Page 35 of His Secret

“And now that you’re here,” he questions. “Are you adapting again?”

Something in his tone makes me freeze. He puts an accent onhereandadapting. It feels like he’s asking something else, or maybe it’s just in my head.

“I’m not sure.”

He nods, watching me carefully.

The waitress arrives with our drinks just as Andrea and Drew show up, so she takes their drink orders before disappearing into the kitchen.

“Should’ve stayed in the parking garage,” Matías says with a grin.

“I didn’t think the streets would be so packed,” Andrea replies. “It’s a Tuesday, for crying out loud.”

“It’s Taco Tuesday” I say, pointing to the table tent with the specials.

“Ooh,” she exclaims, picking it up and reading it.

The waitress brings their drinks and takes our food order, and then we’re left to make small talk.

“How are you liking the area?” Drew asks me, picking up his glass.

“I like it. I actually went to college in South River, so it’s not too new.”

“Oh, yeah? How long were you away for?”

“Almost eight years.”

“Where did you go?” Andrea asks before biting into a chip.

“Chicago.”

“Nice,” Drew replies. “I love Chicago. What made you come back?”

I shift in my seat, twisting my margarita glass around. “Work. I uhh, worked with my dad in Chicago. He has his own business there, but I was looking for a change.”

“How does he feel about you leaving?”

I force a smile. “Not the happiest, but…” I shrug and leave it at that.

“You went to college in South River too, right?” Drew asks Matías.

“Matías and I were classmates.”

“Matías?” Drew questions. “Not Matt?”

“My name is Matías. I just go by Matt at work. People began shortening it when I started there, so I went with it.”

“So you two were friends?” Andrea asks.

We both hesitate, but then I reply. “Yeah, but I didn’t know he was working at Galaxy Moon, so there were no special favors to get me the job,” I say with a laugh.

“We hadn’t spoken in quite some time,” Matías adds.

The conversation soon shifts, and we do eventually start talking about work, then Drew and I discuss the NBA finals. Andrea excuses herself to make a call to her husband, and then Drew mentions trying some dating app.

“It’s hard to meet women. All I do is work and sleep. The apps make it easier to filter through the bullshit.”

“Had any luck?”