Page 30 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
“I was here with Maverick while I waited for my boyfriend to get off work.”
“Boyfriend?” That information shouldn’t fill me with as much relief as it does, but there is no denying I feel relieved that she’s not dating Maverick.
“Yeah, my boyfriend, Mason, works down the street as a bartender.” Her eyes light up on the word boyfriend. “Mav told me that he was going to be in town and asked if I wanted to get a drink before I went to meet Mason. You know Maverick, right?”
“I do.” I don’t elaborate.
“And apparently he knows your date,” she says after glancing that way once more, and I turn to find Maverick and Ken laughing about something.
“Apparently,” I mutter. Then next thing I know, her fingers are wrapped around my wrist, and she is towing me with her across the restaurant. When we reach the table, I fight the urge to shift on my heels as both guys turn their attention to us.
“Sorry to interrupt, boys,” she says before she basically forces me to sit down on the side of the booth next to Ken, then scoots in next to me. “Jade was just telling me that she was here on a date with you.” She looks at Ken. “And I thought, Wow, that’s insane, because I’m here on a date with Mav.” She motions to the guy across the table from her. The man who is currently scowling at her. “It’s a small world, right?” She nudges my shoulder, completely ignoring Maverick’s look.
“Really small,” I agree, wondering what she is up to but seeing that it’s something even after knowing her for just a couple of minutes.
“You don’t mind if we join you guys, right?” she asks Ken, and I peek over at him, seeing that he’s not exactly happy with the idea of company.
“Of course not.” He wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I squirm when I notice Maverick’s jaw clench.
“Yay.” Margret drags me away from Ken and pulls me into her side, which forces him to let me go. “Did you guys order dinner yet?”
“We did.” I reach across the table for my wine because if wine were ever a necessity, it would be in this exact moment.
“We haven’t yet.” She looks across the table to where Maverick is sitting. “Do you know what you want to eat, sweetie?”
“I’m not hungry,” he answers with a tone filled with annoyance.
“Of course you’re hungry; why else would you ask me to meet you at a restaurant? Especially when I suggested we just meet at the bar down the street for a drink.” She laughs. “You were pretty insistent that we come here; I can only assume that’s because you were hungry for Italian.” My eyes fly to Maverick’s, and my skin prickles as our gazes lock. He knew I was going to be here. I don’t know how he knew, but he did. My heart starts to pound so hard I wonder if you can’t see the pulse in my neck.
“Shit,” Ken curses, and I force my attention off Maverick to look at my date, sure that he knows something is up. But when I turn toward him, I see his attention is across the room, and I turn to see what has caught his attention and find a blonde with big hair, lots of cleavage, and a murderous look on her face coming our way.
“This is you working late?” the blonde yells, coming toward us and pointing a finger at Ken. “I knew it. I fucking knew it.” Her voice rises as her face starts to get red. “You’re a fucking liar.”
“Oh my God,” I breathe, spinning my head around toward Ken, who looks like he wants to bolt but is trapped. “You have a girlfriend?”
“No, bitch, he has a fucking wife,” the woman yells, sounding closer than she was seconds ago, and I find her right at the edge of the table glaring at me while holding out her hand, which is sporting a good-size diamond.
“I didn’t know,” I tell her, noticing that the room has gone quiet and everyone is now watching us.
“Right, that’s what they all say. I didn’t know.” She uses a fake baby voice. “Give me a fucking break.”
“I met him yesterday; we had one phone call. I had no idea he had a wife. I don’t know anything about him.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself,” Maverick cuts in, and I wish the ground would open up and swallow me. How the hell is my luck this bad—of course Maverick is here to witness exactly how horrible I am at choosing men.
“She does need to explain herself, and she also needs to tell me where the fuck she met my husband.”
“Donna, let’s talk about this outside,” Ken says as Maverick lets him out of the booth on his side.
