Jade followed Cassie out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. The mob remained inside. Cassie spotted a cab with its light on. She raised her hand signaling her need of transportation. Jade shook her head at her best friend's actions. She was sure Cassie forgot that there was a black SUV around the corner that could pick them up at a moment's notice. But Jade was also certain that Cassie was not thinking clearly. Before they made their hasty exit from the restaurant, Jade caught a glimpse of what incited Cassie's sudden movement-Luke, more specifically, the image of Luke at a nice restaurant with an attractive woman.

"Cassie, what are you doing?" Jade asked watching the taxi cab come to a stop in front of her friend.

"Let's just go to Alex's restaurant." Cassie said reaching for the door.

"Okay, that's fine. But why are you about to get into a cab when the SUV is around the corner?" Jade asked.

Cassie finally turned around to look at the singer. She sighed. "I forgot sorry. Where is it right now?" She asked as she waved the to the driver that he should move on.

"I'll text Tobi to pick us up." Jade dug through the bag hanging from her arm for her cell phone.

Cassie looked around quickly and then back at the restaurant. She saw figures trying to make their way out of the building toward where they were. "Tell her to stay where she is. We'll go to her."

Jade looked up from her search, "Why?"

"Because in about 60 seconds the people that mobbed us in the restaurant will be hassling us on this sidewalk." She pointed to the doors of the restaurant.

"Good point. Let's go." Jade found her phone and began texting Tobi as they started walking down the street.

When they reached their transportation, the two women climbed into the vehicle. "Thanks Tobi." Jade said to the woman in the driver's seat.

Tobi smiled and looked at the singer with her blue eyes. "Not a problem J. Where are we headed?"

"I think we'll just go to Alex's spot. You know the place right?" Jade said

Tobi was one of Jade's preferred drivers. "Yeah I know the place. It might take us a while to get there though. I thought the two of you were hungry now?"

Jade looked at Cassie who seemed to be back in her own world as she tapped her fingers on the door. "We had a change of plans. Why try something new when you know Alex has always got something good on the menu?" Jade said.

Tobi looked at the pair from the rearview mirror. She could see that something was going on with Cassie, but she left it alone. "Okay then."

The two passengers sat in silence the entire ride. Cassie was lost in her thoughts and Jade was trying to work out how to broach the topic of Cassie's feelings. Jade could read Cassie like a book, and her friend was visibly upset by what she saw at the restaurant. On several occasions over the past weeks, Jade tried to convince Cassie that her arrangement with Luke was a bad idea. She had a feeling that on some level, Cassie also wanted more from Luke just as he wanted more from her, but Cassie was too afraid to ask for it. She was still caught up on the hurt from her last relationship.

By the time they pulled up to the restaurant, most of the lunchtime crowd had dispersed. People with the typical nine to five jobs were back in the office.

"We're here." Tobi said turning around to face her passengers.

Jade smiled and Cassie snapped back to reality. "Thanks Tobi." Jade said. "I'll just give you a call when we're done."

"No problem. I'll see you ladies later."

Jade and Cassie exited the vehicle and walked into the familiar restaurant. When they got inside, many of the tables were empty. A woman neither Jade nor Cassie recognized stood at the hostess stand. She was tall and thin, but lean. Her straight black hair was cropped in a short pixie cut that accentuated the sharp features of her face. Her hazel eyes stood in contrast to her raw sienna colored skin. The woman was well dressed, wearing high-waisted, wide-leg black slacks with a tailored white silk blouse. "Good afternoon. Can I help you?"

The singer stood in silence stunned by the woman's beauty. Cassie looked over to Jade, before shaking her head and responding. "Yeah, we need a table for two."

The woman nodded as she gathered a couple of menus. "If you would follow me." She took long strides as she confidently walked through the restaurant toward one of the empty tables in the back.

Jade and Cassie sat down and the woman placed the menus on the table.

"Do you need anything else?"

"Is Alex here?" Cassie asked. She liked to let their friend know when they came to the restaurant.

"Yeah, he's in his office in the back. Would you like me to send him out?"

"Please. Tell him Cassie and Jade are here."

"Right." The woman turned to leave.

Cassie looked at her lunch companion who was watching the attractive woman walk away. She smirked. "Are you okay there Jade?"

"I should be asking you that."

"I'm not the one who was stunned into silence by the woman who showed us to our table." Cassie countered.

"I wasn't..." Jade's words faded. She saw Alex coming to their table.

"Hey ladies." Alex said pulling up a chair, turning it around to straddle the piece of furniture. He leaned forward against the back of the chair.

"Hi Alex. Was she a new hostess?" Cassie asked.

"Who, Charlie?"

"Is that her name?" Jade asked.

"Yes, Charlotte Yadev. She's not a new hostess; she's the new...I'm not sure what to call her. But she does a lot of the PR for me and helps out with the business side of the restaurant." Alex explained.

"Oh, okay. Why was she working the front?" Cassie asked.

"The host had an emergency, we let her go take care of it. Instead of calling someone else in to finish out the before-dinner shift, Charlie just decided to work the door."

"She sounds like she's a good fit." Cassie said.

"Yeah, she is." Alex said. "I was actually working on some new recipes. I was getting ready to head into the kitchen to test some of these out. If you don't mind waiting around, I would love if you guys taste test for me."

"We don't have anything planned. Cassie, what do you think?" Jade asked looking to her friend.

"That sounds fine to me." Cassie said.

"Great. I'll have one of the waiters bring out something for you two to snack on." Alex said standing up.

"Thanks, Alex." Cassie said.

"No problem. You guys are doing me a favor." Alex smiled and left the pair to chat at the table.

Jade waited for Alex to disappear into the back before turning to her table mate. "So, Cassie."

Cassie raised her eyebrows at her friend's tone, "Jade."

"What happened back there at the other restaurant?" Jade asked.

"Nothing." Cassie said. She did not want to talk about seeing Luke having lunch with another woman.

"I don't think it was nothing. I saw Luke, and I know you saw him too." Jade said.

"Yeah."

"It looked like he was having lunch with someone. I thought that was your thing."

"He can have lunch with other people Jade. It's not an exclusive thing. Besides, we weren't too far from his office. She was probably a client." Cassie said. She hoped it had been a client.

"Maybe. What if she wasn't a client? Would that be different."

"What do you mean? What are you asking?" Cassie asked nervously. She really wanted their conversation to be over.

"How would you feel if Luke were on a date?"

"I wouldn't feel..."

"Don't lie to me Cassie; don't lie to yourself."

"Maybe you should take your own advice." Cassie said accusingly. She stood abruptly and left the table leaving a shocked Jade in her wake.

Cassie walked through the restaurant and into the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.

"How do I feel? How would I feel?" Cassie asked herself. She shook her head. She did not want to think about it, and she definitely did not want to admit that there was a part of her that was jealous. Other than Jade, Luke was her best friend. What would she do if he found someone else-someone who was ready to give him what she was afraid to? And why was Jade questioning her? Why would her friend make those comments when she knew that she had her own issues of honesty to deal with?

Jade waited for Cassie to come out of the bathroom. She had pushed Cassie, and Cassie had lashed out hinting at Jade's own self denial. But they were not focusing on her today. Today, it was about Cassie, and Jade just wanted Cassie to be happy. She could see, as could anyone else, that when Cassie was with Luke, she was happy. Jade did not want Cassie to miss out on the opportunity to love again. If she continued down the road she was on, Cassie would be alone. After conversations with Dani, Jade knew that Luke was getting close to his breaking point. He would not wait forever, and Jade understood that.

It had been more than ten minutes since Cassie left for the bathroom, and Jade was starting to feel awkward sitting by herself. Alex had sent appetizers and drinks to their table, but she left them alone. She looked around the sparsely populated restaurant hoping that Cassie would show up soon. She looked back at the table and picked up a straw and put it into her glass of water. She felt someone watching her. Jade looked up and caught Charlie's eye.  The woman began to walk towards her.

"Is everything okay?" Charlie asked when she reached the table.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Cassie to come back." Jade said.

"She's been gone for a while."

"We had a...disagreement." Jade said.

"Right." Charlie said. She began to leave the table.

"Have you had a chance to eat yet?" Jade asked suddenly. She was not ready for the other woman to walk away.

Charlie turned back around at the question from Jade.

"No, I've been covering for one of our employees."

"It looks like your replacement for the front has arrived, why don't you have a seat? Join us for lunch?" Jade asked.

"Are you sure your friend won't mind?" Charlie asked as she raised an eyebrow.

Jade laughed. "I actually think that Cassie will be grateful for the distraction."

Charlie pulled out a chair and sat down. "What did you say to her?" She asked amused.

"We're best friends, and we are honest with each other. I made an observation about her love life, and she did not appreciate it." Jade explained.

"I see. Maybe she doesn't want advice right now?" Charlie suggested.

"Oh I know she doesn't, and neither do I. We're alike in that way. But we tend to tell each other what we need to hear." Jade admitted.

"So what did she say to you?" Charlie asked curiously.

"I met you five minutes ago." Jade laughed. "I'm not going to tell you that."

"You invited me to have lunch with you." Charlie countered. The large smile on her face changed her features completely. Her eyes sparkled.

Jade smiled and shook her head, she was getting the feeling that the woman in front of her was flirting. For the first time in years, she was feeling comfortable in the situation. She did not have the urge to run for the hills. Instead, she subconsciously leaned forward, "I was trying to be nice."

"Uh-huh."

Cassie exited the bathroom and started walking back to the table. She slowed her pace when she realized Jade was no longer alone at their table. Her friend was laughing with Charlie. Reaching her eyes, Jade's smile was genuine. Cassie grinned before she was jolted forward.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." The young waiter said.

Cassie shook her head and waved her hand. "Don't worry about it."

Jade and Charlie stopped talking and looked toward the sounds of a disturbance. Cassie picked up her pace and reached the table.

"Are we good?" Jade asked as Cassie sat down.

"Yeah, we're fine. I just don't want to talk about it. I'm going to put it behind me for now."

"Really avoiding the issue is what you're going to do?" Jade asked.

"Works well for you." Cassie said.

Charlie looked from one woman to the other. "It seems like I'm interrupting an old debate. Should I leave?"

"No, you're fine." Cassie smiled.

"Cassie, this is going to blow up in your face. You know that right?" Jade said. The statement was a plea for Cassie to avoid something she would regret later.

"Jade, I appreciate that you're concerned, but I'm a grown woman. I can handle this." Cassie said.

"Fine," Jade said, "but let me say this." Cassie rolled her eyes knowing it was hard for her friend to just let some things go. "If you don't want to face this, or change your relationship with Luke, you don't get to be jealous."

The table's occupants were quiet. Cassie tilted her head and looked intensely at Jade before looking at her hands. "I know. Jade, I know."