Angels at the Table (Angels Everywhere #7)(44)

Aren held the door open for his sister. She paused just inside the restaurant and whispered, “And if Jack does happen to show I’ll smile and pretend I’m having the time of my life.”

“Right,” Aren whispered back.

The hostess smiled warmly when she saw Josie.

“Oh, Miss, it’s so good to see you.”

“You, too,” Josie said. “Is my favorite table available?”

Aren didn’t pay much attention to the exchange between the two women as he was distracted by the enticing scents coming from the kitchen. He momentarily closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. A mixture of garlic and spices, tomatoes and basil. If the aroma was anything to go by he was in for a treat.

In just a matter of minutes they were escorted to a table and handed menus. Even before Aren had a chance to review the selections, breadsticks were delivered to their table.

“The breadsticks are baked here every afternoon,” Josie told him. “They’re divine. Jack always said we could make a meal out of them alone.”

“How’s the ravioli?” he asked, more interested in studying the menu. He had to admit he was impressed.

A pained look bled into Josie’s expression. “The cheese ravioli were Jack’s favorite. He’d order them every time we dined here, and we came at least once a week.”

“What about you? What did you order?”

She smiled then. “Everything. The food is so good, I wanted to try every last thing on the menu. I’d worked my way through the appetizers and the salads and I was halfway through the entrées when we split.”

“Did you have a favorite?”

“That’s just it. Every dish is simply wonderful. I was even inspired to try to make some of the appetizers myself, especially the rolled eggplant, but my attempts were never as good as what we had here, so we just kept coming back week after week.”

The waiter came for their order and Aren asked for the cheese-stuffed ravioli. Josie had just finished telling the waiter she wanted to try their seafood spaghetti when she abruptly went still. Aren didn’t need anyone to tell him Josie had spied Jack. He could almost have guaranteed this would happen.

Leaning across the table, Aren asked, “Is Miss Universe with him?”

Josie held her head high and nodded ever so slightly. “Oh, yes, and she’s as gorgeous as ever.”

Because Aren’s back was to the entrance, he couldn’t see, and turning around to look would have upset Josie, although he was tempted.

Josie smiled and nodded. “He just saw me,” she said under her breath.

“And?”

“And he looks pretty shaken up. Good. Now he knows how I felt when I saw him last Saturday night.” She leaned across the table and whispered, “Laugh.”

Aren blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t be dense. I want you to laugh as if I’m the funniest, most clever woman you’ve ever met in your life.”

“Josie.” Aren wasn’t up to playing games.

“Please, Aren, do this for me. I’ll never ask anything of you again as long as I live.”

That was a likely story. He was beginning to think his sister had set up this entire meeting and he’d blindly walked into her plans.

“Please.” Her eyes pleaded with him.

“All right, all right.” He chuckled and managed a weak smile.

“Louder,” Josie whispered.

“This is ridiculous.” He should have suspected something was up when Josie mentioned a favorite table and insisted on sitting facing the door.

To keep the peace, Aren laughed again, with a bit more energy this time.

She smiled with a dreamy expression. “That was perfect.”

“Thanks.”

Josie leaned closer and became more animated, laughing softly while Aren did his best not to roll his eyes. His sister was overdoing it. She pressed her hand over her heart and smiled at him as though she hung on every little word Aren uttered.

“The least you could do is play along,” his sister hissed when he glared back at her.

“What’s Jack doing now?” Aren asked.

Josie looked mighty pleased with herself. “He hasn’t been able to take his eyes off us.”

“Where’s he sitting?”

“Two tables over against the wall.”

Aren set his napkin on the tabletop, then he stood up without a word.

“What are you doing?” Josie whispered as a worried look came over her features. “Aren, if you do what I think you’re about to do, I swear I’ll never speak to you again.”

He grinned and shrugged. “I should be so lucky.”

“Aren,” she pleaded frantically, half-standing as though to stop him.

He had no intention of being dissuaded. His sister was miserable and if Jack hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her then Aren suspected Jack felt the same way about her.

Turning away from his sister, Aren crossed the short distance between the two tables. As Aren approached, Jack set aside his napkin and stood. He was a good three inches taller than Aren and outweighed him by twenty pounds, but Aren wasn’t looking to best the other man.

“You must be Jack,” he said and extended his hand. “Aren Fairchild, Josie’s brother.”