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A person like me who might decide to invest in a team could make a massive difference. No doubt, they hoped my interest in Daniel could be converted to an interest in the team as a whole.
Daniel was one of the first players to appear, and he came straight over to me as if he knew I would be here.
“Good, you’re digging in to the grub. You’ve always looked like you need it.”
“I need a better fitness instructor to give me more muscle, not more food,” I shot back.
There was more banter as more players arrived, and as Jason had promised, I was introduced to everyone. There were too many names for me to remember, but I knew a few of the players by name even if I hadn’t met them. I prided myself in doing a good job of remembering who people were, but this was beyond me.
Still, they were all decent guys, but they also had much to talk about themselves. After I ignored a few not-so-subtle hints that I might be interested in being a bigger part of the team, no doubt to hand my money over, they left me to talk to Daniel without much bother.
We ended up sitting by one of the windows, plates on our laps as we nibbled at food, everyone else leaving us to it.
“So…why are you really here, Lukas?” Daniel asked, keeping his voice down.
“I wanted to finally see you.”
“That I can believe on one level. But why now? You mentioned needing a distraction. What from? You love your work, that much I know. And you seem well enough. Every time it goes quiet, your mind goes somewhere else. Like something haunts you.”
I sat back a little, losing interest in the food on my plate. I hadn’t mentioned Kit, I was pretty sure of it, and it was time to come clean.
“While I was at Jack’s wedding, I met this woman.”
“Ah, the female problem. Tell me everything you know about her and everything that happened.”
While we finished eating, I told him the entire course of events on the island, but I left out that I’d slept with her.
“She sounds wonderful. Friendly, interested, and not so after you all the time and unable to do her own thing that she’d smother you. Did you get her number?”
I shook my head, surprised at Daniel’s appraisal of her. “She was also the one who made the suggestions I gave you on the way there.”
“So she’s smart too. Have you lost your mind? Why didn’t you get her phone number or an email or something? She sounds perfect for you.”
“There were…red flags, I guess.” I shrugged, surprised and hoping that Daniel would have seen them in the story I gave him.
“Sounds to me like she was a little confused by your behavior. You blew hot and cold.”
This made me frown more. I knew I hadn’t been fully enthusiastic, and in the end, I had been incredibly negative. What was he trying to suggest about the rest?
“Are you upset because you blew it and won’t get another chance, or some other reason I don’t understand? Because I’m not sure what else to say.” Daniel crossed his arms, almost as if he was angry at me, and I threw my hands up.
Affairs of the heart were complicated. And the truth was that I actually didn’t know the answer to the questions he was asking me. How did I feel?
“I will get another chance. Maybe. She is going to be the interior designer for a project I said I would work on.”
Daniel lifted an eyebrow but didn’t look any less confused or exasperated with me.
“I think I’m worried that she was manipulating me. Trying to get something from me she didn’t have.”
“And some women are going to do that. For sure. But if you start out assuming that about everyone you meet, you will see manipulation everywhere. All actions could be misconstrued as manipulative if you fear it enough. Someone could say that me sitting here and listening to you is manipulation. I want you to like me, and I want you to invest in my career. But the truth is, you’re a good friend, and I hope I’m a good person.”
I exhaled, some of the emotion leaving me with it. Was I being paranoid?
Daniel finally relaxed and leaned forward. He placed a hand on mine. “I know you were hurt in the past, but this girl is someone entirely new. And she has friends you know you can trust who have known her a long time. All those are indicators she’s genuine, not fake. Give her a chance if you like her enough to be this upset. Work with her and see how she treats people. It honestly sounds like the perfect way to find out what she’s like before you’re in any deeper.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling better than I had in a long time. I didn’t know exactly what it was about Daniel talking, but he’d hit on an element that Henry hadn’t. Working with Kit was the best way to find out what she was truly like and know if my fears were just that—fears.
CHAPTER THIRTY
