“Cole, you have one disappointment and you throw in the towel?” Tess asked.
“Yup. I choose my battles,” Cole said.
Tess sighed. “Well, I don’t. I just asked out a guy I really liked, and he turned me down. Said I’m not his type.”
“You didn’t tell me that. When?” I asked.
Tess shrugged. “Anyway, you don’t see me swearing off love.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “I think lightning striking twice is more likely than you swearing off love.”
Tess smiled coyly, but I knew she was just brushing everything off way too easily. Yes, she was always hopeful and optimistic, but she didn’t deal well with rejection. I mean, who did?
I couldn’t exactly drag her away from the group now though, but I planned to treat her to macarons and cappuccinos back at the store and get the details.
“By the way, are there any wedding changes we should know about?” Tess asked Ryker.
“No, I think my future wife is finally happy with our arrangements,” he answered. “And so is Avery.” He nodded at Avery, who was watching Moana on a tablet.
I smiled at the affection in my brother’s voice. I was beyond excited that he was so happy. Heather had been a single mom when he’d met her, and he loved both her and Avery to bits.
“We have great news. I’ve finalized the adoption process for Avery, so she’ll officially be mine in a few days.”
“Wow, congratulations brother. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks. And by the way, I think Mom is giving the talk to Rob.”
Oh, shit. Mom definitely had her fierce principal face on.
“Yeah... looks like he needs to be rescued,” I said before heading their way. When I reached them, they abruptly stopped talking.
“What were you talking about?” I asked.
“That’s between Rob and me,” Mom replied.
I jerked my head back, then turned to Rob, who just nodded.
Well, well. I’d completely misread the situation. Rob wasn’t being cornered, he was just charming Mom some more, though I couldn’t figure out the fierce expression in this context. But since neither of them was going to share anything, I was going to let it slide... for now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Skye
We left Mom’s place in the afternoon. Tess was spending the night with her, so I had the evening off.
“You look a bit preoccupied,” I said once we were on the train, sitting opposite each other. About an hour ago, Rob had started checking his phone every few minutes.
“Things in LA are a bit of a shit-show. The CEO I hired in my place just quit.”
“Crap. When, tonight? What are you going to do?”
“Yeah, haven’t decided yet. Might need to fly there and put some fires out.”
My heart was lodged in my throat. “Oh? For how long?”
“Not sure. It will—” He stopped midsentence as his phone beeped with yet another message. “Sorry, have to check this.”
“Sure, go ahead.”