“Your mom likes to lecture people.”
I shook my head and smiled. Rob would always see me that way, apparently. But we were making progress.
Chapter 28 – Dean
I hadn’t seen Charlie since the charity gala, but he called at the perfect time and invited himself over for dinner. His business partner Olivia coming along was a given.
Of the three of us, Charlie was the better cook, but Olivia actually enjoyed it. Well, she enjoyed cooking as long as we did cleanup. Tonight, she was pan frying us salmon steaks. The potatoes were baking in the oven, along with dessert.
“Things never worked out with Blaire?” Charlie asked, knowing full well he was just setting me up to talk about it in front of Olivia.
“Who’s Blaire?” Olivia asked, turning around with tongs in hand. She blew a rebellious strand of her blonde hair out of her face. The rest of it was wrangled back in a gigantic alligator clip.
“She’s someone I went on one date with. Charlie’s messing with me.” I leaned out from the stool I was sitting on and gave him a kick to the shin. He returned the favor.
“Oh, I know that. Just tell me whatever story I’m missing out on.”
“I’d actually like to hear Charlie’s version.” I waved my permission with my hand. Blaire seemed like a long-ago thing,even though it had only been a few weeks. But it was fresh in Charlie’s mind because it was the last thing he associated with me. We didn’t get together as often as we used to. He and Olivia were the kind of friends who called out of the blue, and we always continued exactly where we left off.
Charlie stroked his red beard. “It’s a familiar tale. A beautiful woman is on the hunt for a man with certain… assets. She tries a little too hard, and Dean’s interest in her, as a result, drops to dangerous levels.” He swooped his hand down mimicking a plane crashing into the granite countertop. “He even tried to dangle me in front of her as bait. Like that would work.”
Olivia reached out and patted his arm. “You pretended to be really poor, didn’t you?”
“Works every time.”
I pulled the salad bowl towards me and stole a crouton. “It wasn’t about her not being subtle, you guys. Like if she just played harder-to-get she would have kept my interest.” I had never been that shallow, even if, yes, I had previously enjoyed not having to work so hard for a woman’s attention.
Charlie smiled. “Fair. But you might have looked a lot less desperate to ditch her.”
“Burn his salmon, Olivia.”
She gave me a salute and turned around to check the food. “I would, but it goes against my code as a chef. But he’s definitely getting the smallest portion. This baby thing right here.”
“There are four salmon steaks over there,” Charlie pointed out.
“I know. Dean and I will split a second one. It works out perfectly. Now help me plate, you guys. Everything is ready to go.”
We jumped up and helped her, and although she gave him some serious side-eye, Olivia let Charlie have his full portionandthe tiny extra.
I would have been happy to eat at the counter, but Olivia made us move everything to the table and sit down like civilized people.
“Charlie said you’re doing a major reno for a gym?”
Olivia nodded. “This could be huge for us. If we stay on budget.”
“And on schedule,” Charlie added. “And if we don’t send anyone to the hospital. You’d think gym people wouldn’t mind a little extra walking, but they keep trying to shortcut through the jobsite. Someone is going to fall into an empty pool, I know it.”
Olivia laughed. “There was this one guy yesterday who put on a hard hat and tried to blend in on his stroll through. Kinda hard to sell the construction-worker look when you’re also wearing a tank top, flip flops, and a towel around your waist. I told him this wasn’t a costume party, and he’d have to assemble the rest of the Village People and perform the YMCA for us if he ever came back.”
I laughed, and she stuck her finger out at me. “See? That is the correct response. The guy didn’t even get my joke. Uncultured swine.”
“It’s because they lose all their brain cells in the sauna.” Charlie shook his head. “That’s where they’re heading when they cut through our jobsite. The gym won’t let us close the sauna down during the reno.”
Charlie asked me about my work, and then when there was a lull in the conversation, Olivia put her hands together under her chin and studied me. “So, um, we have a question for you. Charlie’s too chicken to ask, so I will.”
“What kind of question?”
They exchanged a look.
