Page 61 of Hate to Crave You
Moira had chosen a quiet French restaurant. It was one that Julianna hadn’t been to before. The scent of food in the air had her belly rumbling and she flashed a smile at the maître d’ as she gave him her name. “I have a feeling I’ll be a repeat customer. Something smells divine.”
“It’s wonderful to have you with us tonight, Ms. Castle. Let me escort you to your table.”
Moira was already there, dressed in a lovely cocktail gown of green silk that played up her eyes.
Julianna was glad she’d gone home to change out of her work clothes. The elegant brown dress she wore wasn’t quite as flashy as Moira’s, but then again, Moira was all about flash and fire. Julianna had always had a quieter sense of style.
“Don’t you look hot,” she commented as she took one of the seats at the table.
The maître d’ offered her a wine list but she declined, gesturing to the bottle already on the table. “I’ll just have what Moira is having.”
He nodded. “Very good. Shall I pour you a glass now?”
“Of course.”
Once they were alone, Moira looked around. “He’s not here.”
“You are so very astute,” Julianna commented. “I’ve always loved that about you.”
Moira grinned. “I’ve got mad powers of observation, love.”
With a roll of her eyes, Julianna reached for her glass. “I still haven’t heard from him.” She hesitated a moment, then added, “I’ll be honest. I’m starting to get worried. He never takes this long to get back to me.”
“I’m sure everything is fine,” Moira said, reaching over to touch Julianna’s hand.
An awkward silence passed and Moira cleared her throat, offering Julianna one of the menus. “Don’t threaten me or anything, but I’m ordering the escargot. It’s delicious here.”
“It’ssnails,” Julianna pointed out.
“Yummysnails.” Moira winked at her. “The bisque is delicious, too, if you’re curious.”
“I’m not so sure I want menu recommendations from a woman who’ll eatsnails.” Julianna was glad Moira had changed the subject, even if it was to something as silly as the foods they couldn’t agree on. It was an old argument, one that went back to their days in college. “You’re weird, Moira. You won’t touch a rare steak, but you’ll eat raw fish and snails.”
“You see the cow’sbloodwith a rare steak,” Moira said loftily. “It’s not that complicated. If I saw snail blood or fish blood, I wouldn’t eat sushi or escargot, either.”
“Whatever.”
They chatted more about the menu for a few minutes, then, as their server appeared, they ordered some appetizers and once they were alone, Julianna committed a fine dining faux pas by pulling her phone out to check for a message from Roman. There was one.
Hope you enjoyed your day, gorgeous. On my way.
She sent him a reply.
You too.I’m at the restaurant. Hope to see you soon.
She didn’t mentionMoira or that her friend had something she wanted to talk about with both of them, figuring it would be easier if Moira just explained herself. Especially since Julianna had no idea what it was Moira wanted to talk about.
The service was quick and the appetizers, including Julianna’s bisque and a basket of warm, crusty bread were served while they were still chatting, mostly about friends and things that had happened in school and friends who’d had married since graduation.
“What about you?” Julianna asked. “Anybody special on the horizon for you?”
Moira rolled her eyes. “I’m having a hard time finding anybody who isn’t a douche, darling.”
Julianna smiled in sympathy. She’d been there, done that.
Roman had changed things for her. Thoughts of him brought up her worries about the lack of contact, but she shoved them back down when she’d finally found a text. He’d be late, but had most likely just been involved in a busier than expected day and had waited to get back with her once things settled down.
Sure, a little past seven was typically well past the time when things settled down, but she knew a little about running a company and sometimes things went a little sideways.
