X frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does to me. Besides, that’s why we have air conditioning.” She gave Britt a quick hug. “Have fun. I hope you find something beautiful to wear.”
It didn’t take a genius to deduce that Savannah was a bride-to-be, and Britt was involved in the wedding in some way. That explained her anxious expression, and why she was fidgeting with her shirt hem again.
She looked at Hunter. “I’ll see you later,” she said.
“Hold up, I’ll walk out with you.” He said goodbye to X and Maude, ignoring Maude’s giddy expression. She wasn’t exactly being subtle.
Fortunately, it wasn’t boiling hot outside as he and Britt left K&Bs and walked to their vehicles, but it was still May and soon the heat would crank up. He was parked a few spaces away from her compact car, and he walked to it with her. “You gonna be okay?”
She turned and nodded. “I’ve never shopped for a fancy dress before. I’m Savannah’s maid of honor.”
“I too have never shopped for a fancy dress.” He grinned and she smiled. “But I have worn a tux before.”
“Really? When?”
He stilled, wondering if he should tell her about his family.No, not at this juncture. If she found out his father was crazy rich, she’d wonder why he wasn’t working for him and why he was living with a roommate. Too much info too soon. “Prom,” he lied. He’d never been, although he’d had dates for every regular dance at every school he’d attended. Usually by prom time, though, he was either suspended or had been transferred to yet another school. By the start of his senior year, he gave up and got his GED.
“Oh, right,” she said. “I never went to prom.”
“You didn’t want to go?”
“No one asked me.” She quickly opened the door. “See you Monday,” she said, jumping inside.
Hunter waved as she sped off. He went to his bike, took the helmet out of the saddlebag, and put it on. If she would have told him even an hour ago that no one asked her to prom, he wouldn’t have believed her. But knowing she had crippling anxiety, it made sense. Even if she’d been asked, she probably would have said no. But to not even have had the chance...
He got on his bike and made himself a promise. Whatever he had to do to help her, he would—whether she gave him art lessons or not.
Chapter 11
“Okay, girl. I want details. Every single one.”
Amy raised an eyebrow and sipped her homemade virgin piña colada as she and Laura sat on her freshly weeded back patio. It had taken most of the day to conquer every single intruder. Britt would do a little weeding here and there, but once Amy attacked the job, she was determined to yank out every one of those suckers. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Laura set down her drink on the round patio table and twisted her body until she faced her. Her curly auburn hair was pushed off her forehead with a tortoiseshell headband, and she narrowed her blue eyes. “Supper Saturday night? With Max, the hottie?”
“How did you know he was hot?”
“Is he?”
“Yes... hold on a minute.” She scowled at Laura. “That was a trick.”
“Of course it was.” Laura gave her a triumphant grin. “But I knew he was good-looking. One of the perks of overseeing the Mingles is that I see all the signups. I also do a quick internet search to find out a little about them.”
“Isn’t that spying?”
“No. It’s gathering intel. And I don’t go deep. I check if they have a Facebook profile, then hop on LinkedIn to see if theyhave a presence there. If there are red flags, I might do an actual search. You can never be too careful these days.”
“True.” Hadn’t she warned Britt enough times about the dangers of interacting with strangers on the internet? “Any red flags with Max?”
“Nary a one.”
That was a relief. They’d closed down the coffee shop on Saturday night, and surprisingly, she’d been reluctant to leave. As soon as she walked through her door, she got a text from him.
I had a great time tonight. Maybe we can do it again.
She’d paused before answering. One evening with him hadn’t changed her mind about steering clear of romance. But there was nothing wrong with male companionship, was there?
