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They stopped talking when their food came.
She snuck a fry from her dish even before Toni’s sandwich was served.
And blurted out the one thing she’d been hesitant to reveal.
“And I may have a date with him again tonight.”
Giving the remainder of her fries her complete attention, Alessandra refused to look at her friend.
“Excuse me?”
Sighing, she finally lifted her gaze. Toni’s raised eyebrows were in danger of freezing there. Being skeptical was her specialty.
“That seems like such a good idea. Go out with a guy who may, or may not, want to kill you—”
“We’ve been over this. If he wanted to hurt me, he’s had plenty of opportunity. Besides, something tells me he is being truthful about his intentions . . .” She paused for dramatic effect. “And Lawrence too.”
Ha! There it was. Toni pretended to take a bite of her tuna croissant as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
Alessandra knew better. She’d seen the look of relief cross Toni’s face earlier, after she got to the part of the story where Kenton had assured her Lawrence wasn’t a threat.
“I say avoid them both,” Toni said, her tone hard. “Pretend neither exists and go back to doing whatever you teachers do in the summer while the rest of us are working. You know, spa days, lounging around coffee shops—”
“Trying to figure out why I can smell mint chocolate chip ice cream a block away, why these french fries taste like a slice of heaven, and why I can no sooner avoid Kenton than I can give up red wine for the rest of my life?”
That shut her up.
Toni ignored her as she ate, but the little crease between her eyebrows told Alessandra she was thinking, hard.
“Besides, I have a feeling the answers I need aren’t in a library. I doubt Birdie can find them either.”
“I don’t know. She has some pretty connected friends.”
Alessandra didn’t dare ask what they were connected to.
“Well, you have to admit, as far as relationships go, this one isn’t even the most messed up one I’ve had.”
Alessandra had crap luck with men, and Toni knew it. Her friend believed the fact that her father had left the family when she was so young, with no explanation, was the reason for her hang-ups. She’d long contended Alessandra picked the safest, most boring guys in the world in order to be deliberately dulled after a month of dating.
“Relationship?” Toni prodded.
“I mean, not that this . . . whatever . . . is a relationship. Or will ever be one. Despite all of my questions, Kenton gives me very few answers. And I don’t even know if he’s staying—”
“He bought a house here, didn’t he?”
“True.” She snagged another fry. They really were better than normal today.
A strange sensation washed over Alessandra, encouraging her to look up and over Toni’s shoulder.
“What is it?”
She leaned over in her seat to get a better view of the sidewalk. So far, she couldn’t see anything out of place. But Alessandra was beginning to recognize this feeling. It was how she felt whenever Kenton or Lawrence came near. Although neither man frightened her, it struck her that the feeling was rather like the sensation you get just before walking into a haunted house. There was nothing scary to see yet. But just around the corner . . .
“There.”
She said it more to herself, but Toni turned in her seat anyway.
“What is it? I don’t see anything.”
