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I shook my head. “Nothing.” As far as she was concerned, Tuesday nights had been canceled for good and I didn’t intend for her to find out any differently.

She winked. “He’s lovely. I like him.”

I nodded, relieved she wasn’t going to probe further.

She leaned even closer. “He’s got great biceps.”

We both automatically looked that way, examining the way Justin’s long-sleeved T-shirt did absolutely nothing to hide the muscles beneath. He met our look with a quizzical eyebrow and we both dissolved into laughter, much to Justin’s confusion.

A shadow fell across the table. “Well, this is cozy! What’s going on here?”

I stopped laughing as I lifted my head to find Benedict’s friend Simon at the end of the table. I would have been perfectly happy to have never seen him again. I flicked a glance over at Benedict. Did he know he was coming here? Had he arranged to meet him? His face gave nothing away. He had to have had some idea what had transpired between me and his friend. There was absolutely no way that Georgia hadn’t bothered to say anything. He greeted his friend cheerily. I chided myself for being so suspicious. It was probably just a coincidence. We’d had one disastrous date. It didn’t mean Simon was stalking me or had even the slightest interest in me. Sure, he’d been overly keen to get it on in the bathroom. But, for all I knew, he was like that on every date. As Simon’s gaze swiveled to me, I forced a polite smile and a nod of recognition. His regard lingered just that little bit too long before moving on to Justin. It was Georgia who finally answered his question.

“We’re double-dating again. I’d ask you to join us, but you know…might be a bit awkward, given what happened before.”

Simon’s gaze slid back to me, an amused smile playing on his lips and a glint in his eye I didn’t particularly like the look of. I was proved right when the next words came out of his mouth. “Seriously, Dean? You turn me down to go out with”—he gestured toward Justin and paused for dramatic effect—“Freddie Krueger.”

Georgia’s gasp of shock was audible. She immediately turned toward her boyfriend. “Are you going to let him speak to him like that?”

Ben looked slightly uneasy. He shrugged. “It’s just a joke. Typical Simon comment. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”

I just sat immobile, I didn’t know whether the right thing to do was to leap to Justin’s defense or just ignore it. Simon was clearly looking for a reaction. Did I want to be the one to give it? But then, I couldn’t just sit there and say nothing and have him think I didn’t care. “Hardly a joke is it, when it’s not funny.”

I looked over to find Justin’s gaze on me. He gave the tiniest of head shakes, while reaching for my hand. “Don’t! Just leave it. I’ve heard worse, believe me. Let’s not get upset over a joke.” His emphasis on the last word made it abundantly clear, he knew it had been meant as anything but.

Nodding, I relaxed back in my seat and set about deliberately ignoring Simon. It was easier said than done with Georgia right next to me, positively vibrating with indignation on Justin’s behalf.

An awkward silence followed before Ben finally piped up. “You better go, mate. We were having a nice evening. I’ll call you later.”

I risked a glance at Simon. He looked fairly miffed. Obviously, the reaction he’d gotten wasn’t the one he’d been after. Maybe he’d been hoping for a fight. Whether that was with me, or with Justin, I couldn’t be sure. Maybe he didn’t care who, as long as it was one of us. His face tightened for a moment before he nodded curtly and turned his back to leave.

“Dick!” It wouldn’t have been so bad if Georgia had muttered the word, but it was said so loudly, someone on the next table turned around to find out who it had been aimed at.

I groaned inwardly as Simon immediately spun back around. “What did you say?”

Georgia glared at him, not looking even slightly remorseful. “You heard.”

Ben leaned toward her. “Georgia, that’s out of order. You need to apologize.”

I cringed, knowing what was coming next. She stood, an incredulous look directed at her boyfriend. “I need to apologize? What about him? He can come over—uninvited, and call people names, and you just pass it off as a joke. But, I’m not allowed to. Well, maybe I was joking.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, a look of challenge in her eyes.

It was quickly turning into an absolute train wreck. In an effort to placate her and get her to sit down, I reached up, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.

Justin coughed. “Listen, why don’t we—”

Ben cut across him, his gaze still fixed on Georgia. “You called him a dick. Just apologize to my friend and then we can get on with having a nice evening.”

She placed her hands on her hips. “Justin’s my friend. Simon needs to apologize to him first. Then, I’ll think about it.”

Tempting as it was to point out she hadn’t even met Justin before tonight, I knew it would do absolutely nothing to neutralize the argument, so I kept quiet.

Simon had been taking all of this in, a slight smirk on his face. “Maybe it’s time to get rid of this one, Ben.” All heads swiveled to him as he spoke. The smirk changed to something much more calculating. “After all, you’ve already got your reserve lined up, and she’s much more attractive. Not to mention, much lower maintenance.” Satisfied he’d dropped enough of a bombshell, he winked and walked away.

His insinuation was clear. It couldn’t have been any clearer if he’d spray-painted it across a nearby wall. I just prayed there was no truth in it. With Simon’s departure, Georgia finally sank back into her seat.

I clapped my hands together, steadfastly ignoring everyone’s glasses being almost full. “Shall I get more drinks? Anyone want anything to eat? Peanuts? Crisps? Anything at all?”

Justin took three long swallows of his beer, probably in an effort to make it appear like there was much less of it left than there actually was. I really appreciated his attempt to back me up. “That would be good. I—”