“Decent?” I asked. “It’s nicer than any place I’ve ever been.”
“Remind me to take you to a place called Chestnut,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because if this is fancy to you, I’d love to see your face when you walk into that place.”
I giggled and shook my head before our waitress appeared at our table. She took our drink orders and scampered off, which gave us time to figure out what we wanted. But the moment Brian set his menu down, I started talking.
“If the nanny takes Lanie for the day, we could go in the morning. It would give us time to get rings at the jeweler, to the ceremony, file the marriage license, then take some pictures around town. Then, we could get everything to your lawyer in bulk. You said you took pictures of your home, right?” I asked.
“I already sent those to him,” he said.
“Good. Okay. Can Tanya take Lanie for the day tomorrow?” I asked.
“She’s scheduled to come in anyway, so we can head out once she gets there.”
“Perfect. Should we try our hand at booking a professional photographer? Or should we keep them personal and take them on our phones?”
“Well isn’t this cozy?”
I whipped my head over at the familiar voice as my face dropped.
“Daryl,” I said breathlessly. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
“Amanda?” Brian asked. “What’s going on?”
“Is this your new boyfriend?” Daryl asked.
“No, he’s my new fiancé,” I said. “Now I’ll ask you again. What in the hell are you doing in North Carolina?”
“Coming to find you. I was coming to convince you that you made a huge mistake walking away from me. I was going to tell you that I was willing to forgive you and take you back.”
I shook my head, incredulously. “Are you fucking serious? You were going to forgive me?”
He nodded. “I was, but I see you’ve already latched on to some other poor schmuck.”
I watched as Brian stood from the table as I gawked up at Daryl.
Daryl sneered at him, ever the self-centered asshole. “Oh, I see you like lumberjacks now,” he said. “Walk away,” Brian said.
My head whipped over to him as he loomed over my ex. His eyes were iced over, and his brow had darkened. The shadows that played off his face made him look positively dangerous, and my breathing began to pick up as Daryl turned toward him.
“Fiancé, huh?” Daryl asked. “What did you have to offer her to get her to say ‘yes’? I proposed twice, and she turned me down both times.”
“Because you’re an asshole, Daryl,” I said.
“I was better to you than any man you’ll ever find. Including this one. I can’t believe I wasted my money to fly out here for my own sloppy seconds.”
Brian took a step toward him, and it forced Daryl to take a step back. Their eyes were locked while mine were watering with tears. I watched one of the waitresses run off to get someone, and just as Brian poised himself for a fight, the manager was tugging on Daryl’s arm.
“Sir, you need to come with us,” the manager said.
“I suggest you do as they ask,” Brian said.
“No worries. I’ve got plenty of city girls I can tolerate to replace you,” Daryl said. “City girls that have real passions. Girls who don’t waste their time doodling their life away.”
I saw Brian’s fists clench at his sides as the manager escorted Daryl from the restaurant.