Page 13 of The Write Stuff

“I’ll have a vodka and soda,” I said to her before anybody else could order. “And keep them coming.”

4

FOUR

Seeing Huxley was like having the oxygen sucked out of my lungs. I forgot how to breathe and focused my attention on the menu.

What was he doing here?

Was he living here now?

Oh, man, why?

Maybe he was just visiting. That would be the best thing for me. Yes, he was just visiting. That had to be it.

Conversation had picked up at the table by the time I got myself under control, but I blurted over them without thinking. “How long are you in town?”

Nobody else made the mistake of thinking I was talking to them. All eyes turned to Huxley to see how he would respond.

“I live here,” he replied. That was it. That was all he said.

“He bought my house,” a blonde offered. I knew her face because of the fanfare her marriage had gotten in the author world. When two of our own fell in love, it was treated like a real-life romance book. Bree and her husband, Brody, were essentially famous.

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to make of that, so I went back to looking at the menu. Suddenly, I had no appetite. I would eat regardless, but I wouldn’t enjoy it.

“Bree is the one I told you about,” Bella said in a gentle voice from my right. She looked legitimately worried. “The one who had the fight with the HOA.”

“Okay.” I smiled encouragingly. “That sounds great.”

Bella’s face was blank at my response, as if I’d said words in a different language. For Huxley’s sake, he was lucky it wasn’t Klingon, which I was prone to using whenever I was feeling overwhelmed. Like now. I was definitely feeling overwhelmed.

“What about you?” Huxley asked. “Are you just visiting?” He looked hopeful.

I shook my head. “I just took over the lease on Bella’s old place. I’m here for at least nine months.”

“I see.”

Thankfully, the server picked that moment to deliver the drinks that had been ordered. It allowed me to regulate my breathing. Huxley had always had this effect on me. I’d crushed on him hard as a teenager — not that he’d ever noticed — and I turned into a babbling idiot whenever I was in his presence. That was before the Austin incident. I hadn’t seen him since, other than on my television screen when they did a story about his romance success, or in a newspaper article.

I didn’t listen to what the others ordered. When the server got to me, I wasn’t prepared. I ordered the first thing I saw on the menu.

“I’ll have the Beef Tell-Tale Heart.”

Bella shot me an odd look. “You want an egg sandwich? I’ve never even seen you eat eggs.”

It was true I preferred French toast and pancakes for breakfast, but I’d eaten eggs before. That didn’t mean I wanted an egg sandwich now. “Oh, um …”

Bella took pity on me and took the menu. “She’ll have the Beef Pit & Pendulum with fries,” she said. “Lots of ketchup. She loves ketchup.”

If the server was bothered by the uncomfortable vibe at our table, she didn’t show it. “Okay. I’ll be back with the appetizers in a few minutes.”

Who had ordered appetizers? Wouldn’t that just prolong this meal from hell? I didn’t want appetizers.

“You know what, we’re going to run to the bathroom,” Bella announced. She sent Nathan a significant look that I couldn’t quite translate. “You guys get to talking.”

With that, she grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet before directing me to the bathroom. Bree wasn’t invited, but she followed. Once we were inside the bathroom, Bella checked the other stalls. Upon finding them empty, she focused on me.

“What the hell was that?” Bree asked before Bella could get her question out.