He wasn’t asking for much, but all those little things led to other, more intimate things. She’d fallen into that trap before. “No.”
He sighed. “Fine, but I’m telling you, she’s smart. She knows me. She’s not going to buy it.”
“I think you’re worrying over nothing.” Jo turned away to watch the passing landscape of pine trees and palms mingling between strip malls and car dealerships.
Memories of the way Chase had felt the need to claim her in front of her family gnawed at her resistance. He’d never done anything more than Avery described. But it was difficult to fight years of self-preservation, and Avery made her feel hot and tingly in a way that Chase never had.
Still, she needed this to work as much as he did, so she’d keep a close eye on his mother, and they’d deal with any signs of suspicion.
Tap, tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap.
She glanced at his drumming fingers. Clearly, he was nervous.
“Tell me about your family,” she said to take his mind off his concerns. “Things you think I should know, other than what I found on the internet.”
“You googled my family?”
“I google all my clients.” Realizing how that sounded, she added, “so I’ll have some insight into their likes and dislikes and have some ideas prepared. You know, whether they’re going to be into hearts and roses or have a retro vibe? Whether their family is going to have a heavy influence on their decisions.”
“So, you googled me?”
That’s all he got out of what I said?“Yeah, when I was working on the engagement party.”
He grunted. “That’s how you knew who I was.”
“Yep.” Before he could dive too deep down that rabbit hole, because it was a big, deep hole, she prompted, “Tell me about Marcus and Charlotte. What’s their story?”
Damn, she should have asked about Kate and Bryce. They were the potential clients she’d meet today. Charlotte and Marcus were going with Giselle, and poaching clients went against the grain. She’d circle back to Kate and Bryce later.
“Theirs was a rough one. They’ve been in love for years but were too stubborn to admit it. Marcus—all of us, really—only saw the pampered princess of our competitor. She didn’t seem to care about anything or anyone else but herself. She partied all the time.” He glanced at Jo. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
Jo smiled. “I didn’t say there was.”
“Right, well, anyway, Melody convinced the rest of us we were wrong, so we devised a plan to throw them together at last year’s bachelor auction, and the rest is history.”
Sticking with family, she asked, “Spencer and Melody?”
“They almost didn’t make it. When Melody came to work for Preston Enterprises, Marcus and I bet on how long it would take them to hook up. But then we started losing clients to Charlotte’s father, and when Spence found out Melody and Charlotte were friends, we couldn’t help but suspect Mel of corporate espionage.”
“I read about that.” Lots of intrigue, but nothing about Melody being a suspect. “What about Nick?”
“He runs the company.”
She waited for him to say more, but he moved on to his parents, telling her how they met at the State Fair in Dallas then again at a famous honky-tonk in Pasadena, so she didn’t press him about his brother’s late wife. Or how the lack of information about her death was suspicious. It was all very hush-hush, not a lick of speculation on why she was with another man when it happened, but then money had a way of making unpleasant situations disappear.
“So, did you love him?” Avery asked, out of the blue.
She blinked the landscape back into focus. Pine trees were sparser now, giving way to sturdy oaks and rolling hills with tall green grass that whipped in the wind, making it look like ocean waves. “What?”
“Murdick. Were you in love with him?”
“It’s Murdoch,” she admonished but giggled at the apt distortion of Chase’s name. “You’re so bad.”
A grin stretched across his face. “One of my finer qualities.”
“I’m sure you have better.”
A brow rose above his sunglasses as he glanced at her. “Would you like to find out?”
