The Cloak and Dagger (Preview)

4 -

I tugged awkwardly at the red dress I was wearing, hoping that too much of my legs weren't showing. I never dressed this fancy, and I felt very, very awkward. The type of awkward a girl felt when she showed up with braces on the first day of her freshman year of high school. Not that I was speaking from experience or anything.

"Jesus, Holly, will you quit fidgeting like that?" Mac exclaimed, slapping at the hand that was fiddling with the top of my dress. "It's very unbecoming."

"Sorry, sorry," I muttered. "I'm just not - "

"You look gorgeous, darling," Jamie reassured me, tossing an arm around my shoulders and giving me a tight squeeze. "No need to worry."

It was easy for Jamie to say that. He looked as devilishly handsome as ever, with his dark slacks and white dress shirt, his messily styled hair. Almost every pair of eyes on the street were straying towards him as we made our way to DiGiovanni's, the restaurant Mac had chosen to have her birthday dinner at.

DiGovianni's was a very classy place from what I'd been told. Mac had only been too happy to inform me that my usual wear of jeans and a t-shirt would most certainly not be acceptable at a place like DiGiovanni's.

In the end, I had spent almost two hours scouring my closet for something to wear and when I'd come up with absolutely nothing, Mac had forced me to wear the dress she had worn to her senior prom. The red dress was a tight sheath of silky fabric and showed way too much cleavage for my liking. I'd only consented to wearing it because it was Mac's birthday.

And chances were, I wouldn't be running into anybody I knew tonight, and that was definitely a relief.

DiGiovanni's was bustling with activity when the three of us strolled into the marble tiled entrance, music seeping out of hidden speakers and the fountain off to the side splashing softly.

"Reservations for Sandoval," Jamie said to the maitre'd at the front counter.

The stuffy looking man examined a book of names in front of him before he nodded, checked off our name and gestured for one of his wait-staff to come forward.

"If you'll just follow me," the woman said with an obviously fake smile, grabbing a couple of menus.

"Tell me again how you're managing to pay for this dinner," Mac asked Jamie as we followed after the the waitress. "This place is ridiculously expensive."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it," Jamie said to her with a wink. "I've got it covered."

Mac and I exchanged identical smirks. Sometimes Jamie spoiled us too much for our own good.

We were seated at a small table with crystal glasses and expensive plates. I cringed the second I flipped open the menu and examined the list of entrees.

"Shit!" I whisper-yelled at Mac, leaning across the table to her. "One of these salads costs as much as my paycheck!"

Mac suddenly looked as sick as I felt.

"I told you not to worry about it, Holly," Jamie said in a singsong voice as he examined his menu.

Yeah, like I would not be able to worry about it. But an expensive meal every now and then couldn't hurt, could it? Especially if I wasn't paying for it.

Another waiter showed up a few minutes later, took our orders, and the three of us fell into comfortable chatter about what we usually talked about - everything.

I had only just met Mac and Jamie last year. Mac had been advertising an empty room for rent in the housing office at NYU, and the rent had been reasonable, so I'd taken her up on her offer. It was just a bonus that we had quickly become best friends.