Page 5 of Heartless
Not that I was attracted to Parker Wilson. But I could at least admit, in the privacy of my mind, that he was obscenely handsome.
“Hello,” the man in black stopped right in front of me. Up close, I now saw he was younger than I.
Hard pass.
“Hello,” I smiled at him.
“Mr. Montgomery,” I heard Mel’s voice from behind me. “This is the woman.”
I shot her a disapproving look. I’d thought she was off fetching me coffee and booking a massage, but she’d called Mr. Montgomery from the security team?
“Thank you, Melany. I’ll take care of Miss…?”
“Madison Hartley.” I extended my hand, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His gaze swept from my heels up to my face. Not that I minded the attention, but this man wasn’t doing it for me, even if he was pretty as a picture.
“Ryan Montgomery,” he said, shaking my hand. “Do you, by any chance, have a brother named Tyler?”
Anyone who knew Tyler would see the family resemblance, but I confirmed his statement. “I do. Are you one of his high school friends?”
“No,” he shook his head. “We met recently. Congratulations on becoming an aunt again. You must be over the moon.”
“Ecstatic,” I said in a flat tone, and he chuckled.
“Not much of a baby person?”
“Not really, no.”
“Me neither,” he said, flashing a well-rehearsed smirk.
“How did you and Tyler meet?” I asked, not because I cared about my brother’s douchebag friends, but because I knew how to have a polite conversation. Another thing my mother had taught me.
“Parker introduced us,” Ryan explained. “He and I go way back.”
Parker introduced Ryan to my brother? That seemed weird - and far more complicated than the level of interest I had in this conversation. I stood up, ready to leave. “Good for you.”
Melany must have figured out by now that Ryan Montgomery wouldn’t be dragging me out by the hair after all. I could stay and enjoy that coffee. But I didn’t need more of Parker Wilson in my life - even in the form of one of his friends.
“Are you leaving?” Ryan asked, surprised.
“Yes.”
“I thought you ordered coffee. How long are you in town?” His gaze traveled down my body again. “Want to grab a drink tonight?”
“I don’t date coworkers.”
The shock on his face was priceless. “Coworkers?”
“Yes. I’m here to organize a wedding.”
“Here?”
“Yes. Annie Foster’s wedding.”
“Parker agreed to that? When? Did he ask you to come?”
“I’m sure he’ll fill you in on all the details,” I said with a smile, stepping to the side and walking out of the lobby.
***
