Always You - A Second Chance Romance

Chapter 8

I barely managed to pull myself together after my breakdown in my hotel room in time to meet Chris, and Luke, for dinner. Chris had made a reservation at a upscale Italian restaurant. Usually, I would be excited to try new restaurants when on business travel, but my appetite was gone from the emotional rollercoaster that was today's events.

I sat down in the booth, hoping Chris would sit next to me, but he instead pulled out a chair and sat opposite of me. I attempted to conceal my discomfort as Luke sat next to me on the booth side of our now seemingly cramped table. I scooted over to give myself more room as his cologne enveloped me, sending shivers down my spine of the memories I associated with his scent.

"To what will be a fantastic new year, with an incredible new team," Chris said, holding up his wine glass. I clinked my glass with his, forcing a smile that I hoped looked sincere. We all sipped at our wine in silence and looked over the menu. My eyes scanned the list of pastas a few times over before settling on a linguine with clam sauce. I closed my menu and looked up at Chris, who was still immersed in his own trying to figure out what to eat.

"What are you thinking about getting?" Luke asked me as he closed his menu. It was a simple question, a common courtesy, but forming the words made me feel like I was choking. I cleared my throat and took another sip of my wine.

"The linguine," I said, my voice just above a whisper. Luke nodded and looked over at Chris who was closing his menu.

"I was thinking the same thing," Luke said. "What about you, Chris?"

"I was thinking about the Chicken Parmesan," Chris said, closing his menu with a dramatic thud. "I'll order some appetizers for us as well."

I nodded and sipped my wine again, the glass serving as a security blanket. My whole body was on high alert sitting next to Luke. Every movement he made sent prickles down my spine as I tried to ignore him and the pit that had formed in my stomach from earlier. I went to sip from my wine glass again, hoping the wine would soothe the anxiety inside me, only to find it empty. I set it down on the table slowly, hoping neither of them would notice I had already emptied my glass when theirs were still full.

"What did you think of the convention?" Chris asked. I could see Luke shrug beside me out of the corner of my eye.

"I thought it was interesting," I said. Chris smiled at me. "It was good hands on research for the booth for next year."

"I thought it was interesting but I wasn't too impressed with anything I saw," Luke said. I looked over at him for the first time since we sat down. He glanced down at me and a smile played at his lips before he looked back to Chris. I resisted the urge to scowl at him and looked back at Chris.

"Why do you say that?" Chris asked. Luke shrugged again.

"It's all things I've seen before at these conventions," Luke replied. He played with the rim of his wine glass as he spoke. "Frankly, most of those brands reuse the same set up every year and it shows."

"Well, its cost efficient for one thing. And why fix what's not broken?" Chris remarked. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of him. Chris only sat like that when he was either expecting bad news, or for someone to debate their case.

"Then why develop new products?" Luke said. "If we're going to leave things as they are because they're not 'broken', then why come out with new products three times a year?"

A smile broke out across Chris' face and he laughed at Luke's response. I bit my lip to resist the urge the laugh as well.

"You make a strong point," Chris said after his laughter died. "But it's important to keep in mind how expensive those set ups are."