Up in Smoke (Crossing the Line, #2)(43)

“No, thanks.”

This is going well. “Look. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the high school cafeteria, but this is basically an invite to sit with the cool kids.”

Sera stared straight ahead. “I went to boarding school. The cool kids were *s.”

That surprised a laugh out of Erin. “Oh, just come in. They love people with stained shirts at Denny’s.”

Her lips twitched, but she went right back to looking sad. She gave Erin a considering look and stood with a shrug. “Fine. I need some caffeine.”

Erin led the way back into the restaurant and they joined Polly at the booth. Erin took the seat closest to the aisle so she wouldn’t get boxed in, leaving Sera by the window. Polly stirred her coffee, looking bored. “God, I’ve never been happier to be single.”

Sera lifted an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“You two look miserable.”

“Bowen asked me to marry him.” Sera crossed her legs and wedged herself into the corner of the booth. Her gaze bounced around the table, reminding Erin of Bowen. Obviously he’d started to rub off on his girlfriend. Or potential fiancée, as the case seemed to be. “I have no reason to be miserable.”

Erin hid her goofy smile. The Virgin Mother and the gangster were getting married. She wanted to toss sugar packets up into the air like confetti. Which was odd, since she’d never given a shit about this kind of thing before. Other people’s relationships. What they represented. It really shouldn’t mean a damn to her. “What did you say?”

“I said yes. Of course, I said yes.” Sera closed her eyes briefly. “Then I realized I had no one to tell. No one, no family, to be happy for me.”

Polly saluted her coffee. “Hooray. Mazel. Felicitations.”

Sera ignored Polly and flipped open a menu.

Erin gave the dark-haired hacker a sour look. “If it makes you feel any better, people usually just pretend to be happy for other people. They don’t really mean it.”

“No. That doesn’t make me feel better.”

Erin shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

“So.” Polly gave a heavy sigh, probably annoyed at having been dragged into a conversation. “You have no family?”

Sera shook her head. “None that I can call. No one I would invite to a wedding.” She smiled her thanks at the waitress when she arrived with coffee. They sat quietly for a few minutes before Sera seemed to realize they were both staring at her, waiting for her to continue. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Bowen is a little intense.”

“Yup.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that,” Polly confirmed.

Sera breathed a laugh. “Anyway, he didn’t understand why I was upset. Didn’t understand why I wasn’t thrilled over a city hall wedding tomorrow afternoon.”

Polly leaned forward. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Sera took a shaky sip of her coffee. “I saw this coming. He needs to know we’re permanent and there’s nothing I can say to reassure him. It has to be everything. Words, papers. Rings. I want that, too. I want him forever. It’s just all so fast and I…I just wish my mother were around to talk it out with.” She frowned. “So strange, since we weren’t even close.”

Erin shook the weird urge to put her arms around Sera. Too risky if she tried to hug her back. Which led to thoughts of Connor. Of his reaction when she tried to move out. How he’d begged her to come home tonight. She understood his passionate nature, because it existed inside her as well. What was he doing right now? Was he staring at the door waiting for her to walk through it? Thinking of him made every part of her ache, so she focused on Sera. “Your family isn’t the one marrying him. You are.” When Sera looked at her thoughtfully, Erin shifted on the plastic seat. “Who’s going to be the witness?”

“Connor.” Sera watched her closely. “Bowen asked him this morning.”

“Oh.”

Sera nodded toward Polly, but kept her eyes trained on Erin. “She implied you have man troubles, too. I guess I’ve been distracted by Bowen and the new job. Is it Connor?”

Uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken, straight into girl chat, Erin shrugged. “He buys me orange juice.”

Polly snorted. “Don’t make him work for it or anything.”

“Oh, he’s working for it,” she muttered. “Believe me.”

Sera stirred another packet of sugar into her coffee. “We spent some time together back in Brooklyn. When I was undercover.”

Every muscle in Erin’s body went stiff, her pulse skittering. Jealousy. Thick and humid, like the lick of a flame. “What do you mean by time?”

“He was shot while I was undercover. His crew wouldn’t take him to the hospital, knowing it would draw attention.” She sighed after a sip of coffee. “So I nursed him back to health.”

Shot in Brooklyn? Hadn’t he told her he’d gotten the wound overseas? No, she realized. He’d distracted her without giving an actual answer, damn him. Polarized by the image of Connor with blood pouring from his strong body fought against jealousy that still burned hot. She didn’t like the idea of any woman’s hands on him. It should have been her taking care of him. No one else. No one else ever again.