My core clenched, as if in agreement, but I knew Darla would gut me if I was a no-show. So I did my best to hide how horny his fancy clothes were making me, too.
“All night?” I’d tutted. “I don’t know what kind of Viagra you’re popping, butIneed some food after that shower session. Party now, sex later.”
He’d groaned and pretended to collapse on the bed, and I had to laughingly drag him out of the room so we weren’t late.
“You like my outfit?” I swing my hips, encouraging the silky skirts to swish around my thighs. “Did you know this dress and these heels are all I’m wearing?”
It takes him a beat, but then George’s eyes go wide and a strangled noise sounds from deep in his throat.
“You—” he starts, only to get cut off by a smiling couple stepping up to us.
“George! Look at you. So handsome in your suit.” The woman reaches out to brush her hands over his shoulders in an affectionate gesture.
She’s stunning in her floor-length fitted gown of petal pink silkthat contrasts beautifully with her ebony skin tone. Pins with what look like real pearls hold her black hair tight to her skull before allowing the curls to spring into a small halo at the back of her head. Her companion stands just behind her, a middle-aged white man with salt-and-pepper hair, a thick yet sculpted beard, and an easy grin he shares between us.
The woman turns her smile on me. “Introduce me to your lovely date.”
“Beth, this is Lorna and Ethan Baylor. Lorna, Ethan, this is Beth Lundberg.”
My hand tightens in George’s as I realize I’m facing the third side of the BBN triangle.
And I watch as the two of them realize whoIam, although it takes them a moment longer. Lorna’s brows dip in thoughtfulness, then shoot up in shock, only to lower once more as her expression turns…soft. That’s the only way I can think to describe it.
Ethan, even through his facial hair, gives off an air of regret.
“Beth. Of course. Shawn’s sister,” the man murmurs, and he gets a point for not calling me Karl Newton’s daughter. “He talks about you all the time, you know?”
“I…” I don’t actually.
“And Cornfield’s. He says it’s the best diner,” Lorna adds. “We’d love to come by sometime. Have the Shawn Special.”
George chuckles, and some of the tension eases from my spine. “He told you there’s a Shawn Special?” I ask.
“Is there not?”
“Not officially.” As I answer, George slips his arms around my waist. “But I bet he’s hoping it’ll get added to the menu if people start asking for it. I’m sorry to tell you, but I think Shawn is using you to push his agenda.”
Lorna’s lips twist in a smirk, and she rolls her eyes. “That boy.”
“There is The Bunsen special, though.” I reach back and tug on George’s tie, surprising myself with the casual move. With how comfortable I am in the moment, talking to these BBN people with George at my back.
Shouldn’t I hate them on principle? Am I betraying Mom by being pleasant?
Ethan’s eyes track the movement of my hand, then fall to George’s possessive hold. Before I can brace for a judgmental comment, a wide grin splits across his face.
“You two? You’re together?” Mr.Baylor lurches forward and claps a hand on George’s shoulder. “That’s fantastic!”
Shock steals any possible response.
“It is.” George traces a thumb over the material on my waist, heating my skin through the fabric.
“You make a lovely couple.” Lorna slips her hands around her husband’s arm and beams at us. “We’re so happy you both came. That you’re together.” The married couple glance at each other then, and I could swear they relax.
This is not what I expected when encountering BBN people.
What if they don’t know everything that went down with my mom?
I wonder if maybe there’s the possibility that it wasn’t the entire company that had turned on Charlotte Lundberg. Could it have been that Karl Newton just made it seem that way? If he and HR were the only ones she communicated with, he could have cast whatever light he wanted to on the situation.
