The bar had grown quiet by the time Bella finally glanced up at the wall clock. The neon hands glowed against the dim backdrop, reminding her how late it had become.
The noise that had filled the place hours ago had dwindled to a faint murmur, a few scattered conversations drifting across the near-empty room.
Bella exhaled slowly and slid her glass aside. "I should get going," she said softly. "I haven't really had anything to eat tonight. I have to go now if I still want to eat."
Raymond's head lifted at once, his gray eyes sharpening as if her words had jolted him out of his haze. "Wait—you mean you haven't had dinner because of me? Because I called you out? Oh my God. I'm so sorry about that. I didn't——."
She raised a brow, cutting of his blablah. Then she gave a faint shrug, intending to brush it off so he doesn't feel bad. "It's fine. Really."
