Page 41 of Five Minute Man
* * *
LATER THAT NIGHT, HOLLYwas still bristling over Eve Sanderson’s unexpected visit.
“Are you having a drink tonight?” Holly asked Liz as the server appeared to take their drink orders. “Because I am definitely having a drink tonight.”
“Unsweetened red wine for me,” Liz told the young man without opening the beverage menu. “Whatever you have is fine.”
The server turned to Holly. “And you, ma’am?”
Holly pointed to the brightly colored photo image splashed across the cover of the laminated stand-up card. “Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey.”
The waiter didn’t bother looking up from his little pad. He was young like Brandon, but not nearly as friendly. He looked extremely bored. “Want that with the blackberry lemonade and ginger ale?”
“Whatever. Just make sure it’s a double shot.”
He nodded and left, leaving Liz staring worriedly from across the table. “A double? What’s up?”
Holly grimaced. “Remember I told you about that woman I saw with Adam at the Y that night? Well, she showed up on my doorstep today.”
“Eve came to your house?”
Holly stared at her friend in disbelief. She had never told Liz the woman’s name. She hadn’t known it herself until a few hours ago. “Eve? You mean youknowher?”
Liz grimaced. “Yeah, I know her, all right. She is bad news, Holly.”
“Why didn’t you say anything before? Like when I told you what happened? That could have been useful information, Liz.”
“Because I didn’t know then that the woman you saw was Eve. I didn’t find out until after Adam told me.”
Holly shook her head. This vague fog of confusion was supposed to come after the double shot, not before. “Wait. You talked to Adam? When?”
Guilt suffused Liz’s features. “Last Wednesday. He kind of cornered me at the Y to find out why you weren’t talking to him.”
“And you told him?” Holly hissed.
“Well, duh. You were miserable, Holly. I told him why you were upset, the light bulb blinked on, and he explained what really happened.Shewas going afterhim, Holly, not the other way around.”
“And you just believed him?” As skeptical as Holly was, Liz was even more so when it came to the kind of bullshit men spewed to save their own asses. More than one dinner conversation had centered around Liz’s personal dating experiences. Some of those tales even occasionally found their way into Holly’s storylines, because the truth was so often stranger than fiction.
“I’ll admit, I was doubtful at first. As soon as I realized that Eve was the other woman, though, I knew he was telling the truth. You should have seen him, Holly. He was every bit as miserable as you were. I had to do something.”
The discussion was suspended when the server reappeared with their drinks and a basket of warm, crusty bread. Holly wasted no time in bringing the straw to her lips, relishing the rush of sweet, smooth alcohol over her tongue.
Liz placed her meal order first, then Holly doubled it.
In a shocking move, Liz tore off a piece of bread and slathered it with whipped butter.
“Liz ...” Holly said slowly, watching in morbid fascination as Liz savored the forbidden carbs. That, more than anything, told her that Liz was withholding crucial information. “What exactly did you do?”
“Nothing, really,” Liz said, avoiding Holly’s eyes.
The very distinct red tint infusing her cheeks suggested otherwise.
“Liz...” Holly warned.
“Oh, all right. I made him buy me a coffee, and I told him that, if he really wanted to rock your world, he needed to be your Five-Minute Man. He, of course, had no idea what that meant, so I had to explain it to him. There. Are you happy now?”
Holly gaped at Liz from across the table. At her best and only friend. She didn’t say anything, though. She just pulled her drink closer and continued to draw from the straw, glad she had asked for a double.
