Page 45 of Donut Disaster
Everett inches back as I go on.
“I know, right? This guy has been everywhere and done everything. And here’s the kicker. When they got back to the topic of tropical waters, he said he was singlehandedly spearheading an effort to clean up the garbage floating in the Pacific. He said he spent his childhood living on a boat and knows all too well the effects of pollution on wildlife. He says the governor of Hawaii awarded him the highest honor they have because he’s already managed to clear up ninety percent of the debris.”
“What’s this guy on?”
Our food comes, but neither Everett nor I jump on it.
“I think he’s on himself. Everett, either this is truly the most interesting man on the planet or he doesn’t mind spinning a tale or two to get into someone’s pants. And get this—remember me telling you that the other night Aspen mentioned he used to be an Army Ranger? I thought I’d segue him to that topic today, so I told him Bear was an Army Ranger and he looked at me as if he’d never heard of the division before. You’d think he’d at least mention the fact he was, too.”
“Especially since he doesn’t seem to have a difficult time building himself up.”
“Maybe he didn’t like the spotlight taken off of him?”
Everett shakes his head as if it were doubtful. “Or maybe he’s so used to lying to women to get what he wants from them he doesn’t know when to stop.”
I shudder at the thought. “Creepy. And to think he’s the chief of surgery.”
A woman’s voice pitches from our right, and Everett points in their direction.
“It’s showtime,” he says.
It’s showtime indeed.
Cormack grows more animated by the second. Her arms flail as she begins gesticulating wildly.
“This isn’t going well, is it?” I ask as I take up Everett’s hand as if I were fearing for my safety.
Cormack leaps out of her seat and lunges for Noah.
“Oh my God,” I gasp as both Everett and I stand.
But she’s not strangling him or slapping him silly. She’s…
“Is she kissing him?” I groan at the sight.
Sure enough, Cormack has her hands firmly planted over either side of his face as she plants a wet one on him.
Noah carefully extracts her from his person, and she jumps and hops and—oh my goodness, Cormack looks happier than ever as she pecks another kiss to his cheek before zipping out the door.
I shake my head in disbelief. “What in the heck just happened?”
“I don’t know.” Everett sighs as Noah drops a wad of bills onto the table and heads this way. “But I think we’re about to find out.”
Noah plops in the seat between us.
“How did it go?” I can’t contain myself. I have to know why Cormack didn’t blow up like an atom bomb once Noah gave her the axe.
“It went.” His shoulders slump. “I decided to take the advice the two of you gave me and mashed it up a bit. “First, I told her that I needed her to be sure about who she wanted as a part of her future and that I thought she was special—that she was important to me.”
I cringe because the horizon of this conversation doesn’t look too promising for a breakup.
Noah looks my way, and his dimples dig in, no smile. “And then I suggested we get some counseling, and that’s when she lost it.”
I lean in. “You mean she was upset?” She looked anything but.
“She was ecstatic. Apparently, before Honey Hollow Covenant Church will marry you, they suggest several counseling sessions take place. Cormack is more confident than ever that we’re tying the knot. Before I could stop her, she shot out of here like a bullet train.”
Everett lifts his glass. “Let me be the first to congratulate you.”