“I’d have thought you could party all night.”
“This isn’t the type of place to kick anyone’s stamina into high gear.”
Oh boy. “We should go. It’s late. Sorry for making you stay so long.”
We walked down the stairs to the street below. “I can’t wait to get out of this thing and out of these heels,” I added.
“You didn’t enjoy yourself? I’d have thought you’d be happy among your people. The pastel, bubbly, prim-and-proper crew.” He nudged me with his elbow.
My taxi app showed no one in the vicinity. “Is that you who think I am?” I walked backward to see if changing locations helped.
His gaze traveled up and down my body with his arms crossed over his chest in a know-it-all, I’ve-had-you-sized-up-since-day-one kind of way. And he knew nothing about me. Absolutely nothing.
“You’re wrong.”
He smirked. “I’m not wrong.”
“I’m not one of them.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder to all the corporate types who’d swarmed this party versus our event where there had been a mixture of people from all walks of life, who did less posturing and had more actual fun. “You think I can’t be spontaneous and fun.” I flung my arms out, whacking a man in a suit passing by. “Sorry.”
He glared at me before going back to his phone.
Leo shrugged a shoulder. “You can be, as long as it’s happening according to schedule.”
“I can be spontaneous. Check this out.” My bank account wasn’t overflowing, so it wouldn’t be hopping a plane to Italy, but I could find spontaneity anywhere. Anywhere… My gaze ping-ponged around our surroundings. A food cart sat on the corner. Perfect.
“Look at me. Eating street food. You think I’m so stuffy and I’ll only eat foie gras, well look at me now.”
“I know you eat normal food. I sat across from you while you inhaled those chili cheese fries, and the s’mores, and the pigs in a blanket.”
“Too late. I’m being spontaneous, remember? You can’t stop me. A chili cheese dog, please.” I held up my arm like I was hailing a taxi, shouting to the guy who seemed startled I’d approached him, like a major part of his business wasn’t people coming up to him and placing an order.
“Zara, what if we try spontaneous somewhere else.” Leo tugged at the back of his jacket, trying to guide me away. “Like a place without a free side dish of E. coli and salmonella.”
Shaking free from his hold, I stood my ground and looked over my shoulder. “So refined and elite, you can’t eat what everyone else eats?” I teased. “Do you want one?”
“Zara.” His chest bumped up against my back, once again hitting me with the melty words against my neck. “Look at his hands.”
I swallowed hard, watching his grimy fingers handle the tongs and open the vat of—was that supposed to be chili? Oh god. You’ve eaten worse. Once I did this, Leo would never be able to call me a prima donna again.
Juggling my bags, I handed over my cash and took the hot dog smothered in ‘chili’.
Leo tried to take the hot dog from my hand. “I get it, you’ve proven your point.”
I skipped away. “Oh, Leo’s so scared. It’s okay, it won’t hurt you.”
“Zara, I wouldn’t.”
Turning around, I took my first bite and grimaced at the texture. Oh god what had I done? I faced Leo and kept my face neutral, taking another bite.
He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “You’ve proven your point. Stop eating it.”
“Why? It’s delicious?” I choked down another bite and cautiously swallowed another. Once you got past the initial smell, taste, and texture it wasn’t horrendous. Would I be doing it again? Hell, no.
But the look on his face was worth it.
Leo kept shaking his head and muttering, while staring at me like he expected an alien to burst out of my chest.
I shoved the last piece into my mouth, and bit into something hard. Way harder than those mystery bits that sometimes pop up in a hot dog that you pretend aren’t there. My formerly iron stomach decided to stage a revolt.
I raced to the nearest trashcan, dropping all my bags on the way and burying it as far down as it could go. This had been a mistake.
A big fucking mistake.
22
Leo
Zara rested her head against my shoulder with her eyes closed, moaning and holding her stomach. There had been a time when I’d never have gotten this close to her without the threat of bodily harm. The bag the taxi driver had given us was clutched in her hand, sloshing its unholy, and warm, horror against my leg. She whimpered and I lifted my bag-ladened arm to rub her forehead, hitting her in the nose with her own purse.
“Hey.” The word came out drained and only slightly angry.
If I hadn’t known she was sick already and been witness to her Exorcist impersonation, I’d have known for sure right then.
I hated this.
I hated that I couldn’t stop her pain and hated that I hadn’t been able to protect her from herself. Yes, old hot dog water from a street vendor sometimes made them taste like heaven in a roll, but not from that cart. If there had been a used band aid floating in there, I wouldn’t have been surprised. And she’d eaten the whole thing. To prove a point. To prove to me, she wasn’t like Oren & Co. Like I could ever confuse them.
“Which number?” I shook her shoulders.
Moaning, her face drove the buttons into my chest. I was seconds from picking her up and taking her back downstairs.
“Thirteen. Lucky number thirteen.” She pushed her head into me even harder, clutching her stomach.
“We’re almost there.” I tightened my arm around her waist and shifted our weight to get the keys into the door.
“Zara, what happened?” A short woman in a robe and rubber duck slippers darted out of her apartment across the hall, her wide eyes turning suspicious immediately.
“Ate something bad. Leo’s helping.” Zara patted her hand against my chest. “I’m okay.” Lifting her head for a second, she offered a smile to her wary neighbor, who was wearing the sparkler I recognized from our Winthorpe pitch session.
This was the friend. The one with the ring. An irrational part of me had been worried there was a guy waiting in the wings somewhere and she hadn’t wanted to tell me. “Congratulations on the engagement.”
Her lip fell free from her teeth and her face softened as she cradled her hand. “Isn’t it pretty?” She held the engagement ring up to the light.
“Gorgeous. I need to get her inside.”
The friend backed up and nodded, holding her door open and waiting for me to take Zara inside.
Unlocking the door, I pushed it open and reversed my hold on pressing her up against the wall inside the entrance.
I flicked on the light and my stomach dropped like I’d eaten the bacteria infested hot dog.
Covering my body with hers, I put my arm under hers ready to get her out of here in case whoever did this was still here.
I scanned the ransacked room searching for the intruder. Room clear, I whispered, “Zara, someone broke into your apartment.”