Tom stuck out a hand. His smile was sincere and kind. She put her hand in his. The handshake was firm but not overbearingly so. She gave him a small smile.
“Hello, Arianna, nice to meet you. My wife is going to be so upset that she wasn’t here to meet you. She’s a big fan.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Jen isn’t here then?” Bain asked.
“No, she and Mac are away on business.”
“Business is good then? Place is nice.”
Nice? It was gorgeous. She looked around in delight at the wooden floors and high ceilings. There were photos plastered on most of the walls of Tom with a curvy, short woman with dark hair and a bigger man with a buzz haircut. In most of the photos, the woman stood between the men. But in others she was only with one man. Arianna was surprised to find her kissing the bigger man in one photo. Were the three of them together?
“Come in, you two. Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Something stronger?”
“I’m still on duty,” Bain said. “But I’ll take the hot chocolate.”
She blinked up at him. He drank hot chocolate? She’d pegged him as the type who fueled his body on only healthy food.
“Hot chocolate?” Tom let out a surprised laugh. “I didn’t think you ate anything sweet, man.”
Bain just shrugged.
“And you, Arianna?” Tom asked.
“She’ll take a hot chocolate as well,” Bain said.
She frowned but didn’t object. She’d actually really love a hot chocolate. Despite it being warm in the apartment, she felt freezing.
“Come on i
nto the living room. I have the fire on.” They followed him into a gorgeous living room. It wasn’t overcrowded with stuff, but it still looked lived in.
“Want me to take your jacket?” Tom asked.
She looked down, noticing that she still had Bain’s jacket on and was holding it tight around her. She blushed and handed it over. “Bain kindly leant it to me. Thank you.”
Tom gave his friend a look. “Chivalrous of him.”
“Very.”
Bain just grunted.
“Have a seat,” Tom said to her gently. She sat in a corner of the sofa as he went over to a window seat and pulled it up, drawing out a blanket. “Jen keeps this here for movie nights. Even in summer, we have to turn the air up and crawl under a blanket with her.” Tom shook his head but his affection for his wife was more than obvious and it made her heart ache.
He went to put the blanket over her, but Bain grabbed it, placing it over her lap instead. Tom sent him a grin.
“Like that is it?”
“Isn’t like anything,” Bain snarled.
“Uh-huh.”
“Make the hot chocolate, will you?” Bain snapped.
She gasped. She didn’t know what exactly they were talking about, but Bain was being rude to his friend.
Tom disappeared with another grin.