Sauntering up to me, he smiles and sets the bouquet down on my desk, ignoring the paperwork the vase sits on top of. “I thought I would surprise you.”
“Well, thank you. This is very sweet.” I pluck a peony from the bunch and inhale its fresh rose and citrusy notes.
He sits in one of the chairs, and his legs swing wide, like he’s right at home. “I saw your text. Who’s all going? Anyone I’ve met?”
Holy shit, he can ask questions that aren’t about himself.
“Sophie, Rose, Callum—you’ve all met them.” I pause, waiting to see if he has any reaction to Callum, but other than a tightened jaw, nothing. “I’ve known them all since high school. They’re pretty amazing. You all will get along great. Then, the three you haven’t met—Cade Carver and his sister, Brooke, and Stella Sullivan.”
His lips part as he sucks in a sharp breath, and for just a fraction of a second, I swear I see a flash of fear in his eyes. And then as if nothing happened, the usual Austin smirk is plastered back on his face.
Weird.
Oh shit. This might be the first time he’s actually going to meet a Carver. No wonder he’s nervous.
I need to ask Cade how Austin is doing at the firm or if he can snoop around for me.
Remembering Austin and my conversation, I ask, “What do you say? Want to come with me?”
He swallows the lump in his throat. “Um, I—”
I cannot go without him tonight. I assure him, trying to calm his worries, “Don’t worry. I’m sure meeting Cade is big for you. But he’s seriously the nicest guy—most of the time. But he’s great. You two will hit it off.”
He lightly scoffs. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He hesitates. “I should be able to make it. What time?”
Stella said to be there at ten.
“Come here at nine thirty, and we’ll drive over together, if that works?”
Austin checks his phone, reading something that is clearly important. He rises immediately from the chair, shoving the phone into his pocket. “I’m sorry, babe. I’ve got to go. Tonight, nine thirty—got it.”
And with that, he rushes out the door, shutting it behind him with more force than he probably meant.
I brush it off, focusing on the never-ending paperwork on my desk that Sophie has to get to Jamie by three. And soon, I lose myself in signatures and data, wishing I could actually drown in them.
“Mother of God, how are you a real person?!” Sophie startles me as my door slams shut.
“You have a key for emergencies!” I circle my finger in the air. “This is not an emergency!” I shout at her as Rose watches on apologetically. Even though it’s hard to be mad when Sophie looks like a fucking goddess. “Great dress, by the way. Still annoyed.” I mumble with a small smile on my lips.
The gold satin slip she is donning looks incredible with her tawny skin tone. And her gorgeous, natural deep brown curls stand out beautifully. No wonder Rose can’t keep her eyes off her.
“Thank you very much. And this is an emergency,” she claims.
I laugh. “Oh yeah? How’s that?”
She plops on one of my sofas. “Because we just saw Callum downstairs, waiting, and, holy hell, can that boy clean up.”
I throw my lip gloss in my purse. “Why would I care about Callum? I’m dating Austin.”
Sophie glares at me. “Are we still pretending that I’m blind orrr …”
I scoff. I thought I was doing a good job at hiding that from her. Apparently, she’s more observant than I thought.
She leans forward, giving me all her attention. “Can we stop though? Because I like you, and I want the details on why you’re not just jumping Callum’s bones every time you see him and why you’re still even speaking to Austin after that awful date.”
I’m more shocked at the first thing she said than the fact that she also thought that date was terrible. “I thought you were gay?”
She smiles. “I play all the fields, Becca. Guys, girls, theys, unidentified—I’m pansexual. And that boy downstairs eye-humps the fuck out of you every time he sees you. And I have totally caught you doing the same thing to him. So, what gives?”
