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“It’s a party,” Dean says as if it should have been obvious. “Who misses a party?”
“Not us,” Shane backs him up.
“I don’t recall ever seeing you at office parties before,” I point out.
“That’s because we didn’t know you’d be there.”
Dean’s response floors me and touches my heart, making me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I’m so glad that my walking out on them didn’t change the way they feel about me. I wasn’t sure if our connection had been strong enough to last even a few days let alone a week.
My eyes burn and my nose tingles and I have to cast my gaze to the floor to chase away the tear that threatens. I refuse to be a sorry sap in front of them or anyone.
“Did you tell her?” Shane asks Niles, and we all look to him as if to confirm.
He nods. “Of course.”
“What did she say?” Dean asks, and now all eyes are on me.
“She wanted to hear it from your mouths.”
I feel Niles’ hand on the small of my back, giving me the courage to say what I need to say.
Before I speak, though, I look around. “We should do this somewhere else.”
“Why? The music is loud enough. No one can hear.”
Dean makes sense, in normal circumstances. “Actually, we have a small audience,” I point out, witnessing a few lingering eyes from behind concealing masks.
“They might be curious about why you’re talking to three men,” Niles says, “but they can’t hear anything we say unless they get closer. Don’t worry about it.”
“I have to,” I argue. “I have it on good authority that there’s a group online where everything that goes down in this office is talked about. Apparently, Niles and his ‘mystery woman’ are a major topic of conversation lately. This”—I wave a hand between our small group—“is bound to help them make some key connections, and I don’t think any of us want that kind of attention, do we?”
They consider this, glancing around at everyone and then back to one another, communicating silently about how to move forward.
Niles presses the base of my spine more firmly and I start walking, following behind Shane and Dean toward the office space beyond the main lobby where we can have a quiet conversation without worrying about prying eyes and ears.
When we reach our destination—a large conference room just off the adjoining hallway where the music, laughter, and general chatter of the partygoers was dampened—we step inside and close the door, leaving only a small crack so we can hear anyone who may be coming.
Instantly, I feel vastly less exposed and much more relaxed.
Dean props his butt on the edge of the conference table, while Shane sits in one of the many chairs. I stand between them, with Niles at my back nearest the door. They watch me, as if waiting for me to go first.
I spread my hands before me in a helpless gesture. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“Let me.” Shane sighs. “I’m sorry for what I did. It was my idea, not theirs, so if there is anyone you should be mad at, it’s me, not them. In fact, if you decide you never want to see me again… I mean, I’d hate that. I really would. But I would understand. And I would step out of the way for you three to be together, if that’s what you want.”
I see the pain and regret in his eyes, and I think I believe him. He seems genuine.
“Now wait,” Dean speaks up. “I could let you go down with the ship all by yourself…and I’m tempted to do just that, but…well, I could have spoken up and I didn’t. This whole thing is just as much my fault as it is his.” He addresses me now, his eyes fixed and filled with the same regret I see in Shane’s eyes. “I hope you can forgive me too. None of us meant to hurt you in any way.”
“We were being selfish,” Niles adds. “And greedy and insensitive.” Dean and Shane are in agreement, nodding along. Niles continues, “And pigheaded, stubborn mules—”
“Hey!” Dean protests.
“Well? We were. None of us went after her, did we? We just watched her walk out the door without a peep.”
Well…when he put it that way, Niles is right. No one ran after me. A girl loves to be chased, after all. It makes her feel kinda special. “He has a point.” I brush my hair back over my shoulder, lips pursed and eyes downcast.
I don’t fool them for a second.
