“New people,” she clarified.
Okay, that was true. Still, Blaise shrugged. He couldn’t help it if he wasn’t looking for new friends. The ones he had were good enough and could be trusted. Anyone else might have ulterior motives given his money.
Not that Hadley was here for any other reason besides the bet. He drank another sip, but it didn’t quench him the way it had before.
Laurel straightened a stack of napkins. “I hope this works out.”
“What?” he asked.
“You and Hadley.” Laurel spoke as if it should be obvious. “She fits in nicely with everyone.”
For now. Who knew the real Hadley?
Except he’d seen her with her niece and nephew during the day, at night, and in the morning. Maybe thatwasher.
Not that it mattered.
She was only here to speak with Wes and Dash so she could decide whether or not to accept Blaise’s offer. Given her reaction before lunch, he had a feeling her answer might be no.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Time will tell.”
Laurel touched his shoulder. “There’s no rush. Just see what happens.”
“Is that code for take it slow?” he joked.
She nodded, glancing at her husband who was watching the game. “I say this as someone who ended up pregnant the night I met and married Brett during one of Henry’s birthday adventures. Take it slow. Very, very slow. You’ll be better off in the long run.”
Blaise wasn’t skilled at deciphering the hidden meanings in words. Numbers were his thing. But he had a feeling there was more she wasn’t saying. “Things turned out well for the two of you.”
“It took work. Patience. Anything good does.”
“Sounds like you’ll be the next author in the family.”
Brett’s two books on finances had hit the bestseller list. A single mom, who worked as a housekeeper for Henry Davenport’s parents, had raised him. Brett had worked his way up from nothing. The same as Blaise, but the two had different investment strategies, which led to monthly and annual competitions to see which method—Brett’s old-school research or Blaise’s AI algorithms—worked best.
“You two can corner the market on nonfiction titles,” Blaise added.
“Heavens, no. Writing doesn’t appeal to me at all.” Laurel shook her head as if to emphasize the point. “I was only giving you some friendly advice.”
“Thank you.” Not that Blaise would do anything with Hadley except pay her if she allowed him to hire her, but maybe someday he would need to remember what Laurel said.
The sound of Hadley’s laughter drew his attention. He turned that way to see her speaking with Adam and Brett. Whatever she was saying had his friends captivated.
“You like her.”
Blaise focused on Laurel. “I told you—”
“You’re getting to know her. Got it.” Humor danced in her eyes. “That doesn’t mean you can’t like her.”
He shot a sideward glance Hadley’s way. “She’s smart and strong and stubborn.”
Laurel’s smiling face glowed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Instead of denying it—Blaise liked Hadley, except when she wouldn’t do what he wanted—he drank more beer. He hadn’t expected his friends to care this much about him dating anyone. All he’d wanted was an excuse if Hadley needed to speak with Wes or Dash again.
“I’ll give you one more piece of advice from someone outside the inner circle,” she added.
“You’re part of the circle,” he blurted.
