Jenks tapped his fingers on the table, smiling when Becky stopped at our table and set down a plate of ice cream and pastry along with his four-cherry drink and the requested number of spoons. No fries. Big surprise. “Thanks, Becky,” Jenks called after her over the music, and her neck went red.

Ivy took one of the spoons and delicately scooped a dollop of ice cream, placing it succinctly into her mouth. She pushed it away as if done, saying, “Peter is in the bathroom.”

My heart gave a thump. Check.

Nick took a shaky breath. I wouldn’t look at him, pretending interest in plucking the cherry with the longest stem out of Jenks’s drink. Nick stood, and Ivy reached across the table to grab his wrist. He froze, and my eyes went from his still swollen masculine fingers to Ivy’s face. Her eyes were black, a severe anger shining from behind them.

“If you don’t show up on that bridge,” she said, lips hardly moving, “I swear I’ll find you. And if you hurt her, I’ll make you a shadow, begging me to bleed you every night for the rest of your pathetic life.” Looking like a wraith, she inhaled, taking away the warmth of the room. “Believe it.”

I sent my eyes up the faded flannel of his shirt to find him ashen and afraid. For the first time, he was afraid. I was too. Hell, even Jenks had drawn away from her.

He jerked from her. Clearly shaken, he stepped out of her easy reach. “Rachel—”

“Good-bye, Nick,” I said flatly, feeling my blood pressure rise. I still didn’t understand how he could think that selling Al information about me, even harmless information, wasn’t a betrayal of everything we had shared.

I didn’t watch him leave. Eyes lowered, I took a sword-pierced cherry. The sweet mush was bland in my mouth. Swallowing, I set the red plastic sword beside Jenks for him to take home to his kids. “I’m tired of this,” I whispered, but I don’t think anyone heard me.

Jenks took a scoop of the cobbler, watching me with his intent green eyes. “You going to be okay?” he asked around his full mouth.

Picking up a spoon, I held the plate so I could wrangle an even bigger bite of ice cream. “Just dandy.” Why was I eating? I wasn’t hungry.

The music finally died, and in the renewed sound of chatter, Ivy held a napkin to her mouth and muttered, “I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. I don’t like Nick. I don’t trust Nick. And if he doesn’t show up with that truck to do his part, I’m going to kill him.”

“I’ll help,” Jenks offered, carefully cutting the remaining ice cream in two and claiming the largest half.