Lovely Girls(25)

“My wife—now ex—was pregnant with our son, Sean. He’s a freshman at Shoreham High School this year. And with a baby in the mix, the idea of living in a big city suddenly lost its appeal. For me, anyway. I think Kim always resented the move.”

I flushed again, although this time because I remembered Genevieve’s story of how his marriage had ended. The anonymous text sending him a photo of his cheating spouse.

“I’m sorry.” Joe looked contrite. “I shouldn’t have brought up my ex-wife. I told you, I’m a little nervous. I was fine until Genevieve called me this afternoon and basically threatened me not to screw this up.”

“Wait, what?” I was startled. “Genevieve called you?”

“Yeah. It took me by surprise. It’s not like she and I ever chat on the phone. But she called me out of the blue to tell me how great you are and to make sure you had fun tonight.” He smiled again, this time looking embarrassed. “I mean, I didn’t need her to tell me you’re great. I already know that.”

I felt a woosh of warmth and returned his grin. “I’m really glad I came tonight. But I suddenly feel like I’m in high school.”

“But with really good cocktails,” Joe pointed out.

“And in much nicer surroundings. My first boyfriend brought me to Friendly’s and then told me he could only afford one sundae, so we had to split it.”

“Smooth move.” Joe smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “I was going to try the same thing, but it’s harder to pull off when the date is in your own restaurant.”

“Especially when your date has laser beam eyes.”

“Good point. And just so you know, I wasn’t comfortable with Genevieve’s phone call either.” Joe set down his glass and leaned forward, folding his hands, his elbows resting on the table. The first few buttons on his shirt were undone, and his skin looked tan against the crisp white fabric.

“I’m sure she was just trying to be a good friend, but it seems odd she’d call you.”

It wasn’t just odd. It was unsettling. I liked Genevieve, and I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt that she was trying to be kind, wanting me to feel welcome in my new life. But I’d always maintained firm personal boundaries. I wasn’t used to a friend intruding like this.

That’s because you don’t have any friends, a voice in my thoughts mocked me.

“Well . . . ,” Joe began but then paused. “How close are you two?”

“I’ve only known her for a few weeks.” Then, worried that I sounded churlish, I quickly added, “But she’s been absolutely lovely. Very welcoming.”

“Good, I’m glad. I just . . . ,” Joe began but then stopped again and shook his head.

“What were you going to say?”

“I don’t mean to keep bringing up my ex-wife, but I think I mentioned that she and Genevieve didn’t get along.” Joe lifted his glass, and the ice rattled softly as he drank. “Kim can be difficult. But she was convinced that Genevieve was out to get her. Our marriage was already in trouble by that point, and I was distracted with the restaurant, so I don’t remember all of the details. But to say they didn’t get along is actually an understatement. It’s a good thing neither of them have laser beam eyes, because one of them would have ended up being vaporized.”

I laughed. “That would be bad. And an abuse of superpowers.”

“Like I said, Kim has her faults. But Genevieve can be tough. She and I have always had a friendly relationship, but that woman does not shy away from conflict.”

“I’ll try not to get on her bad side.”

“Might be best not to,” he agreed. “How are you doing with your cocktail? Can I get you another?”

I glanced down at my drink and was surprised to see that the glass was empty. “I need to pace myself.”

“And mess up my plan?” Joe leaned forward and rested his hand on mine.

“What plan is that?” I asked, enjoying the warmth of his touch.

“To get you drunk enough that you’ll tell me all about how you gained your superpowers. I want laser beam eyes and the ability to teleport.”

I grinned at him. “I’ll never tell.”

“We’ll see about that.”



Once my nerves settled down, the rest of the evening was fun. I was pleasantly tipsy, and Joe was good company. Our conversation was easy, and we laughed a lot. It was nice to laugh. I hadn’t done it nearly enough in the past few years.

On Joe’s recommendation, I ordered the red snapper piccata, which was served with capers and a lemon-butter sauce spooned over it. I swirled linguine around my fork and used it to sop up the sauce.

“That was delicious,” I said after I’d eaten every bite.

“Next time I’ll cook for you,” Joe promised. “I want to make dinner for you at my place.”

There would be a second date. Pleasure curled through me at the idea. I wanted to see Joe again. Very much so.

“That sounds great. Will your son mind?” I asked.

“Nah, he’s pretty laid back. But he spends half his time at his mom’s, and he’s always disappearing off to a friend’s house.” Joe paused. “What about your daughter? I liked her, by the way. When I met her at Emma’s party.”