Page 24 of Last Minute Fiancé

Yes I had always found him attractive. He had always done something to me, but he had been my friend first. And I hadn’t wanted to complicate that or ruin that friendship. It didn’t help that our lives were so complicated and connected that even a couple who were formerly married were now forced to sit in the same room together and we all had to pretend we didn’t know they were most likely fighting.

Because we were all friends and Paisley and August were doing their best to be adults about it, but it was still something we didn’t talk about.

And it seemed that Luca and I were going down a similar path. Not precisely the exact same one, but close enough.

And speaking of Paisley, the other woman walked slowly into the dining room, her red hair pulled back into a chignon at the base of her skull. She had on a killer green dress with tall heels and looked fucking amazing. She also had her eyes on her phone, frowning as she typed what appeared to be a million words a second.

We all stopped to stare at her, because honestly, how could you not stare at Paisley? She finally looked up and blushed when she noticed all of us staring.

Paisley was always so sure of herself, so strong and confident, except when it came to a few things.

Like the man standing on the other side of me, and the fact that she was terrible at dating.

“Oh. Sorry. Work.” The phone buzzed again and she looked at it, though her shoulders softened a bit and a smile played on her face.

“Not work,” August grumbled under his breath, and Paisley just shrugged before setting the phone down on the table.

“Yes it was work the first time, but no that was Jacob.”

I raised a brow inquisitively. “And?”

“And we were setting up our next date. Look at that, a fifth date.” She held out both hands and shrugged. “I can’t stay for long, not because of my personal life, but because I have a meeting and a cocktail dinner to go to.” She rolled her eyes. “I so love when clients add last-minute events. But it’s okay. Hence the dress. I didn’t dress like this for a casual dinner.”

She walked over and hugged me tightly, and I hugged her right back.

“It’s good to see you. And that dress is killer.”

“I feel a little self-conscious in it, because I usually wear black, but the green works?”

“Green on a red head is sort of the whole point,” Luca said, and there wasn’t any awkwardness with them. I knew there was a little bit with Heath and Paisley, but considering that she used to be married to his twin, that made sense. August, however, wasn’t saying anything. He just stood in the corner sipping his beer.

They were always cordial with each other. But I knew there was something there. I didn’t know what that something was, either hatred or animosity, or something more.

But just as I wasn’t going to think about Luca or talk about what truly needed to be talked about, I wasn’t going to force the situation with them. After all, that would just make me a bigger hypocrite than I already was.

“Anyway, how are you guys?” Devney said. “We have appetizers out, and dinner will be served soon. Come on, let’s talk about our weeks.”

I looked over at Luca, who shook his head slightly. I saw Heath notice the movement, but I didn’t say anything, and neither did he. Instead, we all went to the dining room and took our seats, our conversation moving from the bar Heath worked at and owned and operated, to a new upcoming project that Devney and Paisley were working on together.

“I’m so excited to work with these clients.” Devney beamed. “Seriously, they’re so great.”

“I think so too. Although I am kind of annoyed that you’re not coming with me to this event tonight with these other clients.”

“Because I don’t have to deal with them. That’s all you. After all, you’re the boss.”

Paisley rolled her eyes. “I hate being the boss sometimes.”

“No you don’t,” Luca said with a laugh. “I mean, the paperwork sucks, but that’s why we have business partners and helpers and staff that actually know what they’re doing with that.”

“Yes, Nathan’s not great with people, but he is great with paperwork,” I added.

“It’s really why you need that odd couple situation, so your opposite is there to pick up the pieces, and vice versa.” He shrugged as he took a bite of the antipasto.

“I’m just glad that I don’t have to make all the big decisions,” Devney put in.

“You’re the boss of your department though, so there’s that,” Heath added. “Making all the decisions is complicated, but I do like the freedom that comes with something that you own.”

“As I can’t own a school, I don’t mind being a high school science teacher.” August shrugged. “But you entrepreneurs can do your own thing.” He looked over at me. “When are you going to be the big boss?”

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