he answered so quickly even Alice was taken aback.

She recovered and matched his coy grin with her own. “Very impressive, Gabriel. And very true.”

“Is there something I can,” he paused and perused her with a gaze that had me ready to recite the rosary, “do for you?”

“Actually, Gabriel. My friend over here is looking to have a good time in Paris. If you know what I mean.”

When their gazes broke apart and clapped onto me, I nearly tumbled out of my chair. “Alice!”

“Alice,” Sylvie warned. “What are you doing?”

The warning and my obvious discomfort didn’t dissuade her. “Doris needs to loosen up a little. Do you have any ideas how we could make that happen?”

I tried to melt into my chair, disappear from under his probing gaze. It wasn’t just that a man other than my husband was looking at me like that, but more that I wasn’t as beautiful as Alice or any other woman a man like him could have fawning at his feet. Sure, Alice could be his mother... heck maybe even his grandmother... but she was stunning. Confident. Sexy. The way men of all ages eyeballed her when she walked into a room was something I’d never felt in my life. And while this waiter raked me up and down, insecurity and embarrassment churned inside me until I could almost explode. Even though I would never lay with a man who wasn’t my husband, the thought of him turning up his nose at me was almost as bad as the thought of him considering doing what it was Alice insinuated.

“Your friend is beautiful.”

Beautiful? Did someone call me beautiful? I studied his face to make sure he was looking at me and not someone behind me. I glanced over my shoulder just to make sure. When I looked back at him, those blue eyes were still staring straight at me. Me? Beautiful? Harold called me pretty on occasion in my youth, but this was the first time in my life anyone had ever called me beautiful. The shock of his words sent a heatwave to my cheeks so intense I wanted to dump my ice water on my head.

“Isn’t she though?” Alice grinned. “Well, Doris? What do you say? Should we see if Gabriel can meet us out for drinks later?”