“Hea—”

She flips around, and I rear back from her closeness.

“And I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but that liking thing was on both sides between us”—she looks me up and down—“until you showed up. I’m not sure why he would want that”—her finger points up and down my body—“when he could have this.”

My fist clenches next to me, and I wish I had the nerve to punch her. “Well, I guess he started to have better taste.”

I raise my eyebrows at her, and she narrows hers.

“Whatever, Lia. Go eat a pie.”

She stalks off, and I laugh obnoxiously loud just to piss her off more.

Sneaking behind the bar, I pull my phone out and find nothing from Davis yet. There’s no doubt in my mind that he had an affair with Heather. Who knows how long it lasted? It could have been a one-night mistake for all I know.

The kitchen is actually buzzing with activity all night. Customers are raving about the tilapia dish Todd prepared for tonight’s special. I’m not surprised when Todd makes an appearance in the dining room.

Edith, an elderly woman who comes with her daughter every week, stands up and gives him a big hug. “Delicious,” she compliments.

She kisses his cheek and signals for him to sit down, and he does. The two women gush over him for fifteen minutes or so, and Todd’s beaming. Edith’s daughter digs into her purse and hands Todd a business card.

Intrigued, I’m leaning over the bar top as he passes me by to head into the kitchen.

“Looking for a cougar?” I joke.

He shoves the card in his pocket. He looks from side to side and leans in. “She wants to invest.”

“In what?”

She must be looking for a little tiger to take care of.

“Me. They want to give me a restaurant.”

“Oh, my God! Todd, this is huge.”

He pushes his hands down in the air, signaling for me to keep quiet.

“We’ll talk tonight.” He disappears through the kitchen.

My eyes shift to the two women who are intently staring at me. I lift my lips for a small smile, and they do the same.

Half an hour later, the restaurant is almost cleared out, but the two women are still seated, drinking coffee.

Shawn comes up to me. “Feel free to get going, Amelia.”

“Thanks.” I hand him the bag of money and receipts from my drawer. “Have a great night.”

“You, too.” He leans over the bar. “He’ll be back soon.”

What the fuck?

I give an uncomfortable smile and nod.

On my way down the hall, Heather emerges from the restroom. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Davis isn’t screwing any models while in LA,” she says to my back.

I roll my eyes and continue my path to the break room, ignoring her.

Scrambling, I change my clothes just to get away from Heather. Thankfully, Todd enters a minute later, and I sit down by him until we can leave.

“So, where do you want to celebrate?” I ask him.

“Edith and her daughter want to take me out.”

“Oh. Okay.” I’m a little disappointed, but this is a great opportunity for him.

“They want you to join us.”

I furrow my brows in confusion. “Why?”

He laughs. “They saw you were so happy, and when I came back, they asked about you. I explained you were my good friend, and they asked if you’d join us.” He sits down and places his hand on my knee. “You’ll come, right?”

It’s not exactly what I envisioned for tonight, but it’s important to Todd. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Great.”

I sit there quietly, watching him change, absorbing the fact that he’s finally going to get what he wants, a restaurant of his own.

Todd leads the way out of CHOPs with the spectators’—aka co-workers—eyes following our every move. When Todd opens the door for me, the rush of cold air hits my face, and my eyes water. Fall nights have always been my favorite, and I can’t lie; I was disappointed that Davis wasn’t going to be here during my favorite time of the year. I had imagined us holding hands through the city streets and warming up by a fire at night.

“We’re meeting them at Bentle’s.” Todd’s voice brings me out of my dreamland of Davis and to the present.

“Oh, great. I love their late-night snack menu.”

Bentle’s is a well-known place for the high society to go after-hours.

Cam took me one time and shuffled me out when his friends piled in. I shake my head at how stupid I was. I sat in that taxi cab while his friends kept trying to peek their heads in to see who was sitting next to him. In hindsight, I should have just popped my head out and introduced myself. Damn him.

“Me, too. Let’s share the mushroom bruschetta.” He smiles.

A tingling zings in my stomach.

“You feeling okay?” He places his hand on my arm to stop us on the desolate street.

“Yeah. It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?” His brows are furrow.

I wish I could tell him how my body responds to him.

“Yes. Let’s go. This is your big chance.” I motion my head in the right direction and walk backward until he catches up. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how excited are you?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

His footsteps drag a little, and I slow my pace.

“What’s wrong?” I twist around and my footsteps step in line with his.

“The whole point of getting out was so I could be my own boss. If Edith and Karla are my investors, they’ll ultimately be in control.”

My happiness wanes, knowing he has a point.

“I didn’t think of that. But you know what? Davis had investors when he started.” I entwine my fingers with Todd’s and give him a tight squeeze.

“It’s different. He was already someone. They trusted him.”

I swing our arms together.

“And Edith and Karla trust you. Just hear what they have to say. You never know.” I tighten our hands again. “Okay?”

I knock shoulders with him, and he glances over.

“Okay.” He nods, but I can see the anxiety on his face. He’s not convinced this is where he wants to go.

We enter Bentle’s after the doorman checks Todd’s name on the list.

“Have you ever been here before?” I whisper to Todd as we trudge up the carpeted steps.

His hand brushes along the mahogany banister. “A few times with Davis.” He eyes me. “A long time ago, though.”

There’s something in his facial expression that isn’t right, and I assume he’s just nervous for this meeting. It came about so suddenly.

We reach the top of the stairs, and Edith and Kayla wave their hands to us. Todd grabs my hand and leads us over to them. Edith moves to stand, but Todd shoos her down and leans over the back of the chair to give her a half-hug. He shifts over to Karla and does the same.

“I assume you are Amelia?” Edith asks, holding her hand out for me to shake.

“I am. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” I shake her frail hand.

She smiles. “We’ve noticed you the past few weeks at CHOPs, but we usually have no reason to sit around the bar.”

“Until tonight,” Karla chimes in.

Todd sits down next to me on the brown leather loungers and grabs my hand again. I stop the urge to look his way in confusion as he plays with my fingers. What the hell is he doing?

“You guys are adorable. How long have you been dating?” Karla asks.

I shift in my chair and grab the glass of water in front of me, wondering if Todd will take the lead in correcting her.

“A little over a year,” Todd answers.

I choke on my water.

“Are you okay, dear?” Edith asks.

I nod until I can regain oxygen into my lungs. I sneak a look at Todd, who leans over and pats my back.

“Yes. Sorry. Just went down the wrong way.” My hand flies up to my chest and I lean back, clasping my hands in my lap.

“No ring yet?” Karla asks.

I’m curious as to why she wants to know so much about my private life.

Todd’s fake laugh rings out, and I force a smile.

“I know, right?” I lift my left hand in the air. “You’d better put a ring on it if you want it,” I joke, using something similar to Beyoncé’s line.