Hart and Eden, who had driven together, nodded.
Walker voiced, “You know that’s the last place I’m going.”
“I’ll be in touch,” I told him.
As I swiveled back to Troy, I watched his eyes move inEden’s direction, following her as she walked toward him and out the door. There was something in his gaze that told me he liked what he saw. I didn’t know if this was new or if I just hadn’t noticed before. Not that it mattered. Eden lacked all interest in dating, so Troy didn’t have a chance.
Jenner laughed as he got up from the table. “Dude, you’ve got to make yourself a little less obvious.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Troy immediately asked him.
“Come on, man. You couldn’t take your eyes off my sister.”
Troy’s head whipped from Jenner to me. “It’s not like that.”
“No?” Jenner pushed, grinning. “How is it, then?”
“Yeah, how is it, then?” I asked.
“Jesus Christ,” Troy groaned. “I’m not going after your sister.” He pointed at Jenner. “I’ll stop by your office in a little bit. Now, get out of here.”
Jenner continued to laugh as he headed for the door. “I’ll talk to you later, Colson,” he said, and he left the room.
“So”—I began to rock the chair again—“is this about Eden? Is that why you wanted me to stay?”
He huffed, holding the back of his neck. “No.”
“Should it be?”
He stared at me silently for several seconds. “No.”
My gut told me there was more he wanted to say but was holding off. I wouldn’t dig it out of him. Time would unravel whatever I needed to know or see.
“All right. Then what do you want to talk about?”
He cleared his throat. “I wanted to ask you about Lauderdale. I haven’t had a chance to catch up with Hayden and ask him. Did you get a boat while you were there?”
“I did. It’s funny, I was dead set on the third yacht I toured. I was positive it was everything I wanted. But Hayden kept mentioning a different boat, one that hadn’t quite hit the market, and he asked me to extend my trip to see it. It ended up being perfect for me.” I exhaled loudly. “She’s a beauty. I’ll have to take you for a ride.”
“I’d like that.” He locked his fingers on top of the table. “As for Hayden, he’s good at knowing what his clients don’t realize they want or need.”
“He sure is.” I ran my thumb over my lips. “I appreciate you connecting us. He was great. The whole experience—I really enjoyed it.” My heart began to pound, and I was tempted to reach for my flask. “Well, most of it, I should say. Parts of it certainly had its hiccups.”
“You mean with Hayden?”
“I mean Fort Lauderdale in general.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “I think what you’re saying is that you didn’t expect Sophie to be there.”
I filled my lungs. “Exactly.” My head dropped. “Shit went south. Real fast.”
“That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about.”
I pushed myself away from the table and stood. This was where I tapped out. Troy was family to her. I wasn’t getting into it with him, the same way I wouldn’t talk to Hayden about her. I respected the two of them and how they had her back, and that was why I wouldn’t drag them into this. This was my battle, not theirs, and I didn’t need anyone solving it.
“Listen, man, I know you want to discuss her, and that’s honorable. But I’m not going to talk about Sophie, the same way you’re not going to talk to me about Eden.”
I watched his chest slowly rise, and an emotion flickered through his stare. One I didn’t recognize and one I couldn’t come close to comprehending.
