“Who’s ready for lunch?” Iris called from the kitchen.
“Let’s go eat.” Dash eyed the buffet set out on the island. “Iris made pulled-pork sliders.”
As Dash headed to the food, Hadley grabbed Blaise’s arm and leaned close to his ear. “Dash called me your girlfriend. Why didn’t you correct him?”
The others congregated around the food. No one was paying attention to Hadley and him. “You’re a girl—albeit a grown-up one—and a friend. So he’s not completely wrong.”
“Not. Funny.” She ground out the words.
“You’re right, but Dash has provided us the perfect reason for you being here.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You seriously want to go with girlfriend?”
Blaise nodded.
“But it’s not true. We’re not…” The words shot from her mouth. “You agreed, no lies.”
“We tried correcting Dash. He made his own assumptions.”
“Semantics.”
“Trust me.”
“How can I do that when you’re changing things as we go?” She lowered her voice. “In case you’ve forgotten, I haven’t agreed to work with you.”
“True, but you haven’t said no, either.” Blaise needed to be careful. He didn’t want to upset her so she turned him down. “We’ll talk after everyone leaves. Until then, please play along.”
Her nostrils flared.
Best to leave her be for now. He walked away, moving toward the buffet. Everything would be fine.
Except as people settled in front of the TV to eat and watch football, the spot next to him, one where Hadley should sit, remained empty. She sat on the floor next to Cambria, Adam’s wife. After lunch, Hadley retreated to the patio with Laurel. During halftime, she spoke with Wes and then moved on to talk to Dash.
Which was what Hadley was here to do.
So why did Blaise feel so…unsettled about her?
He grabbed a beer from the bar. His first of the day and all because of Hadley. The liquid was cool and refreshing—his favorite local brewery.
“Hey.” Laurel came up to him. “Where’s Hadley?”
“Outside.” He’d been keeping track of her, and his house wasn’t that big compared to everyone else’s.
“Hadley’s great.” Laurel glanced toward the doors leading to the patio. “Are the two of you serious?”
He gripped his beer. A good thing he was holding a bottle and not a can or he would have made a mess.
“We haven’t known each other long.” If he tried, he could calculate exactly how long. “We’re still in the get-to-know-you stage.”
Which he had never gotten to with any other woman.
A date or two was enough. Any longer and one might want him to open up and share his feelings.
And his past.
“Hadley mentioned you’d just met, but you’re not one to invite people over.”
“What do you mean? I invited all of you over today.” He took another pull of beer. Sure, he was a loner, and he preferred it that way, but he tried to be friendly with those he knew. And Laurel had made the house perfect for entertaining.
