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“Why not?” I asked.
“Because he’s a pain in the ass, and I want to quit. But I won’t.” She straightened. “Because I’m aprofessional, and his daughter is freaking adorable.”
“Who is it?” I asked, my curiosity growing.
“I’m not supposed to say, but…” She lowered her voice. “I’m sure you’ll find out anyway since it’s Nate.”
“Knox’s brother, Nate?” I asked, surprised.
“One and the same.”
“I’ve only interacted with him a few times, but he always seemed nice.”
“Yeah, well—” She huffed and downed some of her drink. “Maybe to you.”
I arched an eyebrow. “What does that mean?” When she didn’t answer, I prodded. “Does it have something to do with him being your celebrity crush?”
“He’snotmy crush,” she insisted, though her pink cheeks said otherwise.
“Um.” I held up a finger. “Pretty sure he spent the last five years in the top three of your celebrity fuck-it list.”
She leaned closer. “Maybe he was before, but he isn’t anymore. And if you ever tell him or Knox that…” She ground her jaw.
“Okay. Okay.” I held up my hands. “Wow.”
“I’m sorry,” she huffed. “It was alongday. But hopefully I won’t have to interact with him as much going forward.”
“Mm-hmm.” I had a feeling her opinion on that would change. At least I hoped so. “Which appetizer do you want?”
She closed her menu with a huff, setting it on the table as the waiter arrived. “We’ll take the shrimp, please.”
“Absolutely,” he said and then disappeared again after taking the rest of our order.
“How crazy is it that we were placed with brothers?” she asked.
“Well, they both have money, and businesses like Hartwell thrive off personal recommendations.”
“Yes, but I guess it’s got me thinking about brothers.”
Where was she going with this?
“How cool would it be if we married into the same family?”
I grinned, loving the sound of it. “Then we’d legit be family.”
“We alreadyarefamily,” she teased. But then she started laughing, clutching her stomach as her eyes watered. “Oh my god.”
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just—” She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, let alone speak. She held up a hand. “I’m sorry.” And then she burst out laughing again.
“Come on, Emmy.” My face broke into a smile. I didn’t know what was so funny, but her laughter was infectious. “Tell me.”
“Well—” She covered her mouth with her hand. Then she schooled her features into a neutral expression, or tried to anyway. “If you married Knox, you’d be Jude’s stepmom. Your ex—” she dissolved into a fit of giggles “—would be your stepson.”
My stomach soured, even as the waiter delivered our appetizer then left. “First of all…” I held a hand to my stomach. “Gross. And secondly, Knox and I aren’t getting married.”
I knew she was joking. But the fact that it was so wildly unrealistic hurt.
