Just Keep Breathing, GS Rhodes [best book club books for discussion TXT] 📗

that. But this was different, wasn’t it? “I thought it would be a good idea to go with DS Sanchez, you know Zoe, so we can scope things out a little. I meant to tell you earlier, but I’d already moved this lunch because of my stupid work schedule and I didn’t want to—”

John reached across the table and put a gentle hand on Kidd’s forearm. It stopped him from speaking immediately and he looked up to lock eyes with John once again. He was smiling. In spite of the fact that Kidd was blowing him off entirely for tonight, John McAdams was smiling. And it was enough to calm the pounding in Kidd’s heart.

“It’s alright,” he said. “I don’t mind not going to the reunion with you. I sort of mind about not getting to spend the evening with you, but we can do that another time. I’m not about to have a breakdown over it.”

“You’re not?”

John laughed. “Not even close,” he said. “You will have to make it up to me some other time though.”

“I don’t know if I have another reunion around the corner,” Kidd said, allowing an easy smile to fall across his face. “So, if you have any other ideas?”

John grinned broadly. “I have plenty.” He waggled his eyebrows and Kidd felt his heart skip. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had that effect on him. He knew it was probably Craig, but he tried to push those feelings out of his head right now. The last thing he needed was to ruin this.

“We should probably look at this menu,” John said. “I can feel the eyes of that waiter burning into the side of my skull. If we don’t order soon he’s going to have us escorted out for loitering.”

“‘Escorted out for loitering.’ You sure you’re not a detective?”

“I’ve read enough crime novels in my day job to pick up some of the lingo,” John replied with a wink. Kidd felt weak. He needed to calm down.

He was about to pick up his menu to see what this place had on offer when a high-pitched laugh from somewhere towards the back of the restaurant caught his attention. It turned out there were other people in here after all.

There was a man and a woman at the far end of the restaurant. They were up on a raised platform, tucked away in a corner, almost in darkness. Even the curtains near them were closed. A man was whispering in the ear of a blonde woman who was giggling, either at what he was saying or at that feeling of someone saying sweet nothings to you.

Kidd was about to turn back to his menu when the man moved away from the woman’s ear and came into focus. He locked eyes with Kidd and his face dropped instantly.

What on earth was Greg Spencer doing here?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Kidd’s head was spinning, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn back to the menu, to break eye contact with Greg. Greg looked ashen, like he was about to throw up right where he was sitting.

The woman hadn’t noticed, she was too busy saying something to him and packing her purse away into her bag. She was chattering away to Greg, but even from this distance Kidd could see that he had no idea what she was saying. If there was a pop quiz, he would fail it.

“Are you ready to order?” The waiter had appeared at the table once again, pulling Kidd’s attention back to John, who was looking over at him expectantly. “Or do you still need a moment?”

“Ben?” John asked. But his face suddenly dropped when he saw the expression on Kidd’s face. Kidd didn’t know what it was exactly, something akin to a murderous bear most likely because right now, his sister’s husband was out with another woman and his blood was boiling. “Ben, what’s going on?”

John turned around and looked at the couple before turning back to Kidd. “You know those people?”

“I know one of them,” Kidd said. He looked up at the waiter. “Just a few more minutes, I promise it won’t take me much longer than that. Everything looks great.” The waiter scurried away and Kidd put his menu down on the table. “I won’t be a second. I’m sorry.”

He wondered how many more times he would apologise to John for getting distracted when they were supposed to be together, for putting something else first. He hoped it wasn’t something that kept happening. He was supposed to be doing better at this, but here he was, leaving a handsome man alone at a table to go and deal with something that was none of his business.

Well. It was sort of his business. He’d always felt a little protective of Liz, but he thought that Greg was a good guy. He was supposed to be anyway. He didn’t feel the need to have an, “If you hurt my sister, I will hurt you,” chat when they got married because it seemed like a tired old cliché but now he was having second thoughts.

“Greg,” Kidd said flatly as he reached their section of the restaurant. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Yes,” Greg replied, nervous, sweating profusely. Good, Kidd thought. “Small world isn’t it?”

“Tiny,” Kidd replied. “And you are?”

“Beth,” the blonde woman said, her smile never fading for a second. Her lipstick was a little bit smudged around the edges. It was enough for Kidd to put two and two together and come out at the right number. “Nice to meet you.”

Kidd smiled and turned his attention back to Greg. “Can I talk to you outside?”

“We’re actually just leaving,” Greg said, getting to his feet, putting on his jacket.

“Great,” Kidd said. “I’ll walk with you.”

“I don’t want to keep you,” Greg said, nervously running a hand through his hair. “Aren’t you coming over for dinner again next week?”

“It doesn’t really feel like the kind of thing to discuss over dinner,” Kidd growled. Greg was clearly