Poor Jonathan stands there glancing back and forth between us with narrowed eyes. I should introduce Sin, but I don’t want Jonathan to stay a second longer, and thankfully, he doesn’t. He tucks his tray under his arm and heads toward the bar, but I cringe knowing he has to return again, and again.
“I think I made him feel uncomfortable. He seems to be a fan of yours. An old friend?” Sin leans on his elbows over the table and eyes me like I’m on the witness stand. He wants the truth about Jonathan, so I’ll give him the abridged version. No need to bore him with stalking issues from back in high school.
“He moved to Rochester in eighth grade and has tried a million times to get me to go out with him.” I sigh, remembering back to the days when I couldn’t walk away from Jonathan fast enough. I hope he doesn’t get weird tonight in front of Sin.
“He seems smitten.”
“Let’s say he was persistent.” I roll my eyes to emphasize my point.
“I can understand where he’s coming from, though.” What did he just say? I raise my head high and look at him in shock as a quiet heaviness encircles us.
Needing a moment to regroup, I study the menu until Jonathan arrives with our drinks.
“Here you go, Harlow.” He stares at me as he sets my martini down. I watch the glass tilt and tumble over before a stream of vodka flows down onto my white dress. Great.
Jonathan grabs a cloth napkin off the table and begins to rub the wet area of my dress, which means his hands are all over my thighs. He’s breathing hard as I try to swat his hands away from me.
“Stop,” I say through gritted teeth, but Jonathan pays no heed.
“Not cool, man.” Sin sounds pissed and pulls the napkin out of Jonathan’s hand. He hands it to me, but it’s too wet to be used.
“I’m so sorry, Harlow,” Jonathan pleads while standing, but I ignore him and glance around for a restroom.
“Where’s the bathroom? I need a moment.” A bumbling Jonathan points to an even darker area in the back. I snatch up my bag and take off.
Chapter Nine
Sin
“Dude, you need to calm the fuck down.” This tall, geeky kid has gone bat shit crazy. Ever since Harlow left the table, he’s been uttering something about his one true love and that damn doctor over and over again as he swipes the table bone dry. “Take a few deep breaths, man, before you pass out.”
“Right,” he squeaks out in a high-pitched voice, then inhales and exhales a couple times, which makes him quit stammering for a few seconds. “I’m cool. I’m cool.” He straightens the black apron around his waist, but his shoulders are so tense, they’re nearly touching his ears.
“So, did she break up with Dr. Elliott? Is that why you’re here with her?” He continues running his mouth before I can answer his questions, so I sit back in my chair and let him. “He keeps her locked up at his home. No one sees her out anymore. I heard she goes to the grocery store, stuff like that, and the country club, but that’s it.”
“Hold up. What do you mean ‘he keeps her locked up at his home’?” I squint at him, trying to assess whether he’s just worked up or actually telling me the truth.
“So, you don’t know about them? Who are you, by the way? I’ve never seen you around here before, and you’d be hard to miss.”
He eyes me back, and I have a decision to make here. Do I lie about my connection to my uncle or tell him the truth?
If I tell Jonathon I’m related to James, he’ll quit talking to me and I want to find out more from him. Knowing full well my uncle plans to meet us here and I’ll likely be exposed, I decide to take the gamble and get more information. It’s worth enduring some possible fallout later.
“New to town. Met her today, as a matter of fact. She brought me here for dinner, but I’m paying. Now, back to the doctor. Tell me more. I’d like to know what I’m getting in to with her,” I say, needing to hurry him along before Harlow comes back to the table. I need this guy to focus. “So, you haven’t seen her in a long time?”
“Not since the night her mother died.” He shakes his head and takes a deep breath, appearing to calm down. Thank fuck. “What I don’t understand is why he was at her bedside when she woke up.”
“Stop right there. I’m clueless here.”
“Harlow saw her mother’s boyfriend kill her mother. Then he blew his own brains out. Right in front of her, man.”
How does anyone get over shit like that? I can’t even imagine what Harlow witnessed and how she’s dealt with the trauma.
“Seeing your own mother killed in front of you? I have no words.”
“It had to be a nightmare.” He closes his eyes and sighs. No matter how weird this guy is, and he’s odd as fuck, he really cares for Harlow … even if it’s in an obsessive way. “She was covered in blood and freaked out. The paramedics had to sedate her. They took her to The Clinic’s ER. A friend of mine is an orderly there. Said Dr. Elliott paced around her room until she woke up and the next thing you know, she’s living with him.”