Should I tell her it was fake, just because I didn’t want to attend their wedding as a loner?
Nope.
“Yeah...” I half laughed. “It’s always the things you least expect.”
“I think it was expected,” Rebekah smiled, bringing some life back to her eyes. “He always looked at you with such affection. Then as you got older that affection turned into something... a little naughty.”
I looked at her in skeptical amusement. “Something naughty?”
“You know what I mean. He looks at you like he wants to eat you. You were always so nervous around him growing up that you didn’t notice. But we all did.”
Could she be right?
Was that why my brothers had always been so anti?
I looked at Rebekah who was smiling while telling her stories. It made me miss what we had. The gossiping. The sharing of secrets.
The waitress walked past, and she ordered us both a mojito. Our favorite.
“You know,” she started, finally getting rid of her napkin. “I miss you, and I miss your family.”
I nodded in understanding because she had been really close to everyone. And they loved her back. She was an added sister to my brothers, and my parents loved her like she was their daughter. That was why it wasn’t just me who was so torn up when she and Roman hooked up.
My phone started to ring in my handbag, and I was kind of glad it did. I didn’t want to become emotional with Rebekah. It was too early in our reconciliation for that to happen.
“Excuse me,” I said while pressing accept.
“Hi Slate, what’s—”
“Guess what?” he yelled down the line, causing me to flinch.
“What’s happened?”
“A date is what’s happening.”
“Ahh... I didn’t—”
“Too late, no if’s or but’s. It’s tomorrow night. Shave your legs and wear something pretty.”
“Jesus, Slate, can you not—”
“I have the perfect man for you. And hell, I’ll even pay for the date. Be at Dominguez at six-thirty. He’ll be wearing a blue-collared shirt and gray jacket. He’s seen a photo of you and knows exactly what you look like. Don’t be late.”
And just like that, the call ended.
Fuck.
Rebekah was sitting across from me, frowning at my frazzled face, and I could only hope and pray she didn’t hear any of that.
Double fuck.
How exactly was I meant to explain this to Hawk?
I thought for a moment before chiding myself. Who was I kidding? Hawk and I were just friends with benefits. I didn’t owe him an explanation. I was sure he’d have an extra side of action somewhere down the line. Or the nights when I stayed at home.
The thought was enough to kill any good mood I had. I didn’t want it that way. But that was Hawk, and he liked to be the boss, and right now I was enjoying the ride too much to put my foot down.
“That sounded like an interesting conversation,” Rebekah probed.
I waved a hand dismissively as our mojitos were placed on the table.
I might need a few of these.
It was just Slate, carrying on the way Slate does. For the next hour, we chatted about life and holidays. It wasn’t anything too deep. It was only our early stage of reconnecting.
But by the time it came to leave, and we said our amicable farewells, we agreed to meet up again in the near future.
With one problem out of the way, I now had another. And that came in the form of a dreaded blind date.TUESDAY SPED ITS WAY through before I could get a good grasp on it. I’d only seen Hawk once today, and even then, it was only for a fleeting moment. He was barking orders into his phone yelling stuff about “what an absurd idea” something was, and he “wouldn’t even consider it.” I’d stopped to listen in, his back to me while he continued ranting. Whoever was on the other end sure was a sucker for punishment. When his voice went low and even, my heart began to pound. That was when Hawk was at his most serious.
“If you continue to probe into affairs that aren’t yours, you can consider all business agreements null and void. Remember, I don’t need you. You need me.”
I’d heard Hawk talking business before, but this terrified me. It was a side of him I rarely saw because, like most things, he had business under control.
The next time I saw him, Hawk was walking into my office with Slate. I was busy searching for a folder on my computer that I had apparently moved somewhere else by accident. Slate sat opposite Hawk, and I stood near the desk when I realized they weren’t going anywhere.
I looked up over my computer and glanced between them. “Can I help you both?”
Slate was smiling, and I realized like a slap in the face why he was here.
Please don’t say anything, I silently begged.