Page 28 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
Chapter 10
JADE
I pull into the parking lot behind Amico’s, and it takes me a minute to find a spot, since the entire lot is jam packed with cars. After putting my car in park, I flip down my visor and check my lipstick. With my makeup light, I decided to go with a red lip to add a little bit of pop, but a red lip requires some extra attention, since it has a tendency to transfer to your teeth if you’re not careful.
After making sure that I’m all set, I get out of my car and tie the belt of my knee-length beige coat around my waist, which covers up all but the neck of the cream turtleneck sweater I’m wearing but allows a glimpse of my bell-bottom jeans and spike bootees. With my bag—one of Cybil’s creations—slung over my shoulder, I head across the pavement toward the street since the front of the restaurant is directly on the main road.
I’m not really feeling nervous about this evening but definitely feeling unsure. Ken didn’t message me again after we spoke, so I’m not sure that he’s actually going to be here to meet me, and wouldn’t that just be my luck, to get stood up for a date I didn’t even really want to go on.
When I reach the sidewalk, I walk around the corner and come to a dead stop when I see Maverick near the entrance to the restaurant, talking to none other than Ken. Both men standing together is like a punch to the gut, and they couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. Maverick is all dark hair, with striking, elegant features and warm, almond-toned skin, a contrast to Ken’s stereotypically all-American features. Really the only thing the two of them have in common is they are both about the same height.
Like Maverick senses me, his head turns my direction, and his eyes sweep over me before they lock with mine. I don’t know what the look he gives me means, but I do feel the way my body reacts to it.
“Jade,” Ken calls, and reluctantly I pull my eyes off Maverick’s and plaster a smile on my face as I force my feet to move.
“Hey.” I lean up as Ken’s hand curves around my waist and accept his kiss on my cheek, almost overpowered by the smell of his cologne.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I lean back and try not to search for Maverick but still do, and that’s when I notice he’s with a woman and his attention is solely focused on her. Maybe I was wrong about him having a girlfriend; maybe Cybil was right that he wasn’t ready to bring her around.
“Are you hungry?” Ken asks, and I shake off the disappointment I’m feeling and focus on him. “They said our table would be ready in a couple minutes. That was a few minutes ago.”
“Awesome,” I say even as my stomach roils.
“Good.” He takes my elbow, his touch feeling all wrong as he walks me to the door and opens it for me. When we get inside, he gives the girl standing behind a short podium his name, and then I follow the two of them through the dark restaurant to a curved booth with a single candle lit in the middle of the table. Like a gentleman, he stands aside for me to sit before he does, then takes a seat close but not too close.
Absently I listen to the girl who sat us talk as she passes us our menus, but really my attention is across the room, where Maverick is walking toward the bar with the woman he’s with. The two of them smiling at each other, the familiarity between them obvious even with the space between us. Like he can feel me watching him, his eyes come to me, then move to the man sitting next to me and fill with what I swear is jealousy.
“Do you want a glass of wine or something else?” Ken asks, grabbing my attention by placing his hand over mine, and I pull it away and place my hands in my lap.
“I would love a glass of merlot.” I smile at him, then look at the woman standing next to the table, catching her smile. Wow, I was really spaced out; I didn’t even notice that the woman who’d sat us had left and our waitress had come to the table.
“While I get your drinks, you two look over the menu,” she says, then wanders away, stopping at a few tables before going to the bar.
With no choice I focus on the man I’m on a date with and wish I hadn’t let my friend bully me into going out tonight. “So you had work today?” I ask Ken to break the ice, and he leans back in the booth and rests his hand along the back, his fingers way too close to my shoulder.
