Page 54 of Love Rewritten

“Save it,” I say, holding a hand up and moving past him.

He turns to follow me. “Can I explain?”

“No,” I say a little harsher than I intend so I force my voice calmer. “Not right now.” He goes silent. “Take this rack of glasses to the back and bring out a fresh one. Please,” I add as if that’ll help ease the tension.

He does as he’s told, and Dylan watches me carefully, seeming to get a boost of confidence to say something. “A bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“Don’t start. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He folds his arms across his chest. “You’re right, I don’t, but I doubt he deserves to be the scapegoat for your anger.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you.” He eyes me for another few seconds before shaking his head and moving back to his side of the bar.

I can’t say it’s harder than I thought it would be to ignore the elephant in the room for the rest of the day. I knew it would be hard. But I wasn’t expecting Jordan’s glances toward Abby all day. Not long ones. They’re so short I’m sure I miss most of them. It’s impossible to say why he keeps looking at her, whether to see how she’s doing with him here or if he’s interested in her. Either way, my blood runs hot all day. It doesn’t help that I catch Abby noticing his glances a few times, too, and I watch her shift uncomfortably in the booth before forcing her attention back to her laptop.

Near the end of the night, after the fifth or sixth time catching him looking over at her, I finally have to say something.

“Dude, I see you look over there one more time, I’ll make the rest of your training a living hell.”

He lets out a short, annoyed breath, but holds both hands up in surrender. I’m thankful when it’s time to close and I can send him home, giving Abby and me some time to loosen up after such a tense shift before we leave, too.

“Table for two, please,” I say. The hostess grabs two menus and leads us to a table in the middle of the restaurant.

When Abby told me her favorite restaurant was one near her hometown, an Asian place, I was a little surprised. I had expected something more American based on some of her go-to foods, but she insisted that this was hands-down the best place to go. We took the bikes. Being this far out of Oxly, it made for a nice evening ride.

“Your waiter will be with you shortly,” the hostess says with a smile before walking away.

“So, what’s good here?” I ask, scanning the very long menu.

“Honestly, all of it. But my favorite is the pho.”

The waiter arrives and takes our drink and food orders. Abby gets a glass of red wine and beef pho. I order a Coke and the chicken pho. We also start with some spring rolls. Our waiter disappears with our order and menus before shortly returning with our drinks.

My phone buzzes in my pocket with a text from Rose.

R: Dal, I could kill you for not introducing me to Meredith sooner. I think I’m in love.

I chuckle and turn my screen to show Abby. She laughs, too, before holding her index finger up and pulling her phone out.

“Look what Meredith sent me this morning.” She turns her phone around after some scrolling to show me a text from Meredith.

M: Girl, why did it take so long for Rose and I to meet?! She’s amazing!

Both of us laugh at the situation, finding it funny that they both sent similar texts so soon after meeting. That must mean they’ve seen each other again since the ceremony.

Our conversation is casual for a few minutes before a couple following the hostess walks up behind Abby. The woman glances at Abby curiously and she peeks her head around as they pass.

“Abby?” she asks, brows tight. She briefly glances at me and then back at Abby before recognition crosses Abby’s face. The thick-bearded guy with the woman pauses a few feet past us with the hostess, who waits impatiently for them to continue to their assigned table.

Abby’s eyes go wide. “Cameron?”

The woman, Cameron, motions to the guy and hostess to keep going. “I’ll meet you over there.” He gives a thumbs up before following the hostess to their booth a few paces ahead of them. “Um, hi. How are you?”

Abby doesn’t move. She’s still in shock. “I’m okay.” She blinks a few times and then shakes her head, seeming to finally come around to what’s happening. “How are you? How’s Will?” She glances toward where he sits alone in a booth on the back wall.

“We’ve been good. Just out to dinner for our anniversary.”

Abby’s eyes go wide again. “Shit, fuck. That’s right. Sorry. Happy anniversary.”

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