Faith settled into the chair next to him, her shoulder brushing his.
“Someday you’re going to have to tell me how you ended up planting trees in South America for a living. You know, in the spirit of our new sort-of friendship.”
“Boring story,” he said. “A Protect Our Rainforests recruiter came to a campus job fair my senior year, and I said yes.”
Faith twitched her ruby-red lips—the precise color of her skirt, not that he’d given it much thought—but thedingof William logging on interrupted any possible follow-up questions. The instant his friend’s face appeared on-screen, Leo was treated to the sound of Faith’s soft, involuntary gasp.
“Hey, y’all.” William’s drawl filled the room, and Faith lifted her hand in a dazed greeting.
“Hi!” She unfurled her brightest smile. “You must be William Cooper.”
His answering smile was similarly radiant. “I am. And you must be Faith Fox.”
“I am!” Simply being in William’s virtual presence made her giggle.
Leo barely suppressed a sigh. “Looks like being the boss agrees with you.”
He’d become something of an expert at the effect William had on women, and right now his friend was at sun-god level of tan and scruffy. No wonder Faith sounded a little breathless.
Then again, Leo’d been the one who had her panting not so long ago, hadn’t he?
Faith jumped right into the conversation. “I’m not looking at this as an interview but more like a chance for us to get to know each other.” She lowered her lids, glancing down at her list of questions, then smiled back up at William. “Since we’ll be working so closely together.”
Leo’s smug satisfaction dimmed at her words and were extinguished entirely when William linked his fingers behind his head and grinned back. “Fire away.”
She did, running through the list of things she wanted to grill William about, from his work history to his experience with kids to his philosophy on holiday office parties. Leo let his mind drift as their back-and-forth washed over him; he already knew his friend had the ideal background and personality to take the lead on Dig Greener. But his attention sharpened when Faith spoke his name.
“What?” His question came out most harshly than he intended, and Faith frowned.
“I was just asking William if he was there when you tangled with that iguana.”
“I was,” William said immediately. “Drove him to the hospital myself. I told him to be careful messing around in the jungle overgrowth.”
Leo grunted. “I was searching for the canteenyoudropped.”
“Grandpa Leo, always making sure everyone in the group’s safe and hydrated.”
“Grandpa Leo?” Faith turned to him with a wide-open expression of glee, and he gave her his best glower in return.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he warned her. “And you”—he pointed to the screen—“I’ll take back my recommendation.”
Faith brushed him off. “Too late. The man’s spent years on environmental education programs in South America. You were right; he’s perfect.”
A littletooperfect. Leo watched sourly as William dialed up that golden-boy charm.
“Glad you think so,” he said. “I loved working with those kids, but I’m excited to move back to the States. Plant some roots a little closer to home in my old age.”
Faith leaned forward to prop her chin on her hand. “Oh yeah? Where are you from?”
“He’s from Kentucky,” Leo muttered. “And he’s only thirty-four.”
William’s golden brows arched. “Well,he’sa ball of sunshine, isn’t he?”
“Oh, always.” Faith smirked but didn’t look away from the screen. “Just constant, unstoppable positivity. Was he like this when you worked together?”
“Every. Single. Day,” William said.
What a delight, witnessing inside jokes spring up between his first love and his best friend. Leo swallowed his irritation and attempted to steer them back to actually important issues.
