In the spur of the moment, surprising myself and her, I believe, I leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss on her cheek. It was something a husband would do before leaving the table. Her eyes widened slightly, just like it did when I’d complimented her, but she managed to keep it together.
I rose.
“Something wrong, Jack?” Fred asked, looking up at me.
“Please continue,” I said to the table. “I’ll be right back.”
It only took me a minute to track down someone who could change our order. Even though the restaurant only offered set menus the elite of New York couldn’t stop talking about, with just the right amount of persuasion, they agreed to make a slight change just this once. When I got back to our table and sat down, Samantha and George were deep into their conversation with Wes while Rose was chatting with Fred, her cheeks flushed.
“Everything okay?” I asked, curious to hear what they were talking about.
“You didn’t tell me she was related to the Colesons’, Jack. Gary had been with us for what five years? I didn’t even know about her.”
Rose gave me an apologetic look.
“I only lived with them till I was eighteen. After that we didn’t see each other as much. Holidays and a random lunch or dinner every month or so. Gary was very busy with his firm and well, his own kids.”
“It didn’t come up,” I explained briefly, wanting to end the conversation.
“Is that how you two met?”
Rose gave me a look I couldn’t understand, but looked a lot like told you so, then turned back to Fred. “Yes. Well, kind of.”
When the waiter came and started to collect the mostly empty dishes, Samantha piped up, taking advantage of the lull in their conversation with Wes. “When are we going to hear the proposal story? That’s what I’m waiting for.”
“Proposal?” Wes asked.
“Jack and Rose just got married,” George explained. “Only a few weeks ago, I believe, right? It was a surprise to everyone in the firm.”
Wes looked from me to Rose. “Congratulations! I had no idea. We should’ve ordered champagne to celebrate.”
“Thank you. We’re just getting used to it ourselves. It happened so fast. I mean we fell for each other so fast,” Rose said.
“Give us all the details,” Fred chimed in. “So we can overlook the fact that none of us were invited to the wedding.”
Rose laughed then turned to look at me. “See, Jack, how nice—everyone wants to hear the proposal story.” When I just stared into her sparkling eyes, her smile tightened and she turned back to Fred. “Oh, I couldn’t. If I started, I’m afraid I wouldn’t stop. I have no brakes when it comes to talking about Jack.” She turned to me and patted my arm, a little too hard if you asked me. Trying to hide my smile, I licked my lips and reached for my whiskey as she said, “And this is a work dinner so I wouldn’t want to take over.”
“Nonsense,” Samantha pushed. “We have plenty of time to talk about work. Jack, however, is a complete mystery when it comes to his private life. We’re dying to hear anything you’re willing to share.”
Leaning back, I kept silent and waited to see how she would get herself out of this.
Rose sent another pleading yet angry look my way. “His proposal was actually very special to me, so if it’s okay, I’d like to keep that between us. That said, I’m sure Jack wouldn’t mind telling you how we met.” My hand was resting on the table when Rose covered it with her own and patted it twice. “Right, honey?”
The waiter returned with the second course—more seafood.
Her hand seemed a little cold, or maybe it was just her nerves, but her ring bit into my skin. She had finally worn it without me having to prompt her. Turning my hand over, my palm against hers, I linked our fingers together and our eyes met again. I didn’t realize it wouldn’t escape everyone’s notice and they would look at me in shock.
“It’s not as exciting as you’re all thinking,” I warned. “I made a complete fool of myself and it somehow worked on her.”
“Oh, now you have to give us more than that.” Samantha placed her hand on my forearm. “Especially after saying the cold and calculated Jack Hawthorne made a fool of himself.”
I reached for my whiskey with my left hand, getting rid of Samantha’s touch in the process. “If Wes doesn’t mind taking a little break from talking about work—”
Wes cut in before focusing on the plate in front of him. “Of course. Please go on.”
After everyone’s seafood dishes were served, another waiter came over and leaned between Fred and Rose to place a different one in front of her. It was larger and fuller than the other plates he had just delivered. “Creamy steak fettucine with shiitake mushrooms,” he explained quietly, only for Rose’s ears.
Her surprised gaze flew to mine. I wasn’t sure if she was aware of it, but her fingers tightened around mine and she softly said, “Jack, you didn’t have to say anything. I’m the only one who—”
When I was served the same pasta dish as her, she didn’t finish her sentence, instead giving me a big smile that reached her tired eyes for the first time since we’d walked into the restaurant. She mouthed a silent thank you.
My eyes dropped to her smile and I had to let go of her hand or otherwise... “A better option than seafood, I hope.”
“This is perfect, really. Thank you.”
Fred broke into our little conversation. “Come on, you’ve been whispering all night with each other. You’ll have plenty of time to flirt with each other once you leave here. Tell the story, Jack.”
“I already told you it’s not that exciting, certainly not exciting as your story with Evelyn.”
Fred turned to Wes. “He’s probably right. The first time we met, my wife, who is also a lawyer, threatened to put me in jail, and she almost managed it, too.”
“Oh, I’d love to hear about that,” Rose cut in, most likely trying to get them to stop talking about us so we wouldn’t have to come up with a lie. I had no intentions of lying, at least not about the entire thing. Also, I was curious about what her reaction would be.
“I saw her at last year’s Christmas party the Colesons were throwing at their place. If I’m not mistaken, you were also there, right George?” I asked.
George paused with his fork in the air and frowned, trying to recall the night. “Wasn’t that when Gary called us to talk about one of the startups he was considering buying? It was after Christmas, though, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, right after.”
“I remember the night. I thought you left before me, right after the meeting.”
I nodded. “I was about to.” I met Fred’s eyes since he was the one who was the most curious about how Rose and I had met, and Rose looked just as interested in hearing it. “I was at their place before you, and I think Rose arrived seconds before me. Gary briefly introduced us before we went up to his office to wait for you. At the end of the meeting, I left George with Gary and went downstairs. It was pretty crowded, actually, so I was trying to get out as quickly as possible. Then my eye caught something in the kitchen and I stopped.”