I didn’t like his tone. It was steeped in judgement, almost teasing, like he couldn’t believe she had a man in her life.
Blakely glanced up at me, defeat stamped all over her face. Then she took in a breath and faced the screen. “He’s not—”
“Of course I’m coming to the party tomorrow night. Blakely’s been talking about it for weeks.” I picked up a castoff newspaper from the counter and held it over my crotch as I stepped behind her. There were two men on the screen. I could tell the one on the left was the asshole who’d been speaking based on the way his eyes narrowed when he saw me. “Sorry gentlemen. My naughty little elf should have told me she was on a video call this morning.”
She sat ramrod straight, her spine like a steel pole. “Don’t you have that thing tomorrow night?”
She was giving me an out. But I hated it when someone with snap judgement and a snide attitude got to come out ahead. So instead of taking it, I rested my hand on the back of her chair and leaned down. “I canceled. Nothing’s more important than you, sugar plum.”
“You’d better go get ready for that meeting you have later.” She drew in a breath through her nose.
“You’re right. I don’t want to be late. Gentlemen, hopefully I’ll see you both tomorrow.” I doubted the asshole on the call could tell I was using the term “gentlemen” loosely. Smiling, I leaned over, pressed a quick kiss to Blakely’s cheek, and stepped out of the frame.
Blakely wrapped up the call. She sounded normal, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. Not wanting to go toe-to-toe with her in my underwear, I took my coffee back to the bedroom to throw on some clothes.
“What the hell was that?” She burst through the doorway, not bothering to knock.
I’d already pulled on a pair of jeans and turned to face her, a shirt in my hands. “I didn’t like the way that guy talked to you. Like he couldn’t believe you’d have a boyfriend or something. Isn’t that something you should report to HR?”
Her glare softened, and she glanced at the floor. “He is HR. His family owns the company. That other guy on the call was his brother and my boss.”
“He sounded like a real dick.”
Her gaze traveled over my pecs while her cheeks pinked. “Do you have something against shirts?”
“Sorry.” I tugged my shirt on and smoothed it out over my abs.
“He is a dick.” Her eyes closed, and she put both hands on her cheeks. “And my ex.”
A million thoughts slammed into my head. First off, her company culture was fucked up. Second, had I just screwed her over with her boss? Third, hell, too many thoughts competed for third. I needed to start at the top and work through them one by one.
“I’m sorry. I was trying to help.”
“Helping would have been not walking behind me while I was on a video call.”
She was right, but I still needed to defend myself. “You said you were leaving early. I didn’t expect to find you filming in the kitchen.”
“They moved up our meeting, so I had to take it from home.” Her arms fell back to her side. “If I’d have known you’d come dancing through my kitchen in your underwear, I would have taken a seat on the other side of the table.”
“Truce?” I held out my hand, hoping she’d take it as the peace offering I intended.
She slid her palm against mine, and a jolt of awareness rocketed through me. With curves that could bring a man to his knees and gorgeous blue-green eyes the same color as the ocean off the coast of South Padre, the woman was a complete knockout.
“What would you think about making a deal?” she asked. Her teeth worried at her bottom lip.
The hint of vulnerability brought out my protective side. I didn’t know anything about her beyond the fact she was Gloria’s roommate and had horrible taste in men. Still, something inside me wanted to be her knight in shining armor. At least for a day or two. “Let me guess. You want me to go to your company party with you tomorrow night?”
“You’re the one who mentioned it.” She pulled her hand away, a tiny hint of hurt in her tone.
“Yeah, I did.” I didn’t have anyone to blame but myself for that one. “Sure. I’d love to go and meet your asshat ex and his brother face to face.”
She rolled her eyes and glanced up at me through long, dark lashes. “Thank you. If you want to stay here while you’re in town, I guess we can consider it a trade.”
Warning bells went off in my head. I should retreat, find a cheap motel room and put as much distance between me and the curvy brunette as quickly as possible.
But the look in her eyes tugged at something deep down in my gut. I wanted to protect her, to make her feel safe, to see the look on Asshat’s face when she showed up with someone on her arm to that party, even if that someone was only me.
So instead of giving into the urge to flee, I nodded, sealing the deal. “Sounds good to me.”