“What about you?”
“Not hungry.”
Something was definitely wrong. “Spill it, Marj.”
“I told you. I’m fine.”
I gripped her shoulders. “Remember, best friends don’t have secrets.”
She poured her scotch. “God, Jade, I wish I could tell you.”
“You can.”
The back door opened, and Talon walked in. Roger rushed from my feet over to him, panting.
His eyes widened when he saw me. “Jade.”
“Did you get my text?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why do you look so surprised to see me?”
Marj jiggled her glass of scotch. The ice clinked against the glass. “That’s my cue to leave. Dinner is on the stove, guys.”
“Marj? What in the hell?”
“She’s okay,” Talon said.
“No, she’s not. She’s not eating. She’s drinking scotch. She looks like hell. That’s not the Marj I know.”
“Trust me, blue eyes. She’ll be fine. It was a rough day.”
“Yeah, that’s what she said. Why didn’t you answer my text?”
“I was at an appointment. And then I just wanted to get home.” He smiled, sort of. “How’s your mom doing?”
“Better. And thank you for asking. She’s out of the coma. I wish I could spend more time with her, but I’m glad my dad is there.”
“I’m sure that gives you peace of mind.”
I nodded. “We need to talk, Talon.”
“Did Marj say something to you?”
“No. But she’s keeping something from me.”
“I’m sure she’s not keeping anything from you.” He dropped his gaze to his feet, went to the refrigerator, and poured himself a glass of iced tea. “You want something?”
“A glass of that tea would be great.”
He poured me a glass. “So what do you want to talk about?”
I cleared my throat. “Steve Dugan asked me out today.”
Talon’s eyebrows shot up. “He what?”
“Simmer down. I told him no. In fact, I told him I had just gotten out of a long relationship and I wasn’t ready to date. But the fact of the matter is, I wanted to tell him about us. I just wasn’t sure I could. Can we…make our relationship public?”