Page 33 of About That Pact

Make fun of me and I won’t show at all.

He didn’t text back, not because he didn’t want to, but because Sienna coughed loudly to get his attention.

“This salad is enough for me,” she said once he looked at her. “I won’t need anything else.”

Just like him, she didn’t want to be on this date. He had every intention of giving Lance some shit over this one.

“You barely ate anything.” Rafe wasn’t sure why he bothered. It wasn’t like he wanted her to stay. It was a waste of a three-course dinner tasting for her to barely touch the food.

She gave him a pointed look while jabbing her fork into the salad, piling as much as she could, then stuffed it into her mouth. “Happy now?”

Not caring to talk, she went right back to typing away on her phone.

This date needed an intervention.

IN RECORD TIME, Charlotte was able to get ready and make it The Richmond in thirty minutes. This was a notorious date spot, so Rafe was going to have to talk himself out of this one. She walked through the restaurant entryway and saw a brunette on her phone while Rafe refilled his glass of wine.

She marched to their table, ready to cause a scene. Clearly, Rafe was looking for a fight. Why else would he invite her to meet him on a date? The anger that coursed through her when she saw Rafe with another woman dissipated as soon as they locked eyes. He looked relieved to see her. Oddly, so did the woman who had salad dressing stained on her shirt.

“Thank god,” the woman sounded grateful of Charlotte’s intrusion. “I was ready to leave.”

Rafe answered her calmly after he took a sip of his wine. “This was obvious the moment you sat down.”

“Tell Lance he’s an asshole,” she muttered before jetting out of the restaurant.

Charlotte sat in the vacated seat. “Lucy, you’ve got some ’splainin’ to do,” she said in her best Ricky Ricardo voice.

Rafe motioned for the waiter, who hid his confusion well considering there was a new woman at the table.

“Would you mind getting my friend a new glass for the wine?”

The situation was overflowing with opportunity to tease Rafe. Charlotte couldn’t help but act a bit cheeky. “Yes, his last friend wasn’t thrilled to find out this was a rotating date. She missed the fine print in his profile about him being a swinger.”

“Charlotte, shut it.” Rafe didn’t give her his usual smile since he didn’t appreciate her sarcasm.

It was a win for her, though. She finally cracked the waiter, making him laugh too.

“The last woman was a blind date from hell, and this woman is a friend,” Rafe explained.

The waiter poured Charlotte wine into a fresh glass. “Your last date did seem a bit painful, even for an onlooker to watch. Perhaps you should date your friend since you already know her.”

Charlotte was thankful she had her drink because she needed a gulp of it at that comment.

Rafe’s mouth quirked. “Perhaps you are on to something.”

“Perhaps,” she squinted to see the nametag pinned on the waiter’s shirt, “Baron doesn’t realize you are an awful kisser, which is why it would never work between us.”

This was a lie.

Lie. Lie. Lie.

But she was having too much fun teasing him to stop now. Baron chuckled with enjoyment over the banter and Rafe was now glaring at her.

“Perhaps Baron would like to know I’m not an awful kisser since you and I have kissed more than once.”

“Perhaps Baron,” the man himself interrupted with a smile, “has other tables to check on. You two enjoy yourselves.”

The second course of dinner came, and Charlotte was happy date number one had picked the spice rubbed chicken confit with risotto. She loved risotto. It was up there with mimosas and pizza.