The restaurant’s door opened and a frazzled Josephine waltzed in followed by Julian at her heels. They looked love-swept with flushed faces and giant smiles.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Josephine said, squeezing her palms together in a silent prayer that I’d forgive her for being late. “We got held up at the apartment.”

I smirked. “Lose the key to the handcuffs again?”

Casey squealed and leaned forward to bat my arm. “You’re so bad!”

“Excuse me.” The hostess stepped up to our group. “Is everyone in your party present now?”

Dean pushed off the wall. “Yup. Let’s get this show on the road.” He brushed past me, leaving his date behind in favor of leading the group to our table. I watched him walk, wholeheartedly perplexed by him. The hostess tried to make small talk, but his answers were clipped and disinterested.

“I swear he’s not always like this,” Josephine whispered as we walked side by side through the restaurant.

I slid my gaze to hers. “You mean he doesn’t always exude assholery like it’s his job?”

She frowned. “I knew he was a control freak, but I’ve only been around him when he’s in party mode.”

I shrugged, sliding my gaze back in his direction. He’d made it to the table a few steps in front of us and was already pulling out a chair.

“Casey,” he said abruptly, directing her to take the seat beside him. How politely controlling of him.

She sat down like a dutiful date and I nabbed the seat beside her so that I wouldn’t split up the two lovebirds. Julian held out Josephine’s chair and then leaned down to kiss her hair. She smiled up at him adoringly and my stomach twisted at the site. Envy wasn’t a familiar feeling for me and I wasn’t sure how to compartmentalize the sensation. Did I want a boyfriend? I hadn’t thought of it. I was too busy trying to focus on my career. Would I love a one-night stand? Some kickass sex? Absolutely. Unfortunately, the only bachelor I’d met in New York City was Nelson and something told me I should hold out for a man who’d at least showered in the last month. Y’know, draw the line somewhere…

Our waiter appeared in a penguin suit complete with a perfectly placed bow tie. He leaned down to place our menus in front of us and then popped our napkins open with a flourish, draping them over the laps of every female diner. That familiar rush ran through me as I picked up the tavern’s menu. I lived for good food. The way some people got runner’s highs, I got food highs. Reading over a new menu felt like diving into a new book. At a good restaurant like Gramercy Tavern, the menu told a story—one most people tended to overlook, but not me.

“Good evening, everyone. Our specials for today include a pork bolognese with summer squash and basil. We also have smoked trout with cipollini purée and pickled onions.”

“Oh, I’ve heard good things about the pork bolognese,” I said with a smile.

The waiter glanced over at me with an appreciative nod. “It’s one of my favorites. I’ll give you all a few moments to gather your drink orders and then I’ll be back.”

Once he was gone, we all returned to perusing the menu.

“What’s this?” Josephine asked, leaning toward me and pointing to the first item on the menu.

“It’s like a caprese salad, but with sweet peppers added. You’d like it.”

She nodded and pointed to the next thing. “And this?”

I laughed and began to explain the dishes to the table, ignoring Dean’s glares.

“A restaurant like this is known for their specialty items. I’d skip over the summer greens. It’s a glorified salad and you can get that anywhere. For the first course I’d go with the beef tartare or the lobster salad.”

“Oh my god that sounds so good.” Julian groaned and rubbed his hand over his stomach.

Josephine dropped her menu and stared my way. “Lily, you order for me. I trust your judgment.”

Julian smiled. “Ditto.”

Casey glanced over. “Uh, I think I’ll trust you too. This menu could be in French and I wouldn’t know the difference.”

I beamed. Ordering for someone else was like giving them a little present. I’d already looked up the menu when I was waiting for the subway earlier, so I knew what dishes would be the best.

Dean gripped his menu tighter, running his eyes down the list of items. “I’d prefer to order my own food.”

Josephine and I exchanged a knowing glance and I held back a laugh. What a shame, though, really. It would have been fun to prove to him that I knew what I was doing.

“Could I start anyone off with a cocktail?” the waiter asked, appearing to the right of Casey with his notepad and pen in hand.

“I’d like a rickshaw,” I said with a smile, not bothering with the cocktail menu.

“Oh! What’s in that?” Josephine asked.

“Tito’s vodka, lime, and fresh basil. It’s a good cocktail for the start of a meal. Not too filling.”

Julian smiled. “Let’s get a round of those for the table then.”

Dean spoke up, directing his dark stare at the waiter. “I’ll stick with an old fashioned.”

Josephine rolled her eyes. “Dean, you’re being a stick in the mud.”

Casey laughed. “Yeah, I agree. C’mon, babe. It’ll be fun if we all get the same drink.”

He shook his head and dropped his menu to the table, clearly struggling to keep his temper at bay. Was it that hard to be at dinner with us? Were we such terrible people to be around? Or was it just me?

I tilted my head and studied him. “No worries, Dean. You order want you want.”

“I need your permission even less than I need you to order for me.”

Silence hung around the table as we stared each other down. The waiter cleared his throat and then spoke up. “Okay then, I’ll get the table four rickshaws and one old fashioned.”

I held up my finger. “Actually, let’s make that five rickshaws and an old fashioned. Just in case.”

Dean’s jaw ticked back and forth as the waiter walked away to fill our drink orders. “There’s a fine line between persistence and annoyance.”

My cheeks flamed at his critique, but a fire grew in my veins. If he wanted to take this dinner from pleasant to painful, why should I bother doing anything otherwise?

“Is that the same line that falls between being a control freak and just being an asshole?”

“Okay!” Josephine interrupted with a shrill voice. “Let’s talk about something else now. Who’s watching Game of Thrones? How awesome are Daenerys and her dragons?”

If I had pet dragons, Dean would have already been burned to a crisp long ago.

“I’m going to use the little girls’ room,” Casey said.

I pushed my chair back and stood to join her.

“Mind if I tag along?”

Her smile faltered, but she nodded. I trailed after her, trying to ignore Dean’s heavy stare on my back. I’d thought my hatred for the man had reached an all-time high when he’d fired me, but somehow he’d found a way to ensure his spot as number one on my worst enemies list.

I was washing my hands in the sink when I met Casey’s eyes in the mirror. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what she was doing with Dean. She was pretty and nice; Dean would suck the life right out of her.

She offered me a tentative smile and before I knew it, evil, albeit funny lies were starting to spill out of my mouth. Dean had played his cards in front of the entire table and now I was going to play mine.

“That’s so great that you’re willing to date Dean even with the, uh, y’know…” I motioned in a circle below my waist. “…situation down there.”

She tilted her head with narrowed eyes. “What?”

I shot her a pitying smile. “Yeah. It’s pretty bad. He almost lost it all together after the electric shaver incident last year.”

She swallowed and then dropped her lipstick back into her purse. Even with her head down I could see her eyes widen in shock.

“Are you serious?”

“Oh no.” I clapped my hand over my mouth as if I’d just spoken out of turn. “I’m sure he was going to tell you soon,” I said, squeezing her shoulder. “I think he just wanted you to get to know him first.”