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I poundedup the porch’s wooden steps in exasperation, threw open the door, and scrambled up the stairs. Hawk and Adelie laughed about something behind me as I stepped into the room Addie and I were sharing, and just before I closed the door, Addie entered, her eyes sunny with mirth.
I hurriedly closed the door and rounded on her.
“What are you doing? Don’t encourage him.”
Her bemusement didn’t fade. “You never get this bent out of shape over a guy. He likes you.”
A fist closed around my stomach. “Please. He’s just a wealthy player looking for his next hookup.”
“I don’t think so.”
I looked at her. “Doyoulike him? Is that why you’re stabbing me in the back like this?”
Adelie laughed. “I’m not stabbing you in the back. I was being nice. You might try it sometime.”
“I am nice.”
“Not to Hawk.”
That wasn’t the point.
“You like him,” I said, turning this back on her. “Admit it.”
Adelie shook her head. “You know if I liked him, I’d never dare look in his direction, right?”
That was true. That had happened too many times to count. Like Ross Cooper in high school who’d tried getting her to go out with him. He’d been performing in a play she was working as stage crew for, and when she caught wind of his interest, she’d hidden in the rafters every evening until he’d left.
She was acting extremely comfortably with Hawk. She hadn’t even blushed when I’d accused her of liking him.
She was only this comfortable with her friends.
Didn’t she get that he was the enemy?
“I just wanted to show you he’s nice and easy to be around.”
First Adrian and Gabby, now Adelie? I groaned and dug my dress out of my suitcase. “Don’t tell me you’re buddying up to him for my sake.”
“What if I am?”
“I don’t want a relationship, Addie. You’ve seen my family.”
She clasped her hands in front of her. Sympathy cloaked her expression. “I know.”
I slipped out of my jeans and shirt and strung my arm through the sleeve before sliding the dress onover my head. Gabby had offered a selection of coordinating dresses for us to choose from, all in shades of soft neutral browns and creams. I’d selected the one-shoulder maxi dress because I knew the fabric wouldn’t wrinkle easily.
The dress hung on my slim frame and was comfortable, yet stylish, too. Adelie had opted for one of the frillier options, which fit her more flowery personality. It was a lighter shade of brown than mine and had an accentuated bustline and delicate fabric hanging from her shoulders rather than an actual sleeve.
“I just think there’s more to him than he’s letting on,” Adelie said, folding up her pants and setting them nicely on her side of the bed.
I kicked past my jeans, which were still on the floor, on my way to the mirror.
“Like what?”
“Like he’s the wealthy owner of a company, and maybe that makes it hard for him to make friends. Maybe he’s lonely.”
I concentrated on twisting my mahogany hair around the back of my head. “He has friends. He has Adrian, at least. And the attention he was paying me on the plane wasn’t from loneliness. The cocky guy had been flat-out flirting with me.”
“Maybe so.”
