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“Was he short with you?”
“A little, but I wasn’t worried about it. It almost seemed like an overkill apology.”
“What else?”
“I feel like he makes assumptions. We’re not in a committed relationship, but he almost acts as if we are.”
“How?”
“There was one night when I didn’t expect him to be in town, but he came back early. He called from the airport and didn’t so much ask me to have dinner with him as tell me when he was picking me up.”
“That could be a little bit of a red flag.”
“And then it turned out to be a double date with another couple—friends of his. I didn’t know until we got to the restaurant and they were there waiting.”
“That sounds like something my mom would do. Invite me over and not tell me it’s a dinner party with other people.”
“So it’s not just me? That would have bothered you too?”
“That definitely would have made me uncomfortable.”
I pulled the throw blanket higher up my lap and reached over to pet Max between the ears. “The evening got cut short because of Zachary, so I don’t know how it would have turned out. Maybe Preston would have realized he’d forgotten to tell me it was a double date. He’s very busy, traveling back and forth from here to Seattle all the time.”
“But you can’t ignore that it happened, either.”
“No. Just because I really want to meet the perfect man, and he seems like it on the outside, doesn’t mean he is.”
“What does he do for a living?”
“He’s a lawyer.”
“I guess that kind of makes sense. Lawyers can make good money.”
“What do you mean?”
She brushed her hair back off her face. “It’s just something Annika brought up. We were wondering where his money comes from. You haven’t said straight up that he’s wealthy, but he sure acts like he’s rich. Most people can’t afford a private helicopter. And apparently the mansion he’s building is no joke.”
I’d been trying not to think about Preston’s money. I wanted to be infatuated with him, not his wallet. Admittedly, with my present financial circumstances, I’d have been lying if I said a man with money didn’t appeal to me. Who wouldn’t be at least a little bit drawn to the security of wealth? I wasn’t immune to that.
But did his job explain his extravagant lifestyle?
“Maybe he’s the type of lawyer who makes mansion and private helicopter money,” I said.
“He might be.”
“You don’t sound very confident.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I think he’s lying. But Annika and I are your friends. We can’t help but worry about you.”
“I know you do.” I leaned back and Max let out a doggie grunt, so I started petting him again. “I think I could figure out how I feel about Preston if Zachary wasn’t making things complicated.”
“Because you like him.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but stopped. She was right. “I shouldn’t like him. Audrey, I’m the stupidest of stupid girls. I’ve had a crush on him for so long, I don’t even know when it started. And he’s never, ever been interested in me. Why do I want a guy who’s been ignoring me since high school?”
“What is that about, anyway? He told me he did something to hurt you, but he didn’t say what.”
Closing my eyes, I rubbed my forehead. It was a painful memory, but I had no reason to keep it a secret from Audrey. She’d probably hear the story eventually anyway.
