The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 259

"A toast to Lavinia Joplin, officially celebrating her return to freedom!" Jocelyn raised a glass overflowing with beer, her smile beaming brighter than Lavinia's.

Lavinia lifted her much smaller glass, which was only a quarter full, and tapped it against Jocelyn's.

Jocelyn took a massive gulp of the icy beer, slammed the heavy glass back onto the table, and looked around the venue.

It was a dingy roadside barbecue joint. The tables and chairs looked like they had survived a war, and the menus were completely frayed at the edges. It didn't look like much, but it was absolutely packed with people.

Because they arrived slightly late, there wasn't a single seat inside, so they were squeezed around a flimsy fold-out table on the sidewalk.

"Who exactly picked this place?" Jocelyn asked.

"Charley did," Lavinia said.

Jocelyn blinked, turning to stare at Charley. "You... picked this?"

"Is there a problem?" Charley picked up his glass of beer, sipping it with the refined grace of a man tasting vintage champagne at an exclusive country club.

"It's not that surprising," Saul chimed in, practically glowing with nostalgia. "Back in high school, Charley used to skip evening study hall all the time to help me run a street stall. After we packed up for the night, we'd grab some takeout noodles in styrofoam boxes from the stand next door and eat them sitting right on the curb. Man, the street food back then was way better than what they sell now. Right, Charley?"

"Yeah."

Lavinia turned to Charley, utterly bewildered. "Saul ran a late-night stand selling phone accessories because he thought it was fun. Why on earth were you skipping class to run a flea market stall with him?"

"I just liked it," Charley replied smoothly.

Saul rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "What a poser."

Jocelyn nudged Saul hard in the ribs. "Why are you being so mean to him?"

"Pfft," Saul scoffed. "He didn't come help me out of the goodness of his heart. He was playing the hero! Lavinia used to be the one helping me out at the stand. One night, a group of local thugs showed up to cause trouble. They smashed my table to pieces and absolutely terrified Lavinia. Charley heard about it, found me the very next day, and told me to leave Lavinia at home from now on because he was going to help me instead. That's the real story."

He slid the shrimp off the wooden stick onto a plate, then picked up his fork and knife, expertly shelling the meat with elegant precision.

"Here," he said, sliding the perfectly peeled shrimp onto Lavinia's plate. "You eat. I'll prep."

Lavinia mumbled a flustered "Thank you." Just as she picked up her fork, she realized Saul and Jocelyn were staring at her with highly amused, knowing expressions.

Her face flushed instantly. "Saul, why are you staring at me? If you're so bored, why don't you prep some food for Jocelyn?"

Saul smiled smoothly. He reached across the table, grabbed the entire remaining pile of shrimp skewers, and moved them in front of himself. Looking at Jocelyn, he flashed a charming grin. "Jocelyn, allow me to prep these for you."

Jocelyn rested her chin in her hand, utterly unamused. "Saul, just completely stealing another man's romantic move, are we?"

"Absolutely," Saul replied without missing a beat. "Originality is never as fast as copying."