Graham led Fallon around the room, weaving between large round tables covered in thick white tablecloths with beautiful centerpieces that apparently each represented a different unit of the company. For fear of sounding naive, she refrained from asking Graham what all this unit, brigade, platoon, company, division, squad stuff was that he was rambling about. It was a different world that she was getting a glimpse into, and as interested as she truly was, she was confused out of her mind. Fake it till you make it. Her motto to live by for the evening.
Leaning in and whispering into her ear, Graham filled her in. “I switched our seats around so we’d be sitting at Rafe’s table, but unfortunately that has also landed us in the company of Dexter. I’m sorry.”
Shaking her head, she nudged him with her shoulder and smiled. “I realize we don’t know each other very well, Graham, but I don’t scare easily when it comes to catty females and assholes. These seats are fine, thank you.” She leaned in close so only he could hear her. “And for the record, I like you much better than Dexter.” She winked.
He chuckled and a faint blush warmed his face. “Put in a good word for me, then?”
“I don’t think you need one, but—done.”
“Well, well. I wasn’t sure I’d actually see you here.”
Fallon turned around as they approached their table to see Stella with her hand on her hip and a smile on her face. She pulled Fallon into a hug and she awkwardly hugged her back.
“Damn, this dress is amazing. Beautiful, honey.” She leaned over and kissed Graham on the cheek. “You’re looking as handsome as ever, might I add. Where’s that sweetie you’ve been spending all your time with lately? I was lookin’ forward to seeing Dexter’s jaw hit the ground when you walked in with her.”
Fallon laughed under her breath. She remembered why she liked this woman.
“I brought this beauty tonight instead, but I’ll see Jade later,” Graham replied.
Stella’s brows bunched and she pursed her lips. “Where’s Rafe?”
Graham shrugged. “Haven’t seen him yet. We’ve been wondering the same thing. Fallon, I’m gonna grab us something to drink at the bar. What would you like?”
“Diet Coke, three cherries, please.”
“Stella?” he asked.
“I’m good.”
As Fallon pulled out her chair and sat down next to Stella, the bottle blond’s glare seemed to spit daggers in her direction. “Look, Claire,” she started, deciding there was no way she was going to indulge in this woman’s drama all evening. “I have absolutely no interest in this catty crap that you’re obviously fond of and I have no desire to go a few rounds with you. However, I will. And I will win. So withdraw your claws and get your eyes back in your head, please, and let’s just enjoy our evening.”
Stella snickered, trying to reel it in as Claire’s jaw hung open for a few moments before she snapped it shut and averted her eyes.
Graham came back with their drinks and sat down next to Fallon. She instantly could feel tension building between him and Dexter.
Catty women in horrible dresses, male testosterone pissing matches, alcohol, tacky music—definitely an adult version of prom.
The visuals were much better, though. Men in uniform compared with boys in tuxes won hands down.
Fallon sat politely at the table and included herself in the conversation at the appropriate times and nodded and smiled when needed, but beyond that, she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering to Rafe, wondering where he was and hoping he would show up.
Dinner was served, then dessert, then champagne. Still no Rafe.
“I’m sorry, Fallon. I know I’m not the company you were hoping to have this evening. And believe me, I will be happy to kick Murano’s ass when I finally see him.”
“It’s okay. You’re good company,” she assured him. “And he couldn’t have had any idea I was going to be here anyway.”
“You sure I can’t get you anything stronger than a Diet Coke?” he asked, standing from his seat.
“No, thank you.”
The mingling bodies started finding their way back to their seats as the room darkened and a slide show popped up on a screen overhead. Chatter and laughter filled the room as everyone watched the pictures of the company’s most recent deployment to Afghanistan. It was a simple slide show of pictures put to music, but it was probably one of the most humbling things she’d ever watched.
She followed the news and tried to stay up-to-date on current events; she followed debates and participated in elections. Just like most people in the country. But she’d had the honor of stepping into their world for an evening, and it was humbling.