Page 100 of One Night Only
“I’m Robbie,” he says. Soraya ignores him, so his eyes flick to me, lingering in a way that has Annie smirking.
“Nice to meet you,” I say. “And thanks for the table. It’s very nice of you.”
“You girls wants some drinks?”
“We’re good,” I say, sitting down with a warning glance at the others. “We’re going to get some food first.”
“Goodbye, Robbie,” Soraya adds sweetly and waits until he wanders off before sliding into the booth. “Excuse me,” she adds, grabbing the attention of a passing waitress. “Could you tell Declan Sarah’s here?”
“Soraya,” I hiss but the waitress only nods, removing the empty glasses from the table.
“What?”
“Sarah’s nervous,” Claudia sings.
“Why would I be nervous?”
“Because youlooooovehim and you—” She laughs as I throw a napkin at her.
“We need to eat some food,” I say.Ineed to eat some food. I don’t know how much I had to drink at the strip club, but I know it was too much. “And some water.”
“Boo,” Claudia pouts as Annie opens a menu.
“Kitchen’s still open,” she says.
“And so is thebar.” Claudia slams her hands down on the table. “I want something Irish.”
Annie frowns down at the menu. “What on earth are curry fries?”
“Ah here. What’s Paul been teaching you?”
We turn as one as Declan appears at the table, a dishcloth thrown over his shoulder. At the sight of him, Claudia bursts into giggles, which sets Soraya off and suddenly I’m surrounded by children.
“They’re a local Irish delicacy,” Declan continues.
Annie makes a face. “That’s what Paul said about coddle.”
“What’s coddle?” I ask.
“You don’t want to know,” Annie says with a shudder.
“You lot still out then?” Declan asks, making a point of checking his watch. “Do you not have homes to go to?”
“You invited us,” Claudia grins, leaning over the table as though to get as physically close to him as possible.
“So I did. Paul vanished a while ago,” he adds to Annie. “Your husband’s turned into a bit of a lightweight.”
“Not like us,” Soraya says, peering coyly up at him. “And on that note…”
“Ah, of course,” he grins. “What can I get for you ladies?”
“Drinks on the house?” Claudia says hopefully.
“I don’t think that was part of the deal,” he says, laughing as they protest. I stay silent, fiddling with a salt shaker.
“One round,” he amends. “And you better not have used up all your tips.”
There’s a chorus of earnest denials and Declan’s eyes slide toward me as he turns to leave, giving me a friendly wink that thankfully the others don’t see.
