“But you miss her.”
“Yes.”
“Maybe she misses you too, and you’ll never know if you don’t call. I have a golden rule: I never ignore my heart.”
I barely bit down a reply, because it wasn’t a nice one. Tess had followed her heart more times than I could count, and she’d gotten it broken just as often. That didn’t keep her from putting herself out there and going after what she wanted every time. I had no idea how she did it.
“I don’t follow that rule, Tess.”
“Maybe you should. What’s the worst thing that can happen?” She leaned back, tilting her head. “Oh, brother, you really, really like her. You’re afraid she’s going to turn you down.”
“I don’t get afraid.” That had always been my motto. I want something, I go after it. So why was I now not going after Laney?
Tess grinned. “This right here is proof that you do. Maybe she misses you too. Is she back now?”
“Her return flight was this morning. She landed at nine forty-five.” She’d told me when she was flying back right before I left.
“You memorized the flight number too?” she teased. “Brother, just call her. Even if you just had a one-night stand—”
“We didn’t.”
“Wait a second. You’re all grumpy, and you didn’t even sleep with her?” She clapped her hands, grinning from ear to ear. “Holy shit, I think you’re ready to forsake your bachelor ways.”
I laughed, drumming my fingers on the table.
“Just putting it out there, but since she and Isabelle are best friends, we can probably invite her to some family events, accidentally bring the two of you together.” Tess was practically jittery with excitement. She’d been bursting to say this for a few minutes.
I cocked a brow. “I don’t need outside intervention.”
“Ha! You hesitated for a millisecond. That means you wouldn’t mind... too much.”
“Tess, was there anything else you needed?” I wasn’t just trying to shift the focus from me. I genuinely wanted to know. Tess was usually forthcoming, so if she’d had something to share, she would have already done so, but it never hurt to insist. Some things she did keep quiet about, only voicing them when she was vulnerable.
“You mean that counseling my brother isn’t reason enough for me to stop by?” she batted her eyelashes.
“I guess it is.” I laughed, raising my hands in the air, but something in her expression clued me in that something was weighing on her. I wasn’t just being paranoid.
“Remember Gabriel Lyons?”
“Yeah.” He was one of the donors for the gala. I’d gone to college with him, and he’d always been a bit of a pompous prick, but when he’d shown interest in donating, I wasn’t going to say no.
“Well... he’s being a pain in the ass. Insists we have to put him as sponsor on any materials related to the event.”
“What the fuck? We don’t do that for anyone. Donations are donations. Not sponsorships.”
“I know. He knows that too and is just trying to pressure us.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
“Cole, dealing with existing donors is my responsibility. Yours is bringing new ones.”
I felt responsible anyway. I’d brought him on, and I wasn’t going to let Tess pick up the pieces on her own. Especially because she was shouldering a larger chunk of work at the store right now, with Skye taking it easy during her last months of pregnancy.
“Tell me if you need anything. I mean it. Whatever you need, call me. Or just stop by.”
She smiled again. “Are you sure? You were close to kicking me out earlier.”
“That’s because I thought you’d just come here to give me shit.”