“I second that,” I say.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Lake says, then smirks and grabs the ball, ready for another round. “Now, as I hand you your asses, what’s on the agenda next week for the club?”
“Oh, are you a regular member now?” Miller asks.
“Maybe,” Lake says with a wiggle of his brow. “Now that I know how much fun it is to beat you all in games.”
Riggs claps me on the shoulder. “We have to help Knighty Night with his bakery soon.”
“Yeah, how is that going?” Ivan asks casually, his deep, gravelly voice filled with some innuendo as he adds, “You’re doing that with the GM’s very pretty sister, right?”
I snap my face to him and lift an eyebrow. “What did you say?”
He laughs. “What? Do you think because I’m married, I didn’t notice she’s pretty?”
“No,” I say, scowling, since that’s not what caught my attention. But what did? That he called Theo the GM, even though he’s the acting one? Nah.
Riggs lifts his beer, laughing. “Jelly that Ivan noticed your business partner is hot?”
I drag a hand down my jaw, still a little rattled. Honestly, I don’t know what threw me off, but maybe it’s that we’re all talking about her when I was hopingnotto talk about her. To use this trip to reset my mind. To stop thinking about Mabel so much.
I grab a bocce ball, then knock back some beer before I give an answer that focuses on the business. “Yeah, it’s going well, we have a name, and we’re getting it ready. Going to open it soon.”
“And she’s pretty?” Miller goads.
“She’s also smart and funny and interesting,” I point out quickly. Maybe too quickly.
Ivan whistles. “Well, well, well.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Oh, you’re definitely just saying,” Miller adds.
“More like you’re just saying you think she’s a whole lot more,” Riggs points out.
“I thought Henrik was pretty and smart and funny and interesting, and look—I married him,” Ivan says with a cocky grin.
Lake cracks up as he strides to the front of the court, a ball in hand, ready to toss. “I had no idea how much fun it would be to watch you all knock Corbin down several pegs. This is almost better than cupcakes.”
Why did I think going out with these guys would get my mind off her?
Especially since when we return, Lake doles out the cupcakes. As I eat the frosting, I’m definitely thinking of Mabel, and I really,reallyshouldn’t be.
16
SWEET DISPUTES
MABEL
“Admit it. In the history of market research, has there ever been better market research thanthismarket research?” I ask Corbin on the phone as I fluff out my hair, making sure the honey blonde streaks are peeking out through my chestnut locks. What’s the point of streaks if you can’t show them off?
But wait—can Corbin even see my streaks?
Doesn’t matter. You’re not going to date him. You’re not even going to flirt with him. You made a promise to yourself.
“There is no better research than eating,” Corbin agrees on the other end of the line. He’s just returned from his road trip, and we’ve planned a bakery crawl for today. We want to test out some goodies as we finalize our menu and make sure we aren’t missing anything. We’ll also check out some bakery setups to refine our look.
In the foyer mirror with the cat postcard, I check my reflection. Today is a jeans and T-shirt kind of day. I picked black, since I figured Corbin could see that color. It doesn’t hurt that the T-shirt has a scoop neck.
