Page 9 of An American in London

Chapter Five

“How long are you in town for, Tuesday?” Nick asks as he puts his napkin on his lap. We’re seated around a square table with Nick and Ben opposite each other and me between them. I feel a little awkward, but having company at dinner feels good. And with two handsome British guys? I’m not about to file a complaint.

I suck in a breath. “Thirty-four days.” I glance across at Ben, but his expression gives nothing away. “The bank I work for has been taken over by a UK bank, and they’re trying to consolidate the two management-track programs. We all have to do a stint as a project manager, working directly with a member of the C-suite. Then they decide whether we deserve a place on the new program. I drew the CEO.”

“Could be outstanding, could be a disaster—depending how good you are at your job,” Nick summarizes accurately, although I’ve been trying not to think about the disaster angle.

Ben inexplicably growls again, and goose bumps scatter across my skin.

“Thanks for reminding me,” I reply.

“Did you grow up in New York?” Nick asks. He’s friendly and attentive, but not in a way that I feel he’s coming on to me. It’s almost as if he’s treating me like Ben’s girlfriend.

“Raised upstate, then moved to the city when I went to college.”

“New York’s fun, isn’t it, Ben?” Nick asks. “I had my stag do there.”

“Your what now?” I ask.

“A party with the boys before I got married.”

“Oh, a bachelor party. You came to New York? Where did you stay?”

He nods at Ben. “Ben very generously took us over on his jet, and we stayed at a hotel in Midtown. The Avenue. Know it? The bar there is epic.”

I narrow my eyes. A jet? Who am I dining with? “Hold your horses, cowboy,” I say, and I turn to Ben, who’s perusing the menu. “You have a jet?” I take in his suit a little more carefully. Having hung out with Jed and his corporate attorney friends, I’m used to a nice custom suit. And Ben’s is certainly nice. It’s a dark navy and makes his shoulders look wide enough to carry theTitanic.

“I’m going to have the lamb,” he says, ignoring my question. “And I think I’m going to need another glass of cabernet.”

“Not like you to be drinking by the glass.” Nick points his thumb at his friend. “He’s one of those who likes the best of everything, so even if he only wants a glass, he’ll order a bottle of something very old and expensive and onlyhavea glass.”

I shake my head. “How wasteful. You’d never catch me wasting wine.”

Nick laughs and calls the waitress over.

She stares right at me. “What can I get you?”

My heartbeat quickens and I glance between Ben and Nick. I can’t remember the last time I went to a restaurant and ordered for myself. Jed would always order for the both of us, depending on what he wanted to try. “Uh ... gosh, I’m not sure. Whatever you suggest.”

Ben shoots me a disapproving glare. “Pick what you’d like.”

Nick interrupts the awkward pause. “I’m going to have the cod.”

“Cod,” I say, scanning the menu. “That sounds good. I’ll do the same.”

Ben orders the lamb and the waitress disappears.

“Tell me more about this friendship you two have,” Nick asks. “Excuse me for being nosy, Tuesday, but new friendships aren’t really on-brand for Ben in my experience. Is it a holiday romance?”

Ben chokes on his wine and thumps his chest with his fist to try to catch his breath.

I can’t help but laugh at his reaction. “I have a confession,” I say. “Apart from not sleeping with your very attractive friend here, I’m also not really friends with him. I keep running into him, and if I were a different type of woman, I’d say the universe is telling us we need to know each other. Something in his frown and tight jaw tells me he needs a friend like me.”

Nick smiles at me and then glances at Ben. “You know, I think you might be right.”

“She’s being ridiculous. I don’tneedanything. Or anybody.”

Instinctively, I reach for his arm to comfort him and a buzz of electricity dances across my palm. “Don’t say that.” I think he feels it, too, because he pulls his arm away like I’ve slathered him in mud. He proceeds to stand, take off his jacket, then place it on the back of the chair.

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