Mal raised her brows in surprise and sat back herself. “You’re not?”
Audrey shook her head quickly with a snort. “I have absolutely nothing to do with that place from the business side of things. I think I still have a few shares, but that’s an inheritance thing and a technicality at best.”
Mal ought to have been upset or concerned or at the very least wary, but instead she felt amused—and a little confused.
“I’m in Seattle,” Audrey continued, taking a sip of her water, “and I’m heading down to Florida to spend some time with some girlfriends—adult spring break, if you will. I know, we’re nuts, but it is what it is. I had to layover in Denver, and when I heard that, I changed my next flight back a few hours so I could come out and see you.”
“Me?” Mal asked in surprise, folding her arms. “Why?”
Audrey shrugged, smiling. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I saw the proofs. Those were amazing. Hunter said you were great to work with and would go places in the world, and Hunter never praises anybody. He doesn’t even like people, really.”
Mal laughed out loud at that. She knew that about Hunter; it was his trademark. It was nice to know he wasn’t playing at that, either.
“You wanted to come see if he was lying?” Mal asked, truly smiling at this intriguing woman.
Audrey grinned at her. “Well, Hunter’s not really a liar either, Christmas and birthday presents being the exception. Mostly, I just wanted to meet you. I like art, majored in art history, and I’m sort of a curator for various exhibitions in Seattle, so any good connections I can make, I do!”
Mal was shaking her head, unable to stop smiling. “You’re trying to soften me up for something, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” she said with a shrug. “If my cousin and I happen to have a project for capturing the history and quintessential essence of Seattle through photography, so what?”
Mal threw her head back and laughed, rubbing a hand over her face. “Seriously?”
“Hypothetically,” Audrey corrected. “And it could potentially, hypothetically, involve some great food places. If you’re a foodie like I am.”
With perfect timing, their food arrived, and Audrey’s eyes went wide as her sandwich was placed before her.
Mal thanked the waiter, then looked at her companion. “What?” she asked, seeing her expression.
Audrey met her eyes, still looking stunned. “You didn’t tell me it was this huge!”
“I did too. I told you to get a half sandwich, but you insisted you were starving.”
“I’m gonna die.” She took a bite of the sandwich and moaned as she chewed. “Oh, but what a way to go.”
“You did what?”
“I went to Denver before I came here. There aren’t direct flights from Seattle to Atlanta.”
Hunter shoved the heels of his hands against the side of his head and turned to the window, inhaling and exhaling at a frantic pace he tried to control. “That part I got,” he ground out, his jaw aching. “Explain yourself.”
“Oh,” his sister said, as if she didn’t know. “I stopped off and had lunch with Mal. I like her a lot. You didn’t tell me nearly enough about her.”
“Shasta,” he hissed, his hands turning into fists.
“What did you say?”
He stopped, squeezed his eyes shut, and sighed. “Nothing.”
“No, I heard you. You said ‘shasta.’ That’s not even a word.”
“I know.”
There was a long pause and then, “I heard Mal say that.”
“What?”
“She dropped mustard on her pants at lunch and said that. She said she makes up swear words all the time instead of actually swearing. It was the funniest thing I’d ever heard.”