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“I’m having dinner with my fiancé,” she explained, holding up her left hand to show off her flashy diamond ring.
“Congratulations,” Charlie said, though it lacked any of his usual warmth. He sounded sort of… bitter.
The woman looked at me with a smile. “You must be their new girlfriend. They’re all such a riot, aren’t they?”
Theirnew girlfriend? Did I hear that right?
“Um…” I mumbled. “Who are you?”
Jessica giggled, though it sounded more like a witch’s cackle. “I guess it makes sense that they wouldn’t talk about me. I am the ex, after all.” She looked around. “Is Adam here? Or has the quintet whittled down to a quartet?”
Confusion washed over me. What was she talking about?
“Adam’s here,” Kris confirmed.
“Ah, so the gang’s all here for date night. How cute.”
“This is a business dinner,” Charlie curtly pointed out.
“Which you’re interrupting,” Liam snapped.
“Come on, boys,” Jessica chided. “You’re not still sore about the breakup, are you? It’s ancient history.”
I didn’t know this woman, but the way she was talking to them was seriously starting to piss me off. She was pompous and clearly bothering them. I wasn’t sure what happened between them, what sort of history they all had, but I didn’t like the way Liam’s jaw clenched or the way Charlie frowned so deep, or the way Kris stiffened when Jessica brushed a hand over his shoulder.
I stood, smiling as politely as I could manage, which wasn’t very polite at all. “I think you should go,” I said. “I’m sure your company would be better appreciated elsewhere.”
Jessica gave me one of those top-to-bottom judgmental looks, smirking. She scoffed. “I hope you’re not in over your head, honey. It’s all fun and games in the beginning, but they’ve all got their issue. I hope you can handle it.”
“I’m not sure what you’re trying to insinuate here.”
“Right.” Jessica tossed a cheeky wave over her shoulder. “So lovely seeing you all,” she said as she walked off, the click clacking of her staccato heels on the tile floor following her as she disappeared.
I sat back down, still processing the whole interaction. “What was that about?” I asked them.
Nobody seemed willing to provide an immediate answer.
8
Charlie
I’d laid everything out in a prepared itinerary. The flight to New York to Macau was going to take approximately twenty-seven hours, plus a pit stop in Vancouver for refueling. Yet, despite loading my iPad up with plenty of reading material, I was more intrigued by the way Sam pressed her nose up to the window to watch the passing clouds in wide-eyed amazement.
Adam and I were at the back of the gallery, observing her from afar.
“I’m just saying we should tell him,” He said. “The kid looksexactlylike Kris.”
“I can’t argue with you there, but…”
“Charlie, buddy, do the math. The timing works out. Max could be his.”
“We don’t know that for certain, and it wouldn’t be right to ask.”
“You don’t think?”
“No, of course not. We’re jumping to conclusions. Besides, if it’s true, it’s Sam’s right to tell him, not ours.”
Adam inhaled, reaching into his jacket’s inner pocket. He pulled out his flask and took a quick sip of whisky. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
