Page 52 of The Friendship Pact

“Maybe hold off,” Cole said, staring straight ahead.

When their burgers arrived, despite having lost his appetite, Nick forced himself to eat.

Cole kept peering over him to catch a glimpse of Kate. “They’re not on a date. Morty is standing at her table. Oh, wait . . .”

“Cole. Just stop. It’s fine.”

Lily and Chloe walked in and stopped at the bar. Immediately, Chloe locked eyes with Kate and waved. Nick didn’t dare glance in Kate’s direction.

“What are you two doing here?” Cole asked Chloe and Lily. “I would have thought you’d be helping Paige with wedding prep.”

“That’s more of a Maggie and Alexis thing,” Chloe said.

“We decided to spend some time with Kate. Get to know her better,” Lily said.

“I told you,” Cole said to Nick under his breath.

“Leave it, Cole,” Nick growled.

“Wait. What did we miss?” Chloe asked as she swiped a fry from Nick’s plate.

“Kate walked in with the mayor. It looked like they were chummy,” Cole said.

“Kate and the mayor? No way,” Chloe said.

“She only has eyes for you, Nick,” Lily said, and smiled.

Nick pushed the rest of his fries toward Cole. “Go ahead and finish.” He threw cash on the bar. “See you all later.”

Cole stood up. “Not so fast. Kate’s on her way over.”

“Hey, everyone. I saved us a table. Do you guys want to join us?” Kate asked. “We can slide two tables together.”

“I have to go,” Nick said, slipping on his jacket.

“Okay.” Kate eyed him and tried to figure out his surliness. “Cole, how about you?”

“Sure. I’m not ready to go home yet.”

Nick waved to Spencer and with a quick “Have fun” to their small group, he walked out the door.

Something was bugging him, but Kate didn’t know what. Maybe he was mad because she hadn’t stopped by the bar to say hi. But in all fairness, she hadn’t noticed him and Cole until she sat down. By that time Hannah, her waitress and newest friend, had come with a menu, taken her drink order, and begun chatting about the trail ride.

“What’s up with Nick? Did he have a bad day?” Kate asked Cole.

Cole threw his arm over her shoulder and glanced at the mayor. “I could be mistaken, but his mood changed when you walked in with the mayor.”

“Seriously? We’re just friends.”

Cole shrugged. “You and Nick or you and Morty?”

“The mayor did ask me out, but I told him I’m taking a hiatus on dating. As for your brother, the same applies. We’re just friends.”

Was Nick jealous? If that was how he felt, wouldn’t he have mentioned her indiscretion? And if he had, would she have admitted she remembered and wanted to continue where they’d left off? With startling intensity, an overwhelming surge of desire came over her. She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted him, period.

“Earth to Kate,” Chloe said with a grin.

“Huh?”