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“I see.”
“And when I told Jasmine that Mark and Emily had booked a room at the inn for the wedding,” she explained further, “she talked about them a bit, how Liam and Mark had met in grad school, and that Emily worked at that non-profit. I think Jasmine only said that you had gone to college up in Buffalo with Liam.”
He nodded, still contemplating the menu, while the two guys in front of them had finished ordering finally but now waited on Aiden to deliver their coffee and food.
“I was just wondering,” Alec went on, again with apparent indifference, “if you didn’t advance conversation with me at dinner last night because you were a little miffed about the way I expressed my concern about the speed at which this wedding came about?”
Oh. Well, yeah, there was that.
“To be honest, yeah,” Maren said, seeing no reason to lie about it, “that might have had something to do with it—but I will qualify that response with I have since learned you are not a bad guy.”
“Not the jerk you originally thought?”
If she recalled correctly, she had actually and specifically thought him a jerk, so she couldn’t very well lie and say she hadn’t. She chose instead to evade a direct answer. “You have been wonderfully helpful and for that, I really am grateful.” When he only nodded at this, Maren pursued hesitantly, “Do you...want to tell me about yourself?”
Alec turned his mesmerizing blue eyes upon her. “Do you want to know about me?”
While she already suspected that he was a forthright person, she hadn’t expected to be put on the spot like that. It seemed to be a fully loaded question. She knew the answer, but hesitated, recalling that he lived in Austin and was here for a only a few days, so what was the point?
For lack of any other way to respond—and then being saved by Aiden becoming available to them as those two big guys moved away with their purchases—Maren smiled brightly at Alec. “I’d be frappe to know you.”
“Hey, that’s my line,” said Aiden, who waited with one hand laying over the top of the cash system.
***
He didn’t quite get his question answered. At least not to his satisfaction.
It had only been a couple of days, but he knew he was nagged and goaded by an intense desire to know more abouther. So, yeah, basically, he’d put out a fairly transparent feeler, wanting to know if he was the only one who felt this way. Thespeed at which he found himself captivated by Maren took him by surprise, and really had him eager to meet Jasmine. If he discovered that Maren’s friend was also beautiful inside and out, was possessed of hypnotic eyes and a vibrant charm, handled stressful situations with poise and confidence, and could melt a guy with little more than a smile, then he might understand Liam’s desire—or his lack of resistance—to get married so soon after meeting.
Upon their return to the inn, Alec excused himself to take a phone call from his mother, seeking privacy upstairs in his room, and then found that there were several work emails that required quite a bit of his time and attention. By the time he returned downstairs, the trapped-indoors group was already gathered in the parlor. He was glad he hadn’t changed for dinner as no one seemed to have fussed. Blizzards did that, made things really casual, really fast.
Rachel was present now but looked a bit sullen sitting on the antique wood-framed sofa. Emily and Mrs. Adamczyk sat there as well, side-by-side, looking at Emily’s phone, presumably at photos, while Mark and Dan discussed the Buffalo Bill’s latest season, sitting in the two matching arm chairs.
Alec found Hal returned and pouring himself a drink from the bar server.
They exchanged greetings and Alec asked, “How’s it out there now?”
“It’s better than yesterday is all I can say,” said Hal practically.
“Liam texted me,” Alec said, making himself a gin and tonic, which would likely prove very pedestrian after that martini of the last two nights, “and said they’re not too optimistic, but will hold off until tomorrow about officially postponing the wedding.”
Hal nodded. “Yeah, Jasmine just called her mother,” he said, pointing his drink in Mrs. Adamczyk’s direction, “and said the same thing. Poor kids.”
The swinging door to the dining room slowly pushed open. Alec caught it when it was wide enough for Maren to come through but before it would have bumped into Hal, possibly causing him to spill his drink.
“Oh, thanks,” said Maren as she entered with a tray in hand. She offered up the tray to Alec.
On a linen cloth sat a dozen little ovals of bread, spread with some white sauce, topped with thinly shaved beef, and garnished with chopped chives.
Hal wasn’t shy and reached for one before Alec would have.
With a straight face, Maren lightly slapped his hand away. “Guests first,” she said and smiled beautifully at the older man.
“I’m a guest,” countered Hal, unperturbed by her actions.
“You’re my friend,” Maren corrected, “and you didn’t walk with me to fetch the crostini.”
Grinning, Alec lifted his hand, and was surprised to have it smacked away as well before he’d claimed one of the mouthwatering appetizers. Curiously, his smile only increased as he met Maren’s gaze, looking for an explanation.
