Page 58 of Until You

All of this scared the crap out of her, but it was the smart thing to do. Still, she wasn’t ready to pull the trigger just yet. “Yeah, in fact I have a solid lead on a new job. That’s where Aiden comes in. He’s an old friend and he offered me a job in Atlanta. We were discussing it this afternoon, and he offered to drop me off.”

“You can’t tell Britt that.”

Lanie’s jaw dropped. “What? Why not?”

“She wants you to stay here. She’s already shed a few tears about you leaving.”

“Randy, she knows I’m leaving anyway.”

“Since you came to see me about your contract, she knows there’s a strong likelihood that you’re leaving…your company. She’s conniving to keep you here.”

Well, shit. “I’ll keep it to myself for now, but if I take the job, I’m telling her.”

“Fair enough.”

She turned to walk over to Britt but saw Tyler watching her with undisguised interest. She stopped in her tracks as a new worry hit her.

“Randy,” she said, turning back to him. “You said another attorney in your firm was working on the case—”

“Lanie—”

“Just tell me this: Is Tyler the attorney?”

“No. I can assure you it’s not him.”

She closed her eyes. Thank God. She gave him a quick hug. “Thank you.”

“I wish I could do more.”

“You’ve been great.”

Tyler was still watching as she walked toward them, but so was Britt. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Great.” Lanie gave her a big smile. “We were discussing your wedding present, so no questions.”

Relief washed over Randy’s face as he wrapped an arm around his fiancée’s back. “Turns out Lanie is pretty terrible at this.”

“I’ll say,” Britt teased. “Remember the juicer?” But then her eyes danced with excitement. “Now, about the man who dropped you off…”

“He’s an old friend,” Lanie said, playing it coy. “He’s in town for the weekend on business and wanted to see me. So we spent the afternoon together. End of story.”

“Friend?” Britt asked suspiciously. “You realize every guy you’ve had a relationship with since college has been labeled as a friend?”

Lanie grinned. “I would hope I wouldn’t be fraternizing with my enemies.”

“Lanie…”

She gave her cousin a hug. “Britt, I love you, but your matchmaking is never going to work. I’ll have a relationship when I’m ready. And then I’ll tell you about it when I’m sure it’s solid.”

“Most people introduce their significant others to their friends and families.”

“Then how about this? If I ever get a significant other, I’ll make sure you’re the first to know.” Her answer had been flippant, but something caught in her chest. She was thirty-two years old and she could honestly say she’d never had a significant relationship other than a yearlong relationship in college.

“Okay.”

Lanie did a double take, surprised Britt had conceded so easily, but she knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Is Aiden coming back to take you home?”