“On my way,” she answered as she hopped in the car doing a pretty good imitation of the Dukes of Hazzard. She gunned the engine and roared out of the parking lot, leaving a smoking strip of rubber behind her. This plan was time sensitive and if she cut it any closer, she’d be on the other side of it before she knew it.
“Good, we’re set up here, good to go. You got your dress?” Josh sounded cool as a polar bear’s toenails, which went a long way to calming her down.
“Dressed and ready. Pulling into the lot now.”
“Good. Park in the back of the lot next to my car. It’s gonna be okay.”
The butterflies in her stomach went into swarm mode the moment she’d turned off the street, and she felt the tremors from their strafing runs radiating into her legs as she stopped the car and got out. Taking a deep breath, she paused, fluffed her hair, and smoothed her hand down her silky black minidress before joining Josh in his finely tailored slate suit at the front of the car.
“You look lovely.” He grinned as he reached for her hand and kissed her cheek. Surrepitiously, he pressed her earwig into her hand that she promptly stuck in her clutch. Offering her his arm, he looked like the most gallant white knight ever. “Shall we?”
She took his arm and they started across the parking lot. “Where’s Dane?”
Josh’s smile never wavered. “Meeting us inside. He’s laying groundwork.”
Her calm faltered at that. “Bribing waiters and whatnot?”
Josh sighed and patted her hand on his arm like she was a mildly naughty child who he adored anyway. “‘Bribe’ is such a dirty word, sweetheart. ‘Encourage’ is better.” They approached the maitre d’ at his podium.
He didn’t have to speak before the white-shirted man gestured toward the dining room. “This way, sir. Your other party is already seated.”
Ellie was trying not to gawk as they walked through the dining room. She’d driven past this restaurant numerous times, but never once thought she’d be inside, much less dining here. Dark wood tables, ice blue walls, a monstrous skylight, and various stained glass luminarias on the tables gave the place a very sophisticated, romantic atmosphere. Perfect place for Pia to try and ensnare Sean again. It was all she could do to suppress the snarl she felt bubbling up inside.
Dane rose from his seat on the far side of the room near the back, in a secluded little alcove that was obscured from most of the rest of the room by ivy covered wrought iron lattice work, looking like a post-game lineman for Pittsburgh. Together he and Josh made a damn dapper couple. “You look beautiful. I’m glad you took my advice and left your hair down.”
She touched her hair as she sat in the chair Josh held for her. “Thanks, Dane.” Her back was to the room, which did nothing to alleviate her agitation. “So we’re set up?”
Dane nodded. “Wired for sound. Literally. You have your earpiece?”
Ellie flinched and picked up her purse from her lap. She’d kind of hoped to get out of wearing it, if for no other reason than plausible deniability. “Do I have to wear it?”
Josh narrowed his eyes. “We discussed this yesterday. Put it in.”
Heaving a huge sigh, she installed the tiny earpiece. “There. Happy now?”
Dane gave her a smug grin. “Very.” His expression dropped into neutral instantly. “Showtime.”
Her back stiffened and the butterflies in her stomach started gunning their engines loud enough that she was worried the surrounding tables could hear her, but she never turned to look. Couldn’t for fear of giving herself away instantly, no matter how much she wanted to see Sean. Josh and Dane both stilled as well, quietly looking at their menus. How they could think about food at a time like this was astounding. Her discomfort must have shown, because Josh laid a hand over her arm without even looking up.
“You got anything?” Dane asked Josh, barely moving his lips as he reached for the wine list. Josh shook his head and summoned the waiter. Dane looked to Ellie. “You?”
Other than a burning desire to thump you both in the skull for talking me into this? She wanted so badly to say that out loud, but snark wasn’t on the menu. She shook her head. “Nada.”
“Dirty martini, extra dirty, two olives.” A woman’s voice, Pia’s voice, filled her ears, and she looked at the two men with eyes wide with wonder.
Dane smiled slyly at Josh and winked at her. “Like I said, good to go.”
* * *
Sean had found in the course of their relationship that he could judge Pia’s mood by the liquor in her glass. That wasn’t to imply that she was a lush, but when she felt feisty, she drank martinis; when she was at home, a dry white; when she was upset, gin and tonic. Needless to say, double olives did not bode well for him. He opted for a Blue Moon, because that’s what it would take for him to do this again.
“So, how’s your week been so far?” Pia asked airily, in the practiced tone of a longtime spouse. Though she’d whined about meeting him at the restaurant instead of him picking her up, she’d come to terms quickly when he’d threatened to cancel completely. She’d arrived in full finery and war paint, looking like a rare and expensive doll in her black dress clinging in all the right places and her stilts. When she walked in the room, all heads turned. All eyes on her, which was exactly how she wanted it. Practiced, perfect, and amazing to look at, like a chocolate truffle with a rotten center.
“Long, busy.” He took a long pull from his beer. “You?” His plan was to keep up the monosyllabic answers for as long as possible in hopes that she’d tire of it quickly and move this evening along.
An indulgent smile spread over her lips. “Oh, you know. Mani/pedi on Monday, Junior League on Tuesday, pitching in at the foundation on Wednesday, nothing terribly exciting except for this.”
* * *
“I swear to god, if they do nothing but banal pleasantries this whole time, I’m gonna break something.”
Ellie had meant to keep that in her head, but obviously from Dane’s snort and Josh’s sympathetic look, she’d failed. “Drink your bourbon,” Josh murmured while patting her arm, “and eat your salad.”
Arguing never worked with Josh. All he would do was wait out her wrath and be as right as he was at the beginning, only now more smug. She threw back her triple out of spite, and stabbed her iceberg wedge like it had done her momma wrong. “Fine.”
* * *
“Mmm.” Sean didn’t mean for his disinterest to show so prominently, thus he tried hide it behind a menu. He knew what he wanted, but knew they didn’t serve Ellie, though the idea of her on the half shell was kind of appealing. Settling on his choice, he set the menu aside and looked his dinner companion over. She’d been watching him for awhile, and hadn’t even spared a glance to see what she wanted to eat.
The waiter came and took their orders, and Sean faked a coughing fit to cover his laughter at her ordering the same thing they’d had the night he’d proposed. He was surprised she didn’t reserve the same table to make the ambiance complete. After the unsuspecting waiter left, Sean leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “I didn’t see nostalgia on the menu.”
“It’s something that you can order if you know the chef,” she replied with a coy smile. She removed the toothpick with the olives from the now-empty glass and ate them delicately, one at a time.
He ran his fingers through his hair as he emptied his beer and leaned back in his chair. “Is that why we’re here? Load up on vodka and nostalgia and make bad decisions afterward?”
Pia pouted for a moment. “Not bad decisions, no. But I was hoping you’d given some more thought to what I’d proposed.”
* * *
“She didn’t even wait for the entrée!” Ellie hissed.
“You need to settle down.” Josh looked at her seriously. “This is not an audience participation thing. Be cool or you can wait outside ‘til we’re done.”
Dane hummed in agreement, but didn’t reply since the waiter brought their food. As soon as the closest set of pryin
g ears was away, he chuckled. “Just relax and eat some ravioli.”
She picked at the ravioli, eating little, though reveling in the taste. Her stomach just wouldn’t settle as she listened as Sean deftly steered the conversation away from her question and on to presumably safer topics, his job, her foundation for homeless kitties and puppies or whatever the hell it was, the weather. Other than the initial glancing blow, they never even looked at the elephant in the room. Even if he was dressed like Ganesha.
Josh and Dane moved on to the coffee portion of the meal, and Ellie had to concede defeat in the form of a take-away box. She wasn’t even in the mood for cannoli. Josh offered to get her some counseling after this ersatz stakeout was over. It was dessert before the conversation in her ear became worth it.
* * *
“So why do you keep avoiding my question?” Pia asked, sipping her Irish coffee, no whipped cream, thank you.
Sean chuckled darkly, and picked up a packet of sugar from the container on the table. “Why do you think I’ll change my mind if you keep asking?”
“I miss you. I know you miss me. We belong together.” To anyone else, her words would have sounded vulnerable and full of contrition. This was just another move on her part to secure a deal, the first of a full-court press that he wasn’t even sure the threat of potential witnesses could contain.
“Only one of those statements is true, and I’m pretty sure you know which one.” Fingers moving absently as he folded and refolded the small white pouch, mutilating it. He gave her a hard look across the table, pleased when she broke eye contact to stare at the dregs of her coffee. “We are over. As soon as you walked out that door all those months ago, it was done. You had to know there was no coming back from that.” To further illustrate the point, he crumbled up the mangled sugar packet and tossed it into his empty coffee cup.
Pia shuddered like his words were physical slaps. She straightened suddenly and folded her hands in front of her. “You’re seeing someone new, aren’t you?”
As if that would be the only reason he would refuse her. Sean shouldn’t have been surprised at her change in attack, but he definitely hadn’t planned on discussing Ellie with her, especially since Ellie had been so opposed to even being in the same room with her. “Not really your business, is it?”
“C’mon,” she winked at him conspiratorially, “you can tell me. Even if we’re not going to be together, I’d like to think we can still be friends. Who is it?”
“Pretty sure I said I wasn’t gonna discuss it.” Sean finished his beer and made eye contact with the waiter. They were done here. He’d told her they were over, and he had no further desire to be here. Yeah, he was out a couple hundred bucks, but he considered it a down payment for his, and Ellie’s, peace of mind.
“Do I know her?” she asked playfully. Now it was a game, wear him down until he gave up what she wanted. It was always about the end game with her.
“I don’t think I copped to there actually being a ‘her’.” He raked his hair back out of his face and blatantly looked around the room for their waiter. Christ on a cracker, could they be any slower with the bill?
Pia’s lips stretched in a predatory grin and her eyes began to glint. “You didn’t, but there is. I know her, or you would have told me already.” She narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment before clutching her throat in horror. “It’s not Ellie.”
It was a statement, not a question from her. One he was happy to let go. “It’s not.” He had reservations about denying her, but he knew Ellie wanted no part of his prior relationship with Pia. They’d never gotten along and he didn’t see a reason to force the issue now.
Relief washed over her features. “Oh good. I may not be able to have you, but you can do so much better than her. I never did like that chunky girl.”
* * *
“Chunky!” Months of work and sacrifice, twenty pounds off her frame and still it wasn’t good enough. She wanted to scream, she wanted to howl, she wanted to take the lobster fork left on the next table over and gouge out that triflin’ heifer’s eyes.
“Ellie. Eleanor,” Josh’s tone and face said that he’d been trying to get her attention for a minute now. She answered him with a low, menacing growl. “You can’t kill or maim her. Think of the witnesses.”
“Do you have any idea how few fucks I give about that right now?” she bit out. In case he wondered, she formed her hand into a circle and looked through it at him like a telescope.
The look in Josh’s eyes was desperate. “Please, remember where you are, remember what we’re doing, and why.”
Dane wasn’t nearly so placating. “Going Defcon Crazybitch is not going to help us here, no matter how warranted. We got what we needed; we now know where they both stand. All we have to do now is wait for them to vacate and then we can leave.”
She barked a quick laugh at ‘Defcon Crazybitch’. That was definitely where her head was, but she knew he was right. “Okay. I’m cool. I’m gonna kill her, but I’m cool.”
Josh patted her hand. “Sweetheart, I have four words for you: accessory before the fact. And maybe two more after that: premeditated murder. Keep that in mind, okay?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, her sigh sounded like another growl. “Take all the joy out of it.”
Josh grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “I know. I’m a bastard like that.”
“Let’s move.” Dane stood and Josh followed suit. He also held her chair while she stood.
The plan was to pick up the listening device and leave. Easy peasy. Except. “Guys, I gotta step out for a minute.”
Dane threw some cash on the table and stepped to her side to escort her out, as had been the plan. Josh was going to watch them leave, make sure they weren’t discovered, recover the device and tip the waiter extra well for his services. “What for?”
She sighed in impatience. “I gotta pee. You happy now?”
“You can’t hold it?”
Ellie blinked at him. “Would I have brought it up if I could?”
At her distinctly nonplussed look, Dane pursed his lips and looked around the room. She imagined that his great height would be an advantage when looking for their quarry. “Okay, be quick. It’s across the room; the hallway is just to the left of the kitchen doors. I’ll watch for you.”
She nodded and took off as quickly as dignity and her clingy black dress would allow. They were golden. Ellie could barely believe it. The plan, as crazy as it seemed in the beginning, worked. Perfectly. Hanging a left at the hallway, she was amused that through her earwig, she could still hear Josh and Dane conversing.
The door to the ladies’ room flung open right as she reached for it.
“Oh hello, Ellie. What a surprise seeing you here.”
Chapter 7
Sean got all the way to the Challenger before he realized he’d forgotten his bank card on the table. He’d been in such a hurry to be out of there, away from Pia, he’d completely overlooked that extremely important piece of plastic. Though he hadn’t seen her leave, he’d hoped maybe that was just because he’d missed her and not that she was still around, because he had to go back into the restaurant to retrieve his bank card, and he wasn’t in the mood for a continued discussion from dinner.
He crossed the parking lot and headed back inside. At least she finally seemed to understand trying to win him back was not going to happen. For that alone he was eternally grateful. Now maybe he could move on without having to worry that she or her father were going to impose themselves on his, and now his and Ellie’s lives.
The maitre d’ didn’t have his card, but let him go back into the dining room to see if the waiter had left it on the table. All the while he was on the lookout for Pia, and felt a bit like he was jumping at shadows every time he heard high heels on the tile floor or saw a black dress. He was so focused on not running into her, it wasn’t until he was almost to the table that he saw Josh, Ellie’s Josh, standing there talking to the guy who’d
been their waiter.
Hanging back for a minute, Sean watched the exchange between the two men, comfortable, but not overly familiar, his trained and discerning eye caught the exchange of money in the handshake-cum-hug. All his spidey senses now on high alert, he decided now was the time he was going to head over to the table to check for his card.
The waiter saw him first. “Oh, Mr. O’Leary, thank goodness you came back! You left your card.” He handed it back to Sean promptly, and didn’t exhibit any of the behaviors one would expect of someone who felt guilty about something.
Sean grinned. “Yeah, I must have been in a hurry and forgot. Thank you for looking after it.” The waiter nodded and then headed back toward the kitchen, leaving Sean to face Josh. “So… making sure I left enough tip?”
Josh raised an eyebrow. “No? I came over to see Armand. We’ve known each other forever. Not that it’s your business.”
“It is when you’re both hovering over my bank card. I find it kinda interesting that you’re here, actually.” No point in being coy about it.
Josh’s face settled into a mask of skepticism. “We weren’t hovering, but do go on.”
Sean leaned against the chair next to him, not giving a single damn about the way it would wrinkle his suit. “I’m sure you saw who I was with. Are you planning on running back to Ellie?”
The thin man’s eyes narrowed, then he looked down, flicked a nonexistent fuzzy from the sleeve of his suit, and adjusted his cufflink. When he looked back up, his eyes were like chips of ice. “I don’t gossip, and I don’t run around spying on people. You wanna dine with painfully malnourished women with questionable fashion sense, that’s your business. I was here enjoying an evening out with my man, plain and simple. If you, however, are feeling guilty, that’s something you might want to take up with Ellie…or not. Also not my business.”
The Ex File (Behind the Blue Line Series Book 1) Page 9