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“I was enjoying my pasta but suddenly I feel horribly fat.” Eva pushed her plate away. “What happened to Trudi? I liked Trudi. At least she had a body.”
“Trudi was a few months ago.” Trudi. Tracey. Tina. They all merged, but what it meant was that Jake Romano was taken.
By every woman in Manhattan, or so it seemed.
Paige hated it. She hated noticing. Most of all she hated that she still cared.
She needed to get a life.
She needed to get a man.
Maria was back at their table, this time serving them house salads. “That woman with Jake looks as if she needs a good meal.” Clucking her disapproval, she put the plates in front of them. “He brings a different girl in here every month. He needs to change his ways or he’ll never meet the right woman.”
Paige picked up her fork.
She was pretty sure she knew why Jake didn’t want a real relationship and it had nothing to do with meeting the right woman.
It had to do with his mother. His birth mother.
He’d talked about it once, when he’d spent all night sitting by her hospital bed. Something about the sterile darkness had made him open up.
It was a conversation she’d never forgotten.
She put her fork down, appetite gone, watching as he strolled across the restaurant toward them. He lifted a hand in greeting to his uncle, who was heading for the kitchen, and paused to kiss Maria. He said something in Italian that Paige didn’t catch but she saw Maria’s expression soften.
Frankie gave her a sympathetic look. “Hard to be irritated with a guy who is so fiercely protective of his mother. Here—” She topped up Paige’s glass. “Drink some more wine.”
Paige took a sip. Frankie was right. With other people Jake was impatient and direct to the point of brutal. With his mother he was infinitely patient.
His date was hovering, and he turned and beckoned her over.
“It’s our lucky night. They’re joining us.” Frankie topped up her own glass. “Oh well, look on the bright side.”
“There’s a bright side?”
“Yes. That girl hasn’t eaten for a decade. There is no chance she will steal our food.”
Jake paused by the table, the woman’s hand in his. “Company meeting? How’s it going?”
Paige kept her eyes on her plate.
Was he holding the woman’s hand because he wanted to send her a message?
Frankie picked up her glass. “Well, since you ask—”
“It’s going well,” Paige interrupted quickly. She didn’t want Jake knowing the truth. She didn’t want him feeling sorry for her. She’d had enough of being the object of pity. “We’re struggling to cope with the volume of business.”
“Yes, we’ll be expanding and taking on new staff any day now.” Ever loyal, Eva took Paige’s lie and galloped into the sunset with it. “We’re thinking about opening offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.”
Jake’s eyes gleamed. “And you’ll be flying there by Magic Carpet Airways?”
He knew, Paige thought miserably. He knew it was bullshit.
The man was sharper than the business end of a kitchen knife. Nothing escaped him.
“Maybe.” Eva grinned, unabashed. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your new friend?”
The blonde tossed her hair back. “I’m Bambi.”
