Page 106 of About that Fling
The instant his eyes locked with Jenna’s, she felt a surge of static. He felt it, too, she could see by the way he stepped back, then moved toward her in slow motion, wading through a sea of bodies and noise and clatter.
“Ladies,” he said, nodding at Jenna, then Mia. “This is a surprise.”
“Adam.” Jenna took a deep breath, half of her wishing the ground would swallow her up, while the other half fought the urge to throw herself into his arms. “Uh, good to see you again.”
Shawn glanced up from his phone, then stood and extended a hand. “Hey, I’m Shawn. You’re Gertie’s boyfriend?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “I think you missed part of the conversation, phone boy.”’
“What?” Shawn frowned and studied Adam. “Hey, you look familiar. Have we met before?”
Adam gripped the back of a chair, like he couldn’t decide whether to sit in it or fling it across the restaurant before making a run for it. Jenna couldn’t blame him.
“I don’t think so. I’m from Chicago, just here on business.”
Jenna could tell he was standing a few feet away from her on purpose, but she felt the tension radiating from him anyway. She glanced at Mia, who gave a helpless shrug, then looked down at her own phone vibrating on the table. She smiled, which Jenna took as a good sign. Mark must have replied favorably to the cleavage shot.
“Aunt Gertie grabbed you a drink,” Jenna said, nodding toward the edge of the table where all the glasses had been shoved to make room for the pizza.
“Thank you so much.” He reached for Jenna’s wineglass before she had a chance to say anything. “Mmm, Pinot? This is excellent.”
“Um, actually, that’s yours.” Jenna pointed to one of the mugs of beer. “But you’re welcome to finish off my wine. I’m done drinking for now.”
Mia glanced up from her phone, regarding her ex with a curious look. “Since when do you like wine?”
“I’ve been branching out,” he said, pushing the glass back toward Jenna. “Sorry about that. Here—I don’t want to steal your drink.”
“Please, take it. I’m done. I’m sure Gertie or Shawn would love the beer.”
Shawn nodded, distracted, his eyes on Adam again. “Chicago, huh? I don’t know, I never forget a face. Did you go to school out here?”
Adam picked up the wineglass again and shook his head. “Nope, Cornell University Law School. Maybe I have one of those familiar faces?”
“Huh,” Shawn said, clearly still puzzling it out.
“Have the other beer, dear,” Gertie said, nudging a mug toward Shawn. Jenna shot her a grateful look, hoping the amber suds were enough to distract her ex from interrogating Adam. Across the table, Mia glanced down at her phone again and smiled. At least someone was connecting well with a partner.
Adam turned back to Jenna. “I thought the two of you went to some fancy restaurant downtown?”
“We did, but we changed our minds.”
“A woman’s prerogative,” Mia murmured, tapping out a message on her phone.
“So I hear,” he said lightly. “Sorry, I would have gone someplace else if I’d known. Gertie wanted pizza, so I just thought?—”
“Cornell University Law School,” Shawn said, sticking with the basics of macho posturing and career comparisons. “So you’re an attorney?”
Adam turned and gave Shawn a polite nod. “I’m in corporate mediation now. I work on contract with organizations experiencing turmoil.”
“Ah, let me guess—Belmont? That must be how you know Mia and Jenna.”
“That’s how he knows Jenna,” Mia said, looking annoyed. “He knows me because we once shared a last name and a bank account.”
“Actually, you never took my name,” Adam said, shrugging. “Not that it’s a big deal.”
“I was speaking figuratively,” Mia said through gritted teeth. “It seemed better than suggesting we shared bodily fluids.”
“Good point,” Adam said, taking another sip of wine.
