I’m grateful to have Eve with me on this last minute shopping trip. Jonah’s barbeque is today. After his impromptu invite that left me grinning like an idiot, he told me to bring a bathing suit. I thought, and Eve agreed, that the possibility of swimming at a celebrity’s house called for a new suit.
I pay the swanky boutique’s cashier and figure I’ll have to get Dog generic cat food for the next six months to make up for the money I just spent. He lives in a dumpster. He won’t mind the cheap stuff.
We pop into a little coffee shop to grab a latte when my cell phone rings. I check the caller ID. Butterflies stir in my belly.
“Oh my gosh, Eve, it’s him.” I hold my phone out to her, thinking that she might answer it for me.
I’ve been working for Jonah all week, and he’s never called me. How does he know my number? He gave me his number the day he came to the garage, and I programmed it in my phone in case I couldn’t find his house. And why am I so nervous? Sweat slicks my palms, making me almost lose the hold on my phone. Or maybe that’s the shaking.
Eve leans away from me, shooing the phone to my ear with a few quick flicks of her wrist. “Uh-uh, girl, we’re not in grade school. Now answer your damn phone.”
I step out of the ordering line and head to a table at the back of the coffee shop. I can’t sit as nervous energy keeps me pacing.
With a finger pressed to my ear to drown out the chatter, I drop my head. “Hello?”
“Raven, what’s up? It’s Jonah.”
“I know . . . I mean I have your number in my phone, you know, from that first day, and it came up on the—”
Eve elbows me in the ribs and shakes her head. And thank God. Who knows how long I would have rambled.
His low chuckle vibrates the phone against my ear, sending goose bumps down that side of my body. He’s even sexy through the telephone. “Right. Where are you?”
“My girlfriend Eve and I are having coffee at . . .” I stare at the coffeehouse sign. My face heats immediately and Eve giggles. “The Bump and Grind.”
He laughs again, just as low and sexy as the first, but louder. “Only in Vegas, huh?”
“Yeah, God forbid there be a Starbucks around.” I roll my eyes, even though he can’t see me.
“I wanted to touch base and make sure you were coming by this afternoon.”
“Of course, four o’clock, right?”
“That’s it. And, Raven?”
“Mm-hm?”
“Bring Eve along.”
My eyes dart to Eve who is standing nearby hanging on my every word. I smile at her. “Bring Eve? Okay, sure.” Her face splits into a smile, and she fist pumps the air.
“Great. See you in a few.”
The phone disconnects, and Eve and I stare at each other for a few wordless seconds.
“We’re going back to the boutique.” Eve grabs my arm and pulls me out the door. “I need a new suit too if I’m going to meet ‘The Assassin.’”
I stop walking. “Please, whatever you do, do not call him ‘The Assassin’ to his face. That would be so embarrassing.”
She lifts one side of her glossed lips like I just gave her a fantastic idea. Oh, great.
“You know, there’ll probably be a few single guys there tonight.” I ask the silent question with my eyes.
Eve is gorgeous, and she gets plenty of attention from guys, but her taste is selective. She only dates complete jerks.
“We’ll see.” She shrugs. “It would take someone pretty special to turn my head at this point.” A sly smile spreads across her face.
Eve has a secret. I look around before pulling her from the sidewalk to a bench.
“Who is he?” Excitement must show in my expression and Eve’s face lights up.
“Oh, Rave! He’s amazing. I met him at work. He came into the restaurant for dinner, and he was so sweet.” She has a dreamy look that I don’t see often on my cynical friend. “He asked me out and I said yes,” she squeals.
“That’s great. When’s the date?”
“Oh, it was two weeks ago.” Guilt laces her voice. “We’ve been hanging out almost every night since.”
My brows drop low. I try to justify why my best friend has been dating a guy for two weeks and this is the first I’ve heard about it. We tell each other everything. Just last week Eve called me at midnight to tell me that Donny Osmond came into her restaurant and told her she had great bone structure. And for two weeks she’s been keeping her mystery boyfriend from me?
This can’t be good. History proves that she attracts the meanest most abusive guys Vegas has to offer: usually verbally, sometimes physically, and always emotionally. I tell myself that she doesn’t know better. Growing up in that environment, she obviously sways toward her idea of normal. But surely she doesn’t want the life her mom had.
I’ve been running in the opposite direction of my mom’s life since I knew she was a prostitute. I’m a mechanic and a virgin. Can’t get more opposite than that.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. He’s really . . . um . . . private. He told me he wasn’t ready for anyone to know about us. Things are getting pretty serious though, so I’m sure you’ll meet him soon.”
“I’m really happy for you, Eve.” The hurt in my voice contradicts my words.
Her smile turns sad. “Hey, I’m sorry.”