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Having a suspicion of what they wanted to talk about, Hank said, “Sure, Jack.”
He laid his hand on Veronica’s in her lap and said, “We’ll be right back.”
She nodded, seeming like she was doing okay, but she watched them as they moved toward the other end of the bar, by the front door.
Jack said, “We were watching you with Veronica at the reception. Seems like there’s more than a casual interest between the two of you and her.”
While Hank could understand Jack’s concern, he wasn’t about to submit to a grilling. “There is definite interest, Jack.”
Ethan leaned in and said, “You know she’s here for a limited time, right?”
“We haven’t discussed it yet. How long?”
“She hasn’t decided yet, last I heard. She could leave next week, or she may stay through Christmas.”
“I guess our new goal then is getting her to stay until Christmas.”
Adam lifted his eyebrows. “You’re that interested? What then?”
Hank knew he’d be asking the same questions if he was in their boots so he didn’t get riled. “Last I looked, she was a grown woman capable of making her own choices.”
Jack put his hands up. “All we want to know is whether your intentions are honorable. She’s shy, Hank, and…she seems fragile, too. This has been more work than vacation for her, judging by the way the lights burn at the old foreman’s house all night long.”
Hank nodded. “She told us she keeps odd hours when she’s working.”
Ethan looked him in the eye and said, “We know how Grace gets when she’s on a deadline, so we thought talking to you was a good idea. I know it may go against your nature, Hank, but don’t push her too much about her hours. If you don’t let her get her work done, it’s only going to create more tension for her, and she already seems tense enough. And Jack’s right—she’s pretty shy. I’m—we’re just worried about her getting hurt.”
Hank shook his head. “Guys, Travis and I don’t want a hookup with her. Remember how you felt about Grace? You wanted to take care of her, right?”
“Hell, yeah,” Adam said.
“It’s the same for us.”
Jack smiled, “So you’re thinking about building something with her while she’s here? Something that might convince her to stay or make a change of address? I heard her tell Grace that she can work from anywhere as long as she has strong Internet.”
That was an encouraging piece of news.
He glanced over at Veronica and gestured with his chin for Travis to look, too. She was distracted from her cell phone by a couple of guys who tried to woo her onto the dance floor but she smiled shyly and turned them both down.
Hank noticed the slight frown on her face as she watched the dance floor, eyeing it like it was her enemy before she put her phone away and went back to her conversation with the girls. He wanted to dance with her something fierce. Feel her gorgeous curves pressed up against him. Just the thought made him feel warm. The sensation was only partly sexual, which got his attention. He could picture himself dancing with that woman for many years, and seasons, to come.
Jack turned to Travis, speaking over the noise of the nightclub as the next song began. “What about you, Trav? You mentioned the other day that you were looking into another career opportunity—one that might take you right back out of Divine.”
Travis shrugged. “Until I know whether I’m in the running for the job, I can’t say.”
“If you hang around long enough to make her fall in love with you, and leave her, I swear to God, Trav, I will hunt you down and kick your ass,” Adam said, not even a tiny hint of humor in his pale-green eyes. “I’m serious. Man, you’ve been my friend a long time, but if you do that to her…”
Travis held up a hand. “We don’t even know for sure if she’s interested in us that way, Adam. Calm down. We’ve only spent a few hours with her. I’m open to the possibilities but she needs to be, too. All we’ve talked about was helping her with ménage research—”
Adam geared up to respond to that news and Hank chuckled. Seeing one of his oldest friends so up-in-arms over protecting their woman was heartening. He put a hand on Adam’s shoulder and said, “Adam, do we strike you as the love ’em and leave ’em type? Either of us?”
