Chapter 18 #2
First of all, The Evergreen Diner was anything but crappy.
The food was amazing, as were Sally and Ralph, so hearing her insult the place didn’t sit well with me.
Secondly, the fact that this woman would find Lincoln’s jeans and t-shirts lacking showed just how stupid she really was, and I was done listening to her spout her idiocy.
I’d been in the middle of the best date of my life, drinking a killer martini, and eating a filet that practically melted in my mouth, and I’d be damned if I let her ruin any of that.
“Excuse me,” I said politely, placing my knife and fork on the edge of my plate, “but we’re kind of in the middle of something here, and you’re interrupting. I don’t mean to be rude, but, well, would you mind leaving so we can get back to our dinner?”
The woman turned to me with a catty scowl and mimicked, “Excuse me,” in a high-pitched nasally voice, “but I wasn’t talkin’ to you.”
I looked over to Lincoln with a roll of my eyes. “Wow,” I muttered flatly. “She’s a peach.”
Lincoln’s lips twitched like he was fighting a grin, but when she snapped, “Why don’t you mind your own business, bitch?
” all humor fled his expression, and the anger that took its place sent a shiver down my spine.
Unfortunately for Crystal, she was too dumb to notice and continued, “Really, Linc? Her? She’s not even pretty, for Christ’s sake. ”
“I warned you already, and you were too fuckin’ dense to listen,” Lincoln rumbled in a deep, scary voice.
“So now I’ll spell it out. Class gets class.
Trash is lucky if they get a meal at all.
Eden’s class. That means I’m willin’ to shell out the cash and put on a suit for our first date to show her she’s worth it.
Took you three weeks of naggin’ and bitchin’ to get a trip to the diner outta me, so what’s that tell you, Crystal? ”
Oh damn.
“How dare you,” she seethed, but before she could get another word out, a fourth voice spoke up.
“Uh, is everything okay over here?”
Lincoln and I both glanced over at the newest addition to our table.
The man was in chinos and a baby blue polo shirt and looked to be in his forties.
He was average height and, with the exception of the small spare tire around his waist, was a little on the bony side.
His brown hair was seriously thin up top, and his glasses sat on a nose that looked too small for his face but framed kind eyes.
“And you are?” Lincoln asked on a sigh at the latest interruption.
“Uh, I’m Bob.”
“Can I help you with somethin’, Bob?”
“I was… well, Crystal and I are… or were kinda on a date. I just, um, wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
“Oh my god,” I blurted on a shocked laugh. “You were on a date with this guy and decided that was a good time to come over here and crash mine? Seriously?”
“She came over here to crash your date?” Bob asked, his face going hard in a way I hadn’t thought a wimpy-looking man like him capable of. “She said she saw an old friend and wanted to say hello.”
“Well you can tack liar on to her résumé,” Lincoln grumbled, draining the last of his beer, “along with gold digger, vain, and bitch.”
Crystal’s face grew red with embarrassment and fury.
Our waiter chose that moment to make a reappearance, asking, “Is everything okay over here?”
Lincoln dropped his head back and sent a curse up to the heavens while an uncontrollable laugh worked its way from my throat.
“What the hell are you laughin’ at?” Crystal sniped.
Ignoring her completely, I looked back at Lincoln. “I totally get why she didn’t meet The Groves’ standards.”
“You have got to be—”
“Kidding you?” I interrupted, having officially had enough. “Yeah, you’ve said that about a million times already. And no, sweetie, we’re definitely not kidding you. So please, for the love of god, stop asking that.”
Her chest heaved with each inhale as she silently fumed and tried—and failed—to come up with a witty comeback.
When thirty seconds passed and we got nothing in return, Bob decided to speak up, shocking the hell out of me and making me see that maybe there was more to the man than met the eye. “I think it’s time we go.”
Crystal’s head whipped in his direction. “But… but we haven’t even ordered dessert yet,” she sputtered in consternation.
My god, the woman was unbelievable.
“I’ve suddenly lost my appetite,” he deadpanned, and I found myself actually starting to really like this guy.
Usually a man who looked like him would lie down at the feet of a woman who looked like Crystal, counting themselves lucky they could get her to agree to a date.
But not Bob. Oh no, Bob was no doormat. “Please tell the waitress we’re finished with our meal and need the check. I’ll be right there.”
“But—”
“I’ll be right there,” he repeated sternly, giving her no more room to argue.
With a huff and one last murderous look at me, she turned on her sky-high heels and stormed off with an exaggerated sway of her hips.
“Uh, is there, um, a problem?” our waiter repeated on a stammer.
“No, everything’s fine,” I answered, giving him a gentle look. “But I could really use another martini if you have a moment.”
“Right away.” He spun and hotfooted it to the bar like filling my order was the most important task in the world, leaving Lincoln and me alone with Bob.
“I sincerely apologize for the interruption,” Bob said with a tilt of his chin toward Lincoln. “If I had any idea—”
“Not on you to apologize,” Lincoln offered. “You weren’t the one who came over here gunnin’ for a fight. But word to the wise, steer clear of that one. She’s not worth the trouble.”
He nodded and took a step back but stopped when I called his name.
“I know we don’t know each other, but for what it’s worth, you can do so much better than a woman like that. You seem like a really nice guy. Don’t settle, okay?”
His face grew soft as he grinned down at me. That was a really good look on him. If he did that more, he’d have no problem finding a woman worthy of his kindness.
“I appreciate that. Enjoy the rest of your evening…”
“Eden,” I informed him. “And this is Lincoln.”
He gave Lincoln one of those chin lifts only men did before looking back at me. “Then enjoy your evening, Eden. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, Bob. Sorry your date didn’t turn out better, but at least you got to enjoy some amazing food.”
“Yes,” he chuckled, “at least there’s that.”
Then he left, and Lincoln and I were free to enjoy the rest of our date alone.
“Buttercup.” At the sound of Lincoln’s sexy voice calling me buttercup, all thoughts of Bob and Crystal flitted from my mind.
“Yeah?”
“It’s not enough that the waiter’s already taken with you, you have to charm that poor sucker, as well?”
My head jerked back. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t charming anyone.”
“You were,” he responded with a grin that made that dimple pop.
“I wasn’t!” I insisted. “I was just being nice.”
“Edie,” he said with a playful shake of his head, “you charm the hell out of every guy just by lookin’ at ’em. Poor Bob’s a goner.”
I wasn’t sure if what he was saying was true, but damn, it was nice to know Lincoln thought of me that way.