“I have a condition. My body can’t process it. So sad.”
I stared at her for a moment, wondering where the Southern debutante accent came from, before nodding quickly. “So sad.”
We wound our way quickly through the restaurant—not speaking—until I saw Nick’s golden brown waves reflected off a mirror in the back. I tugged Ella’s wrist to get her attention.
“Now remember what I told you,” I whispered in her ear as we came closer, “the man likes bold. And no offence, but girls rotate in and out of his life all the time. Do something to shock him. Do something to make him remember you.”
Of course, I couldn’t have any idea what the lunatic would actually do...
As we approached the table, Nick got politely to his feet. His eyes lingered on me for a second longer than they were probably supposed to, so that by the time he turned to meet his new girlfriend, she was already making her tragic move.
“Nicky,” she crooned, a nickname I might have subtly encouraged, “thanks for agreeing to meet me here. This place is really the best.”
Before he could say a single word, she reached down and grabbed his crotch.
“And I can’t wait to get better acquainted.”
Ooooooh shit. Abby, what have you done?
Chapter 15
SOMEBODY GASPED. I’M not sure who it was.
It could have been me. It could have been the two Japanese families sitting close enough to see it happen. It could have even been Nick, from the utter shock of having a woman he’d never seen before reach out and grab his pants.
Whoever it was, it clearly wasn’t enough to change things. The three of us stayed perfectly frozen. The hand remained.
I looked down at it. Nick looked down at it. Ella looked down at it herself—proudly.
“Um...Ella?” I cleared my throat softly, dying a million deaths. “Do you think you could...” Goodness—how did I even say it? “I mean, maybe it’s time you let go—”
“Nicholas Hunter.”
The introduction was as quick as it was strategic. He held out his hand between them, forcing her to release him in order to do the same. Banking on the fact that she wasn’t left-handed. It also created some well-needed space. In order to have made her little move, she’d had to get right up in front of him—just inches away. A handshake changed all that.
She stepped back a bit to introduce herself more formally.
(By that, I mean...to shake his hand.)
“Ella Campbell.” She smiled widely, seductively. Flashing the entire restaurant a pair of perfect veneers. “Abigail thought the two of us might hit it off.”
At the moment, Abigail was currently thinking of ways to discreetly kill herself.
“Did she now?” Nick’s eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, and he turned his fixed smile from her to me, scorching me with the heat of it. “How very...insightful.”
Insightful, sure. Everything about this just screamed insightful.
I couldn’t even meet his eyes. I literally wanted to crawl inside my brand new bag in a state of essential hibernation. Wait for this dreadful day to be over. Ella, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more pleased with the way things were going.
“Wasn’t it, though?” She tossed back her hair, ‘casually’ angling herself in such a way as to attract the most possible attention. “From the second she mentioned your name, I knew the two of us would be a natural fit.”
Nick’s smile tightened, and his knuckles tensed white.
“Well, that’s my Abigail.” Only from years of years of knowing him, could I hear the steel beneath the honey. “Always has my best intentions at heart.”
With that barb to my soul, he gestured to the table and the three of us sat down.
I tried not to look up. Tried to keep my eyes fixed on the table. But it was like trying not to watch a car accident from just two feet away. One that you’d manically engineered yourself.