“Just... take this.” He held out a card. “All my contact info is on it.”
She hesitated. It felt oddly portentous.
Then, because there was really no reason not to take it, she did. Gingerly. And looked down at it.
And in a dizzying flash she could imagine the kinds of people he might know, the connections in entertainment that fanned out from him like spokes on a wheel.
She stole a glance toward the door. Eli was now conferring with the rest of the deputies; he seemed to be issuing orders. They’d apparently stuffed all the various handcuffed guys into their cruisers, Mick included.
Bethany was hovering off to the side. As though she was waiting for him.
And then, suddenly, he was out the door. And out of sight.
And so was Bethany.
Glenn shut the door behind them.
The sound of that closed door seemed to echo unduly in the now mostly empty restaurant.
Glory stared at it.
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m really sorry I snapped at you,” she said to Franco.
He shrugged. “Hey, I deal withactressesall the time. That was nothing.” He made the wordactressessound likelive ammunition. “You got your cell phone on you?”
“Nope.” She didn’t volunteer that it was because she didn’t currently have a cell phone. She and her mother had trimmed everything but the bare essentials from the budget.
“Text me if you want to have dinner with a ‘hot actor.’” He used air quotes, too.
She smiled at that, albeit crookedly.
Her heavy heart seemed to be holding down the other side of that smile.
He smiled back at her. And damn, but he was a gorgeous devil. He really knew it, too, and was pretty happy and content about it. His looks were like his Porsche: something he possessed that made most of his days much more pleasant than everyone else’s days.
They continued gazing at each other, and for a wild moment, she thought he intended to kiss her.
For a wild moment, she thought she might not mind.
But not for the right reasons. Which were: She wanted a distraction from being herself. She wanted to be reminded that she was wanted.
But Franco apparently had more discretion than that. “See you at The Baby Owls’ show, regardless?” he said lightly.
“Sure,” she said.
“Good night, Glory Hallelujah Greenleaf.” He leaped off the stage and headed out that door just as Glenn appeared and put the mop in her hand.
“I’ll pay you overtime,” he wheedled, by way of persuasion, and really how could she resist, when he put it that way?
Chapter10
Glory lay awake for much of the night, staring at the ceiling and punished herself by reviewing the highlights of her week.
So far she’d:
Bitten a guy and cursed his genitals
Quit one job at which she sucked