I didn’t want to watch Clara lure in Dean. She’d do it easily enough. I had faith in her abilities. So, I turned and headed into the kitchen with Mrs. Jo. She was fussing with her roses and smiling brightly. When she saw me, she beamed brighter.
“Did you give Dean a party hat?” she asked, as if that were something he would actually put on his head.
“He’s Dean Finlay,” I said, as if that explained everything.
Mrs. Jo shrugged. “Doesn’t mean he wants to be left out.”
I wasn’t going to argue this with her. I just let it go.
Making myself busy with getting the party plates and the plastic forks I had brought, I almost didn’t think about Clara in the other room, flirting with Dean. Almost.
He was definitely her type. She liked them rich and older. Dean would be her holy grail. The thought made my stomach twist, and I didn’t want to feel anything at all when it came to him. I heard Clara laugh. It was her sexycome and get melaugh. She was my best friend, but the sound made me roll my eyes.
Yep, I needed to go on that date with Gavin. If I could get another man in my head, that would be great.
Mrs. Jo took a party hat from the bag and walked back to the living room with it. The idea of Dean wearing the hat made me smile, even as Clara laughed again. I didn’t think Dean was particularly funny. Why was she laughing so much?
I turned to walk to the fridge to get out the sweet tea I knew was in there. Dean was standing in the doorway, watching me. I was surprised he was alone and that Clara wasn’t hanging on his arm. The party hat sat proudly on his head, and this time, I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. Clara’s laughter now made sense.
“What?” he asked me with a crooked grin on his face. “Not a good look for me?”
I managed to stifle my giggle and shook my head. “No. I think it works on you.”
He smirked then. “Of course it does.”
I studied him a minute, then looked at the roses. “How did you know about her love for pink roses?” I asked him.
“I asked her.”
I swung my gaze back to his. “You asked her?” I repeated, letting that sink in.
I had this image of Dean Finlay in my head. One I’d had for a very long time. When Dean did things like this, it made it more difficult for me to hold on to that image.
“Of course I did. She mentioned how happy she was to be moved in before her birthday and that you always made her a cake and threw her a party. She invited me to the party, and I said I’d come only if she told me her favorite flower.”
Mrs. Jo had known he was coming. That sneak hadn’t said a word.
“They’re stunning roses. I’ve never seen any that shade of pink before,” I told him.
He shrugged. “Being me has its advantages.”
I was sure it hadallthe advantages.
“There you are,” Clara said brightly as she brushed by Dean and entered the kitchen.
She was beaming her gorgeous pearly-white smile, and I wasn’t sure if it was me she was talking to or Dean. My guess was Dean, but she had wanted it to seem as if she had been looking to find me.
The doorbell rang, and I had my excuse to get away from Clara’s next flirtation with Dean.
“That is probably the Thai food,” I said and stepped around Dean to head to the door.
Damar and Jim always paid for the Thai food, and I made the cake every year. However, I wanted to get out of the kitchen, and this was my chance.
Damar was already at the door, paying the delivery boy for the food, while Jim headed toward me with the bags.
Great, we’re going back to the kitchen now. I just got away from those two.
“God, I love the way this smells. Damar never wants to order Thai. This is the one time of year I get to have pad Thai, and I relish every moment,” Jim said.