Marcus doesn't question me or seem to disbelieve me. He simply thanks me for the information, then apologetically excuses himself to make a call.
"I need to talk to my closest ally about this," he says. "Right away. I'll be back as soon as I can, Evelyn. I'm sorry to excuse myself on a date like this – I know it's incredibly rude."
"I completely understand," I say, and I do. "This is obviously an exceptional circumstance."
Marcus speaks for a moment to the man at the door before slipping outside, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket as he does so. A fresh glass of wine appears in front of me a few moments later.
As worried as I am, I'm still having a wonderful evening. I haven't been on a proper date like this…well, ever. Charles was never much for taking me on true dates when we w
