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He was there in a blink, his blond hair a perfect match for mine as he pulled up a seat and immediately started on the baked goods. He was so distracted it took him a solid two minutes to look over at me and notice the dress.
His brows rose, and he stopped eating long enough to ask, “You have a date today?”
A shard of protectiveness lingered under his tone and I sighed, nudging his arm gently. “No and even if I did, you wouldn’t be scaring them within an inch of their life. I went to a housewarming party for my friend Kimberley.”
He relaxed, nodding. “Fair enough, and no matter how old we get, I’m always going to threaten your potential partners. At least, I will if they give me a bad vibe. You did the same thing to my last failed attempt at dating, so you have no room to speak.”
Honestly, that was fair. The last woman he’d brought to meet me was a piece of work, though, and I hadn’t hesitated to escort her right out the door.
“Good point, but there is no date so you can be at ease with that.” A tinge of bitterness lingered in my tone and he frowned, his worry inching forward.
“Did you want there to be a date?”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Talking about this with him wasn’t comfortable, but it also wasn’t agonizing. I wouldn’t tell him I was interested in William of course; the two were best friends themselves and that’d make this too many flavors of awkward, but I could at least say some of it.
“Sort of? It felt nice to be seen as a woman, and Kimberley said a lot of guys at the party were asking about me, but the one I actually wanted to make a move, didn’t.”
I hesitated, then corrected. “Well, he did. He growled at another guy who danced with me and kissed me-.”
Devin was out of his chair and bristling before the last word fell from my lips. “Some schmuck kissed you at that party?”
I should have seen that coming. Clamping a hand to his shoulder, I pushed him back into his seat and nodded. “Yes, but it wasn’t like I fought him off. I wanted the kiss.”
And I had, but I’d also wanted more than it, which was where things got prickly.
Devin sat down reluctantly, still scowling. “Then why don’t you look happy?”
If I worded this wrong, he’d be going on a crusade to murder his best friend, so I chose my response very carefully.
“Because after the kiss he said it wasn’t a good idea to let it go further. He doesn’t do relationships and it’s well known that I do.”
That was at least part of it. He’d also been worried about our respective siblings and their opinions. He and Devin had been friends as long as Alice and I had been, so to a point, I could understand that.
If he’d actually been the sort for commitment though, we could have worked through that.
Shaking the thought to the side, I focused on Devin as he growled. “While I’ll give him props for backing off when he should, he still acted possessive over you without a right and kissed you despite apparently knowing it wasn’t going anywhere. Who was this guy anyway?”
Yeah, there was no chance I was telling him that.
“No one you need to worry about. The entire situation was put to bed, and I made sure he understood how much I didn’t appreciate him trying to control my choices. He apologized afterward.”
Devin smirked, approval clear. “Good, you shouldn’t let anyone walk over you, least of all some schmuck who is just after a quick screw.”
It was almost funny, listening to him insult his friend unknowingly.
“On a better note, I had a blast, and the dress is nice,” I said, changing the subject. He looked me over again and nodded, offering a smile.
“You do look nice, and I’m glad you had fun. You deserve more time for yourself.” Then he glanced at my calendar on the wall, which was nearly packed with meetings. “Do you need any help with the clinic tomorrow? I have the day off.”
Affection warmed me throughout, and I shook my head. “No, but thank you. You should spend your days off relaxing.”
He shrugged, “It’s not like doing stuff around the clinic is a hardship; besides, you pay me in baked goods.” A yawn broke the last half of his sentence and I laughed.
“Go to bed already. You’re practically sleeping on your feet.”
He looked out the window and grimaced. “It’s barely dark out, and I’m tired. I feel so old.”
Still, he got up dutifully, moving for his room with a grunt. “Good night.”
