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He looked vaguely queasy at the notion. “I’ll need a drink,” Gray said, glancing desperately at the bar.
He walked away and Sophie dug her nails into her sister’s arm. “You seem to have neglected to mention that the double date was tonight.”
Brynn’s pale blue eyes pleaded with her. “A tiny omission, and only because I knew you’d say no. Please? I just thought that maybe he might loosen up a bit more around you and Will. When it’s just the two of us, he’s always so…guarded.”
Sophie didn’t have the heart to tell Brynn that “guarded” was simply who Gray was. Barbara Walters could take a shot at him and he wouldn’t crack.
“Where’s Will?” Gray asked, returning to the table with a beer.
“Oh, you know…he’s over there,” Sophie said, waving her hand over her shoulder.
She winced as Gray’s eyes found her “date.” She didn’t have to turn around to know that her best friend probably had his hand on some twenty-year-old’s thigh.
“I probably should have told you that Sophie and Will aren’t exactly together,” Brynn said hurriedly.
“I know. Sophie already told me.”
Brynn’s head snapped back slightly and her forehead showed the briefest ripple before resuming its usual smooth perfection.
Sophie felt a wince of sympathy for her sister. Gray was a workaholic, which meant that no matter how many flowers Brynn received, Sophie was still the one who would be spending more time with him. Not a fact that control-freak Brynn would take kindly to.
Still, Sophie’s sympathy had limits. After all, this entire mess was Brynn’s own fault. If she hadn’t gone meddling in Sophie’s unemployment status, then they wouldn’t be in this awkward situation.
Sophie noticed that Brynn had barely touched her second glass of champagne, and was pressing her fingers into her temple. Apparently her little headache wasn’t so little.
“Are you all right?” Gray asked, putting a hand gently on Brynn’s shoulder.
Brynn gave a pathetic excuse for a smile and shook her head. “Just a sinus headache or something. I’m thinking maybe you all were right. This wasn’t my best idea.”
“You think?” Sophie said under her breath.
“I’m sorry about this,” Brynn said weakly. “Maybe we should call it a night?”
Sophie glanced at her almost-full gin and tonic. “You guys go ahead. I’ll stay and finish my drink. Plus I’ll need to be Will’s second if one of those girls’ daddies comes after him with a shotgun.”
“Let’s get you into a cab,” Gray said to Brynn, helping her to her feet. “You shouldn’t be driving if your headache’s that bad.”
“You don’t have your car?” she asked.
Gray shook his head. “I walked. I only live two blocks away.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize,” Brynn murmured before shooting a nervous glance at Sophie.
Sophie pretended fascination with the football game on TV, trying not to react to what Brynn had just given away.
Brynn doesn’t know where he lives. She’s never been to his house. Never been in his bed…
Still, it didn’t necessarily mean what Sophie hoped it meant. Could be that they’d only done the nasty at Brynn’s town house.
Brynn’s eyes fell on Gray’s untouched drink. “You know, why don’t you stay?” she said in her bossiest voice. “You haven’t even had a chance to drink your beer.”
“At least let me get you into the cab,” he said stiffly.
Will materialized out of nowhere. “I’ll drive her home.”
Brynn sneered. “If you think I’m going to climb into your little identity crisis of a car, you’re insane. I’ll probably get an STD just from touching the seat belt.”
“Yeah, because a cab is such a better option to avoid nasty diseases,” Will said as he plucked Brynn’s coat from the back of her chair. “C’mon, it’ll give you a chance to critique my driving, and I know how turned on you get by nagging.”
