Page 69 of Crazy About Love (All About Love)

Chapter 17

PRESENT DAY

I’m biting back every urge to tell LizI told you soas we aimlessly wander around New York City and wait for a response that won’t ever come. I remember that when I asked Alec why he never pulled out his phone when we were together, he said, “Technological addiction is a thing. It’ll destroy relationships, one day, I promise you that.” I laughed at him, but over the course of our friendship I noticed that the amount of people on their phones increased dramatically, even those who were deep in conversation with their dinner date. Alec always kept his resting in his pocket. He was engaged and never dropped eye contact, and when I was with him, I never felt the need to check my notifications or missed calls. Those could wait, just like in the days of yore.

Liz growls, shaking Landon’s phone. Her fingers are blue from the cold; since she’s been typing messages for the last half hour, I’ve been keeping her gloves warm for her.

“He really needs to rethink his no-phone policy. What if someone’s dead?”

“Or stuck in the middle of nowhere with no money,” I say, chuckling at the visual of Jace stranded at a Burger King in nowheresville, Nevada, just last year. He spent all week trying to get hold of one of us; Landon finally checked his Facebook, and we all banded together to get Jace on a flight and poked fun at Alec for not ever answering his phone. Alec keeps telling us, though, that if he’d answered right away, Jace wouldn’t currently be fathering a child with the woman he fell in love with on that road trip from hell. Now that the romantic side in me has been reawakened, I can see his point.

“Sweet mother,” Liz gasps. I lift an eyebrow at the relieved smile developing on her face. “Fate is on your side today, my friend,” she says, pointing a chilled finger at a restaurant on the corner, where there are currently only two occupants on the outside patio.

An echoing gasp catches in my throat.

“That’s them, right?” Liz practically squeals. I shush her, pulling on her arm until we’re hidden behind a light post. I poke my face out, watching Rian swig her beer. Beer again, damn it. Alecreallyhas a thing for beer drinkers. I personally don’t understand the appeal. Wine issomuch better.

“Oh God, she made him eat outside…in February.” I laugh, trying to find fault in this date to make myself feel better. Alec despises eating outside in any season.

And Liz, being the supportive friend I need, shakes her head. “Amateur.”

The waiter comes over, and Rian leans in close to tell him her order. My jaw unhinges; what kind of person could flirt with someone else when Alec is sitting across from them? Then again, what kind of person turns down Alec when he professes his love? A flashing neon arrow glows over my head.

The waiter leaves, and Rian playfully shrugs, swirls the straw in her water, and licks her lips. I can’t hear a word, so I inch closer, hoping to catch at least some of their conversation. Her body language suggests that this date is going well, and the knots in my stomach get more and more tangled the longer I stand here and watch. Is he falling for this? Is he enjoying himself? Or is he rolling his eyes and counting down the minutes to midnight?

Gah…I wish I could see more than the back of his head.

“Theresa,” Liz whispers. “You do realize you’re talking out loud, right?”

I drop my voice to a whisper. “Can we get closer without being seen?”

Her brows pull together. “Don’t you want to—oh, I don’t know—interrupt and tell him how you feel? Grand gesture?”

My teeth tug on my bottom lip as I study Rian’s flirtatious eye flutters. My younger self wants to do exactly what Liz suggested, but the older, wiser part of me knows that I need to consider all the possible outcomes of that scenario. Alec’s too sweet and nice a guy to ditch the girl who paid four thousand just for a date with him, so all that would be left for us would be an awkward exchange, and a possible argument when the night is over.

Or maybe he’d be as thrilled as I am, and there’d be no argument at all.

The hesitation in my feet is all because I’m not sure why he left me to wake up alone those three weeks ago, and why he’s been so platonic when I thought we’d finally gotten past the platonic stage.

“I want to know how he feels about her first,” I tell Liz. She purses her shivering lips and nods once. Then she points to the thick shrubs surrounding the restaurant’s patio. Acceptable coverage, even considering the mass of Liz’s pink coat.

I try to look nonchalant as we inch closer. Rian seems like the kind of person who would point me out and make a scene if she spotted me. That might play in my favor, but since I can also see her grabbing Alec and kissing him just to spite me, I’d rather not draw any attention to myself.

I grab Liz’s arm and pull her down to a crouched position. She may have to crawl across the sidewalk in order to avoid being seen, and thank heavens I don’t have to actually tell her that out loud. She falls to her stomach and army-crawls, but she goes a bit closer than I intended. She waves me forward; feeling completely ridiculous and insane, I follow her lead and rest against the shrubbery.

“Is steak really your favorite or were you just trying to see if I eat meat?” Rian asks, her voice much sweeter and lighter than I recall it being. Also, steak is his favorite.

“Steak is the best-tasting thing at this place,” Alec replies, and my heart breaks and sews itself back together all in the same beat. He sounds like he’s amused, like he’s having a good time, but he also sounds like he’stryingto be that way. It’s not an effortless amusement.

Liz smacks me in the arm and mouths, “You’re…breathing…so…loud.” I push my hands over my mouth and try to hold my breath.

“You’re good at this,” Alec says, and I force myself to pay more attention because I am lost in the conversation. “What’s your secret?”

“I’ve been told I’m good at reading people.” Her voice is sultry and makes my gag reflex put in an extra shift.

“Bullshit.” He laughs, and before I can celebrate about Alec calling her out so boldly, Rian starts laughing too.

“Hey, you got one right.” She pauses. “Truth is, you’re extremely transparent, Alex with ac.”

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