Children?
Disappointment shot through him.
A glance at her left hand showed a bare ring finger. That meant she was divorced or widowed. For some odd reason, the realization brought relief. “How old are your kids?”
“They’re my niece and nephew.” Hadley’s knuckles turned white around her keys. “Both are young enough I can’t keep them waiting. So if you’ll excuse me—”
“I’ll go with you.”
Her brows furrowed. “What did you say?”
Her question took him aback because he’d said the first thing that had come to his mind. “I’ll come with you.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
He wasn’t ready to say goodbye. No, that wasn’t the reason. He was here to discuss her matchmaking service so he could win the bet. “I’m sure you’ll have a block of free time so we can talk.”
She half laughed. “You don’t have children.”
The thought of loud, sticky small humans made him squirm. “No.”
“Have you spent much time around children?”
Donating money to charities that helped kids was fine, but real-life interactions? He shuddered. “No.”
Hadley rubbed her mouth. “It’ll be easier if you wait until tomorrow morning.”
“I can’t wait. This is important to me.”
A door opened down the hall.
She glanced that way before looking at him. “What if we don’t have time to talk?”
Now she was making excuses, trying to get out of meeting with him, but he wouldn’t let her off that easily.
Wes was the image of smooth and eloquent no matter the situation. Adam and Kieran weren’t as charming, but they held their own. Dash could be the poster child for introverted, socially clueless tech guys. Mason was a step above him. Blaise, however, fell in the middle of his friends.
On purpose.
He hated meaningless chitchat, but he’d realized the ability to mingle and make small talk would help him get ahead. It wasn’t something that came naturally, but that hadn’t stopped him. He’d observed and practiced. He had a feeling those lessons would come in handy with Hadley.
Blaise would keep his voice light. “I wouldn’t blame you.”
“I hope not, since it wouldn’t be my fault.”
Okay, maybe his tone hadn’t been as playful as he’d hoped, but hiding his irritation was harder than he thought it would be. She was the problem. Not him. If she were more flexible with her process, this trip to San Francisco wouldn’t have been necessary.
“Can I come along?” he asked in his this-will-be-fun voice he used when an overnight shift debugging code faced his team. He would try one more thing. “Please.”
She blew out a breath. “Let’s go.”
Blaise fought the urge to pump his fist. Instead, he fell in step next to her as she headed to the lobby at a quick pace.
“Do you have a car?” he asked.
She held up her keys. “I do.”
Guess he wouldn’t need the SUV, except… “Lex can follow us.”
