“That’s how I know.” Eva said sadly. “I haven’t felt that way yet. I keep waiting and hoping. I dropped a parcel in the street yesterday to see if a handsome stranger would pick it up but everyone carried on walking. If it had been me lying in the dirt, they would have stepped over me. It’s a sad world.”
“It’s a world that is pretty free of fairy dust, that’s true,” Paige said. “Unfortunately, there’s plenty of the ordinary crappy type of dust that none of us ever have time to clean up since we started our own business. And talking of business, can we get back to work and focus on how we’re going to impress Mariella?”
“You’re on fire.” Jake watched as Matt won another game of pool a few days later. “We could be in trouble, Chase.”
“I was in trouble the moment I walked through that door.” Chase snapped the top off another beer. “I pay more to you guys than I do in tax.”
“I don’t do it for the money.” Matt potted another ball. “I do it to stop Jake’s ego from inflating to unreasonable proportions.”
Normally spending time with his friends soothed the tensions of the week, but tonight it wasn’t working.
Nothing was working. Not even Jake’s friendly teasing.
“Does my ego threaten your manhood?”
“My manhood is doing fine, thank you.” Matt lined up the next shot and his friend gave him a speculative look.
“How was your weekend with Frankie?”
Matt lost concentration and the ball flew through the air.
Jake caught it one-handed. “You might want to put a little less spin on that,” he said mildly. “I do believe that’s a foul.”
Matt straightened. “Are we seriously talking about fouls?”
Chase sighed. “If you want to live, Jake, I’d suggest you concentrate on the game rather than starting this conversation.”
“I like to live dangerously.” Grinning, Jake picked up his cue. “I take it the weekend was good. So was it all garden design and soil samples, or did you sample anything else?”
“I’m not answering that. Maybe you should listen to Chase. He gives good advice.”
“You just answered my question.” Jake bent over the cue and focused.
Matt frowned. “No, I didn’t.”
“You are Mr. Good Guy.” Jake paused and took the shot. “If there was something going on, you’d protect Frankie no matter what.”
“Maybe there’s nothing going on.”
“Maybe, but then I’d have to find another reason for the smile on your face and your lapsed concentration, and right now I can’t think of one.”
“I had a great weekend visiting friends and family.”
Jake straightened. “I’ve known you for over a decade. I know the look you get when you spend a great weekend with family. That’s not it.”
Chase shook his head. “Can we lose the tension? I didn’t come here for tension. That’s what work is for.”
“This isn’t tension, this is friendship.” Jake stopped talking just long enough to win the game. “And I don’t have tension in my work. Neither should you, given that you own your company.”
“Try running a business started by your father. You don’t have internal politics?”
“Only my own. You need to streamline your organization, Chase.”
“Delegating works for me.”
“So is it serious?” Jake looked at Matt, and this time his humorous tone had vanished.
Was it serious? On his side, yes. On Frankie’s?