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“While she was unpacking your house?”
He shrugs. “We talk about how to organize my books, where to put the pots and pans, then maybe the conversation turns to Charlie.”
He still has yet to look at me.
“You’re really stuck on her, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” He nods.
I feel for the guy. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll talk to Kylie and see if she will talk to Charlie. See if she’s interested.”
Now his eyes come back to me. “You’d do that?”
I slap my hand against his shoulder, suddenly feeling generous in my relief. “Of course. What are brothers for?”
“Thank you.” He takes my hand in his massive one, pumping it up and down. “Thank you very much.”
“Don’t mention it. Welcome to the family.”
I go to the bar to get Kylie a glass of ice water that she’ll need after all this dancing. She finds me and I hand it to her.
“Oh God, thank you!” She takes a long sip of the cold water.
“The Beast has a favor to ask you,” I say.
She nods. “I know. I’m helping him unpack in the morning. He said has no idea where things go.”
“No,” I say. “You’re not.”
She gives me a sweet smile. “You are welcome to come and chaperone,” she says.
“No, I mean, he doesn’t really need you.”
“Oh,” she says. “What did he want?”
“He wanted to talk to you about Charlie,” I say.
Her eyes go wide. “Charlie? See, I told you! Did you see the way she was staring at him in the rose garden?”
“Apparently the same way he was staring at her when she stepped off the jet this morning.”
Kylie’s freshly manicured fingers, the black replaced with a bright red to match her dress, flutter over her heart. “That’s sooo sweet. Could it be a love connection?”
Obviously, I’m terrible with this stuff. I’ve spent the past decade alone. I shrug. “How would I know?”
“I’ll go talk to Charlie and see what she thinks.” She hands me the water glass. “Here. Hold this.”
I take the glass. “And I’ll stand here. Alone.”
She shoots me an apologetic look. “When I get back, it’s just me and you the rest of the night. Promise.” She kisses my cheek and hurries over to Charlie.
I watch the women talk to one another in hushed whispers until I’m distracted by a ding from my phone. I slip it from my pocket, glancing down at the screen. It’s a call from Booker.
I take it. “Booker. What’s up? Everything good there?”
His thick accent comes through the other line. “Hey, boss. Everything’s fine here but I’ve got an interesting bit of news for you. I didn’t want to interrupt you, but I knew you’d want to know right away.”
I turn my back to the crowd, facing the wall for privacy. “What is it?”
