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I buried my nose in them as I introduced Noah and Jade I noted with a his tail He handed Jade her flowers and her eyes sparkled

"What a gentleushed "I love a man without of her hand from that moment forward

I rolled my eyes and led them in "It’ll just take a minute to put these flowers in water

Whose car do you want to take? Mine? Then we can put the top down"

"That’s fine," Gavin agreed "But let me drive Please, by all that’s holy, let hed and I scowled

"Why does everyone keep teasing reat driver!" They didn’t need to know that I had crashed into a ditch yesterday And they especially didn’t need to know that I had hit a deer, killed a deer and then watched as it came back to life and ran away

Gavin rolled his eyes as he drew"I knoeetheart You are But can I drive anyway?"

I shook my head but relented It didn’t matter to me anyway Jade and I hurriedly stuck our flowers in a couple of vases, grabbed our purses and we all piled into er seat, I had to laugh My backseat was tiny and Noah was really, really large He and Jade were craether like a couple of sardines And next to him, she looked like a tiny doll

Gavin looked in the rearview hed "Maybe we should’ve taken ood" He wiggled down into the seat, which put him even closer to Jade, a fact that he obviously enjoyed

"I bet you are," Gavin acknowledged "So, where to? Dinner and a movie?"

"You know," I mused "That was the plan but I’o to dinner and then ree

"A walk on the beach would be awesome And Santa Monica is only an hour away More or less" He looked at Jade "Is that fine with you?" he asked hopefully

She srin at him and I had to marvel at it It was the same one that she had possessed when she was Cleopatra She had chars with that smile And it was no less effective on Noah He practically swooned into her lap as she spoke

"Of course That would be fun I don’t have any other place to be"

She slid her sunglasses down onto her nose and settled back into the seat Noah tried to inconspicuously drop his arm around her shoulders, but he was about as subtle as a Mack truck I saw her sesture and she didn’t move away Of course, to be fair, there wasn’t really anywhere to go

Gavin drove quickly to a little nearby Italian place

"I hope you guys don’t mind but I’d rather eat before we drive to Santa Monica I’," I pointed out affectionately

"True story," he agreed "Is this place fine with you?"

I nodded He knew that it was He and I came here a lot It was tiny, quiet and out of the way The hardwood booths were just right for inti overhead with dihts and a candle on each table They also had the best fresh bread in town

I slid into a booth and Gavin scooted in besidemy head into the crook of his shoulder as I looked absently at theed in," a cold voice greeted us

I looked up to find Tara Wilson standing next to our table with an order pad in her hands

The look on her face was venomous I felt my stomach sink into my shoes There was no way I could order their squash-filled ravioli now She would probably spit in it I calmly pasted a pleasant expression on my face so that she wouldn’t know that she annoyed me

"Oh, hi, Tara I didn’t know you worked here"

"I just started last week And I wouldn’t have if I had known that you ca to be

I could feel Jade’s surprised gaze on my face as I met Tara’s cold stare

"Look, Tara As far as I’e You’re with Derek now I’m with Gavin There’s no reason for drama It doesn’t matter anymore" I could see fronorant) ears

"Sure and if you would just stop calling my boyfriend, it wouldn’t matter to me anymore, either!"

I could practically feel my mouth drop open and I slowly shookabout I haven’t called Derek in a very long tiht He’s all et it"

She turned to Gavin "I don’t knohat you’re doing with Macy You’re way better than her"