“Where’d Tony and Jasper go?” Melody asked curiously, thinking of Clay’s coaches, who’d been with Clay for all his promotional obligations. “They’ve been hanging on you all day. I thought they’d join us for dinner.”
Wyatt laughed. “They say they’re gambling, but I think the betting odds are against that. They’re blowing off steam somewhere.”
“Ah,” Melody said with a grin. “I suppose this is the place to do it.”
“True.” Clay lifted his head to give her a conspiratorial look. “They’re doing something highly inappropriate; I’m sure of it.”
Melody laughed and looked to Jules, who was eyeing her steak with blasé disinterest. Jules took another bite, chewing it thoughtfully as she glanced around the restaurant, obviously aware of the whispering and pointing that was coming from the other patrons. Not that she seemed too concerned with it or the inappropriate deeds of Clay’s coaches.
“You know,” Jules started as she reached for her glass of wine, “for the amount of money they expect for this meal, I ain’t all that impressed.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Wyatt asked, pulling a face at Jules’s plate. “Looks fine to me.”
“Maybe it’s just me.” Jules took another long drink of the burgundy liquid glittering under the dim lighting. “But if I pay eighty bucks for a piece of meat, that thing better vibrate. I want long-lasting satisfaction outta the investment.”
Melody coughed into her glass of wine and had to cup her hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. She knew Wyatt and Jules had started drinking while they’d waited, but she hadn’t realized how much it loosened Jules’s tongue until right then.
“Thank you, Jules,” Wyatt growled, pulling a disgusted face as he tossed down his knife and fork with a loud clatter that likely drew more attention. “You’ve just ruined a perfectly fine meal and totally grossed me out in the process.”
“Bonus,” Jules said, looking pleased with herself as she took another drink. She turned to Melody conspiratorially. “Like they can get high-and-mighty ’bout that. I do their laundry half the time, and neither one of ’em can throw stones over what I got hidden in my happy drawer. Some of those towels were looking pretty—”
“You might wanna dig into that steak,” Clay said, looking up from his plate to give Jules a pointed look. “’Cause you’re drunk.”
“Nah.” Jules shook her head. “I’m just buzzed.”
“The second you start talking ’bout your happy drawer with Wyatt and me in the room, you’re drunk. That should be your red flag,” Clay said with a sad shake of his head. “Pretty soon you’re gonna start talking ’bout your past boyfriends, and we’re gonna have to excuse ourselves.”
Jules considered that for one long moment before she sighed. “It has been a while. I’m ’bout to call one of ’em up, even if they were all worthless. Half of something’s better than all of nothing, you know?”
“No, I don’t know,” Melody said, trying to follow Jules’s reasoning and be polite.
“Small.” Jules leaned into Melody, holding her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “I’m cursed. ’Cept this one guy in college, but I was drunk—”
“Sorta like now,” Wyatt intercepted, eyes wide.
“And he wasn’t that good.” Jules sighed. “Big dick, untalented tongue, bad, bad moves. Isn’t thrusting a natural male instinct? How hard is it to get right?”
Melody looked behind her, because Jules’s voice carried. She couldn’t tell if they were pointing because of Clay and Wyatt or Jules and her unlucky bout with men. Either way she couldn’t fight the amused laugh bursting out of her.
Clay looked nonplussed by Jules’s dramatics as he turned to Melody. “Makes ya wish she’d stuck with the happy drawer.”
Jules huffed, cutting at her meat with lackluster interest. “Chances are I’m gonna die sad, old, and alone. There ain’t no guy in Garnet who wants me as his girl. I’m gonna spend the rest of my days living with my brother.”
They all fell silent after that. Melody’s heart hurt at the confession. She realized how intimidating Jules could be. Most folks in Garnet liked her and everyone depended on her, but she didn’t appear to have any real friends. She was the only lawyer for two towns. Jules could handle anything from divorce to setting up a business, and it seemed to Melody that she did it really well. Jules was just too married to her work.