“About what?”
“I eat my food so hot lately I won’t be surprised if it melts the fork.”
Gia chuckled. “Good thing the chopsticks are made of bamboo.”
She gave Lena a hand as they got out of the limo. “I might just have to do that. But boy, I hope my taste buds go back to normal after this little one is born. I never could eat like this before. The other two, I had a sweet tooth.”
“Too bad I wasn’t there for those, because I know a place that has the best cheesecake.”
“There’s always room for cheesecake.”
And if I’m right, I’m going to need something sweet after this lunch.
“When are you going to tell me about the girl?” Caydan Pintino asked.
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“That’s not what Lena told Allyson.”
Even from the other side of the world, women seemed to stay up to date on gossip. “Was there something important you called me for?”
“I would think this was.”
“Caydan, just because you bit the bullet and got married, don’t think I’m following suit.”
“Married? That serious?” Caydan joked.
“Fuck you. You know damn well what I meant. I’m not husband material.” Or boyfriend material for that matter.
“And I was? Hell Roger, compared to me, you’re normal.”
Roger wanted to argue but instead said, “Neither of us are. Speaking of Allyson, how is she?”
“Hounding me to find out about Gia. And trust me, she won’t leave me alone until I tell her something. Hell, I don’t even care if it’s true or not.”
Roger shook his head. Allyson was going to see through whatever bullshit story Caydan told her, if he knew the truth. So keeping Caydan in the dark was the only way to continue to pull this off.
“Okay, I like her. I saw her one day on her way home from work, and I couldn’t help but pull over.” And apologize for splashing her.
“Fine, I’ll make something up, but next time, don’t make me have to hear it from my wife. And when I say hear it, I mean an hour of questions she damn well knows I have no answers to.”
And yet you want me to get married. Yeah, I’m all set with that.“How are things in Tabiq? Any issues you need me to come and handle?”
“Would you be bringing Gia if I said yes?”
Asshole.“Okay, this has been a great chat. Let’s not do it again.”
Caydan was still laughing when Roger ended the call. He wasn’t used to hearing his friend so . . . happy. The best thing that had happened to Caydan was Allyson coming into his life. Because of her, Caydan found out the Hendersons were his family before he crushed them. He hated to admit it, but Caydan would’ve self-destructed if Allyson hadn’t been the voice of reason. God knows he wasn’t listening to me.
If Gia and Allyson actually met, he was sure they would get along as well as Gia and Lena had. Then again, maybe he should keep them apart, at least until he finished what he was hired for.
He thought for sure he’d hear from Gia first thing in the morning, but there was nothing. It wasn’t like she had already been given a job at the Towers. Maybe she wasn’t as reliable as she had pretended to be. Or she looked closer at me and didn’t like what she found. The latter made the most sense.
Roger could call her and ask, but fuck it, he didn’t need her anyway. What difference did it make if she changed her mind? None. All she would be was a distraction. The faster he found the answer for Brice, the quicker his ass was out of there.
He couldn’t focus, and it was pissing him off. Slamming the laptop closed, he got up and walked out of his hotel room. As he got into his car his phone rang. Finally.
“Good morning, or should I say, good afternoon?” He didn’t try to hide his sarcasm.