“Yes, you don’t want to keep His Majesty waiting.”
“Garrett?”
Paul laughed. “Not Garrett.Mr. Cavendish.”
“Oh, God.” Aaron rolled his eyes.
“At least there’s champagne to dull the pain,” Paul teased.
“I should be grateful for small mercies,” Aaron muttered under his breath. Gerald Cavendish was his least favorite person—cold and condescending. Aaron snorted. Maybe it was more accurate to say Geraldhad beenhis least favorite person, because with Hunter in town, there was now competition for that position, at least based on the afternoon’s meeting.
Aaron hovered in the doorway taking in the small gathering. Gerald Cavendish stood with an elbow resting on the mantelpiece, crystal tumbler in hand while in deep conversation with Alex Johnson, the manager of the local bank. Warren Whitehall, a senior executive with Cavendish Properties, was pouring champagne into the flutes held by the three men’s wives. All three women were perched on the couches that flanked the roaring fire, no doubt eager to exchange gossip washed down with bubbles while their husbands discussed business.
There was another group standing in front of the windows. Brooke Cavendish—she’d always be a Cavendish in Aaron’s mind—and her husband, Freddy, stood with the Johnson twins, Brendan and Grace. He had a lot of time for the twins. A few years behind him at school, but always fun to hang out with. Not so much fun was their older brother, Richard, who was currently totally engrossed in something Garrett was saying. Garrett hadn’t noticed his arrival and appeared relaxed enough despite Richard’s presence.
There was another dozen or so people in attendance, most of whom Aaron knew. He contemplated bypassing his hosts and heading straight over to Garrett, but his manners got the better of him.
He greeted Alex Johnson and Gerald Cavendish before making his way to Mrs. Cavendish. Melody stood at his approach, offering a hand. “Aaron. I’m glad you could join us this evening.”
He took her hand in his, grateful when she released him after the briefest of shakes, and doubly thankful she didn’t lean in for a kiss, or more accurately, one of those air kisses that tried to pass itself off as one. “I’m sorry I’m late. Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Cavendish.”
“You’re very welcome. It’s wonderful to have you here.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
He turned, acknowledging the other women with a nod. “Mrs. Johnson. Mrs. Whitehall. It’s nice to see you both.”
A hand clasped his shoulder, and Aaron turned to shake hands with Warren Whitehall, Garrett’s father. “It’s good to see you, son. We haven’t seen much of you lately. Prue and I were only just talking about how much we’ve missed having you around. Haven’t we, dear?”
Prue Whitehall smiled, her eyes crinkling as she reached out and grasped Aaron’s hand in a greeting so different from Melody Cavendish’s. “You must come for dinner soon. I’m sure we can convince Garrett to come home for a nice home-cooked meal.”
Aaron’s mouth watered at the thought of Prue Whitehall’s cooking, one of the perks of having Garrett as a best friend. “Roast beef?”
She chuckled. “You’ve always loved my roasts. I’m sure we can arrange that.”
“As soon as things quieten down at the store, you’ll be the first one I’ll call,” Aaron promised, suddenly missing the people who were like a second family to him. He really should make more time to see them.
“We’ll hold you to that, son.”
“Hold him to what?”
Aaron spun around at the familiar deep voice. “Garrett. Hey, it’s good to see you, buddy.” He gave Garrett a hug with a parting clap to the back. “I was just promising your parents that we’d join them for dinner soon. I can’t say no to your mom’s cooking.”
“That’d be great. I feel like I’ve hardly seen you lately,” Garrett said.
Aaron’s gut churned with guilt. Hehadbeen neglecting his best friend lately, but with work and everything else going on, he’d hardly had time to scratch himself. Not that Garrett had more spare time either. “Err… Pot, kettle, and all that. But I made it here tonight, didn’t I?”
Garrett grinned and threw an arm over Aaron’s shoulders. “You did, and I’ll have to make the most of it.” His voice dropped to a whisper against Aaron’s ear. “Thank God you’re here to save me from the dreaded Cavendishes.”
Aaron chuckled as Garrett drew him away. “So you want me for my sparkling wit and scintillating conversation in any social situation?”
“Nope,” Garrett said with a laugh. “Just needed someone else to throw under the bus if necessary.”
Garrett was the assistant general manager of one of the Cavendish resorts and hated having to socialize with Gerald Cavendish, the man never being able to separate business from pleasure. He’d have Garrett working twenty-four hours a day if he could, one of the reasons Aaron didn’t see much of his friend. Garrett bent in mock pain as Aaron elbowed him in the ribs. “Ouch!”
“No need to throw me under the bus. I’ll save you, baby,” Aaron said. He was teasing, but there was some truth to the words. He’d do anything for his friend, just as he knew Garrett had his back.
Both of them laughed, pulling away from each other. A quick glance around showed that no one was paying them any attention, having returned to their own conversations. Actually, that wasn’t quite true. Aaron froze as he met Hunter’s gaze from across the room.
Everyone else disappeared as he stared.
