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“She’s pretty hot,” I said to indulge him and to distract myself from some dark thoughts.
“Please indulge us with a description of how hot she is,” Christine said with a laugh.
“Jasmine, you’ve seen her. Can you give them your honest opinion?” I asked with a laugh. I just wanted to finish eating my food without being asked about every detail.
“I won’t lie, she’s a pretty girl. She also looks tough as shit. She’s all tatted and fit. She’s exactly your type,” she said and looked at me.
“Now you know why she’s my date.” I went back to shoving another bite of crepe into my mouth.
Abby was different from any other woman I met. If she really did know martial arts, she was certainly a force to be reckoned with. That didn’t curb my need to make sure she was safe while vacationing here, but it helped calm my anxiety some.
“Are you going to invite her to the rehearsal dinner?” Christine asked.
“I don’t know. I planned on maybe visiting her today, to see if she wants to get a drink. I figured I’d spare her from the pressure of you guys until tomorrow.” I was half joking and half serious. We were all pretty intimidating, especially when we were together. Not to mention, there were so many inside jokes between the lot of us, I didn’t want her to feel left out.
“Invite her. I want to meet the girl version of you,” Garcia said with a curious twinkle in his eyes.
“I agree, let’s meet lady Strong,” Guy said as he looked up from his laptop screen. He took a sip of his coffee, and I saw him smirking over the rim.
“You too?” I asked him in an exasperated tone. Guy usually wasn’t a taunter.
“Hey, I’m cheering for you, don’t mistake my fun. I’m just really interested in what a female version of you is like,” Guy added.
“Why? Are you interested in dating me?” I teased at the same time Christine said, “I’ve got a dress that maybe we could squeeze him into. Would that count?” The group broke out into laughter. The comments kept coming, and soon the whole table was howling with laughter. I could barely catch my breath, and tears ran down my face from laughing for so long.
As if my thoughts had summoned her, I saw Abby walk into the dining area. She approached the buffet and seemed oblivious to my group sitting here. When her plate was full, she turned in our direction to look for a place to sit. I knew the moment she spotted me, because her eyes widened slightly in surprise. I waved to her and tipped back my head, motioning for her to come join us. She approached the group slowly, taking us all in. She used caution as if she was approaching a poisonous snake.
CHAPTERSEVEN
abby
Iloaded up my plate and looked on in amazement at the wide spread in front of me. While I was typically health conscious, more so than the normal person, I couldn’t resist the sugary smells that assaulted my nose.
Chocolate crepes, bacon, avocado toast, and fruit were piled on my plate. I was looking forward to finding a quiet place to sit and enjoy them. I hadn’t heard from Adam yet, but I’d give him a text after breakfast to see what he was up to for the day. I needed some time to figure out how to approach him and his group. Then I needed to figure out how to prove my trustworthiness so they’d bring me in on their plans. The problem was I needed them to let their guard down enough for me to catch glimpses of what was going on. To them I was a random tourist. They had no idea of our mutual connection or my employer—and it needed to stay that way. We may have separate missions, but they were linked. They’d take down a trafficking ring, and I’d take down a rogue FBI office, if they were in fact rogue. We needed each other to accomplish our goals; they just didn’t know it yet.
I was surprised when I scanned the dining area and found Adam sitting with his whole crew. He stared at me. He probably saw me the moment I entered the room. It was part of his training to be aware of his surroundings, and I cursed myself for not doing the same. I usually was, but I blamed the smell of the delicious food and the relaxed environment. It had my full attention from the moment I stepped off the elevator.
Adam motioned for me to join him. One by one, the heads of his friends turned in my direction, and I scanned the crowd as I tried to gauge their individual reactions to me. I took a few hesitant steps forward, and Adam pulled an empty chair from another table over to his.
“Abby, these are my friends. I apologize in advance for any barbaric statements they might make, especially this one,” Adam said with a smile. His head tilted in the direction of his friend who I recognized as Yates. If I remembered correctly, he was the one with the missing leg.
“You weren’t kidding,” Yates mumbled under his breath before he stood and extended his hand toward me. I balanced my tray in my left hand and then grabbed his hand with my free one.
Interesting, they’d been talking about me.Only good things, I hope.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said in what I hoped was a pleasant tone.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” a brunette said from the other side of the table. She had on a white shirt that said “bride” in glitter.
Christine Daniels.
“It’s nice to meet you, too. Congratulations, by the way,” I said and then nodded toward the word on her shirt.
“Thank you. Strong was telling us that he invited you to attend. I really hope to see you there. We’re having a rehearsal dinner tonight, too. I’m not sure if Adam had the chance to tell you about it yet, but I’d love it if you came,” Christine said with enthusiasm. I could tell it was completely authentic. Nothing about her words or tone were fake. What had Adam told them about me?
“I really appreciate that. You are very kind,” I told her.
“Don’t inflate her ego too much,” a good-looking guy said from beside her. I immediately recognized him as her soon-to-be husband, Jake Wells.
