Page 79 of The Stalker Snafu

He hummed in acknowledgement, looking at the floor before doing a double take back at my face. I wrapped an arm around my middle and blew softly into my still steaming coffee.

“Why the dramatics, Bishop?” Rafe asked.

Oliver ignored him, focusing on me with an intensity that made me blink. “What did you two order there?”

“Uh, I wasn’t sure what to get, so we went with one of the tasting menus,” I said, picturing the parade of odd sea creatures that had come to us on different plates. “There were things like sardines and sea urchins. Lots of different plates. The dessert—some sort of chocolate cake—was to die for, but overall it was a little too much, so we had a redo date the next day.”

Oliver broke into a coughing fit while Finn laughed so hard his head clunked against the wall.

“A redo date?” he echoed incredulously through his laughter. “Holy shit, this is too good. Kincaid failed at dating and needed a redo!”

I frowned, regretting sharing that. “He didn’t fail. It just wasn’t really… It was almost like… It was just a little too proper, maybe.”

“He’s the epitome of proper,” Adrian stated like it was obvious. Even Rafe failed to stifle a smile. “You must’ve known that going into the date.”

“Did I ever,” I mumbled, but that still didn’t mean I wanted him to be laughed at.

“Hold on.” Oliver recovered from his coughs and sliced a hand through the air. “Let me get this straight. Kincaid took you to a restaurant called Providence, he ordered the tasting menu, which costs over three hundred dollars and includes some of the rarest delicacies you can find around the entire planet, and you called a redo?”

The blood drained from my face.

“It costs how much?” I whispered, gripping the mug tighter.

Oliver frowned, his brows pulling together. “Well, the minimum tasting menu you can order is a little over two hundred dollars. But Kincaid would never order the cheapest one, and the next option costs three hundred. For two people, it’s well over six hundred dollars. Then if you got dessert, that’s another thirty at least, and that’s if you’re sharing it⁠—”

“Oh my God,” I gasped out in growing dread, splaying a hand over my stomach as it rolled.

Noah had taken me to a dinner that cost more than six of his fancy pens.

“It’s fine,” Julian assured me, using what I’m sure was his calm-the-crazy-animal voice from vet school. “It’s not a big deal. He wanted to take you to that restaurant, so obviously he was okay with paying that much. Noah isn’t hurting for money.”

“He probably has more than he knows what to do with,” Adrian added, trying and failing to be helpful.

“But I told him it was a little much for a first date,” I admitted quietly as my stomach churned. “I didn’t mention anything about how amazing the place was, or about their crazy good pianist. Or how that was the best chocolate cake I’d ever had in my life and I still dream about it sometimes. He must think I’m an ungrateful brat.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t think that,” Julian said, but he couldn’t know that. It had to be his bedside manner kicking in to soothe me.

“That’s not even the worst of it.” I shook my head. “After I finished my own cake, I ate most of his thirty-dollar slice, too.”

I was officially going to Hell.

The guys didn’t have anything reassuring to say to that, and I excused myself to the restroom just in case I really did puke.

CHAPTER 30

All My Love, Noah

Dear Diary,

Can you believe it’s only been a day since I’ve written? There’s so much to say, but I haven’t felt like writing.

I think I’ve entered an alternate reality.

Noah is missing.

He’s just… gone.

If you go to the FBI’s website, you’ll see him at the top of the Most Wanted List.