"You're not with him anymore." Vivi's over-statement of the obvious demanded explanation.
Allison made the mistake of glancing across the table. Rick's glare was fastened on her. As if he'd been waiting for this moment. Easy access to a point of personal humiliation. But she refused to break so easily. "My ex-husband is no longer with us."
That shut them all up. Not even a whisper followed. Rick's reaction was visceral. He didn't need to speak. His look of disgust all but called her out on the lie.
Whether he knew it or not, her admission was essentially true. When it came to Trevor's mental state. Her ex-husband's descent into psychosis turned him into an abomination of the young man she met at eighteen.
She hated the stares digging into her, some pitying, others eager for scandalous details. She denied them the sick pleasure. "If you'll excuse me." She scraped her chair back from the table.
Logan stood, too. He reached for her but she brushed past him, heading to the restroom. There she splashed cold water on her cheeks, trying to soothe the burn of embarrassment. She lifted her face, drying her chin as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Whatever beauty Vivi pointed out wasn't in the reflection Allison saw. Her inner landscape was so damaged and desolate she'd never understand why anyone found her attractive. Least of all Logan. The sparkle that once lit her green eyes had faded long ago. She barely knew the person staring back at her. "God, my life is a disaster."
"And I thought I had problems," a brusque female voice responded. A faint trace of cigarette smoke hung in the air.
Allison's gaze snapped from her own reflection to Devon standing behind her. Her insides still writhing, she couldn't stand another minute of being vulnerable. She spoke with forced humor. "I put on quite a show. Sorry you missed it. I gave Vivi enough gossip to last a year."
Devon shrugged. Her dark eyes were kind. "Don't take it hard. Trust me your fifteen minutes of infamy will fade by next week. People may toss around interesting theories or pity for a while, but that requires more energy than the accepted pastimes of bitching and back-stabbing."
A puff of laughter escaped Allison. "That actually makes me feel better."
"I thought it might." Devon smiled. "Want to join me at the main restaurant bar?"
"I'd love to," Allison said a little too eagerly. She tossed her paper towel in the trash. "There's no way I'm going back into that private room."
"Don't blame you."
"I'm a cheap date tonight," Allison added, in case the woman considered changing her mind. "Ginger ale is about all I can stomach."
"Fine by me." They exited the restroom together. As they took two seats at the u-shaped bar in the dining room, Devon sighed. "I tried to warn you about Vivi Dunn. The demon spawn dug her hooks into me years ago."
"Two seconds too late." Allison shook her head. "You weren't kidding about the Plague."
"Would I sugarcoat that hell-on-wheels?"
As they waited for drinks, Devon shared the amusing story of how she first met Vivi. The major's straight-faced depiction had Allison doubled over with laughter.
Allison eyed her gratefully. "Thanks for saving me. If you weren't here, I wouldn't have left the bathroom. From now on, you have my full abiding trust."
Devon arched a black eyebrow. "Not sure Logan's going to like that."
"Why?"
"I know how he works."
"Then you're exactly the person I need to talk to right now."
"Sounds like a girl's-night-out waiting to happen."
Allison admitted longingly, "You have no idea." She found ginger ale acted like a truth serum as much as alcohol. She spent the next thirty minutes spilling the story of her one-night-stand with Logan. And how he wouldn't let it go.
Devon listened patiently, respectfully. Her lack of judgment was the balm Allison needed to soothe her misgivings. Once she'd purged her pent-up anxiety, she felt relieved.
After a brief silence, Devon offered words of wisdom along with a sardonic look. "There are worse things."
"Oh, really?"
"Look at the bright side. At least you aren't pregnant."
Allison's grin died on her lips. That possibility had occurred to her earlier.
Oh, God . What if I am pregnant?
No. Absolutely impossible. He'd used a condom. They may have had sex four times within five hours, but she didn't remember a condom breaking. Her recent physical issues-bloating, breast tenderness, stomach upset, fatigue-all symptoms of PMS. Had to be, even though her period hadn't come yet.
"You're right, Devon," she whispered faintly. "Things could definitely be worse."