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“Thank you. We’re all very proud of the work he does. Good to meet you,” I replied, eyeing him with caution, because I was far from pleased to know him since his arms were still wrapped firmly around Tricia.
“I know you guys know one another,” Bradley said, nodding toward Tricia and Rhea, “but have you been introduced to Tricia?” Directing his question to me had raised a few of my own, he had no idea about Tricia and me either. Why should he? I had been an insignificant encounter in her life. First Rhea, now Bradley.
“We know each other,” Tricia volunteered before I could reply, unsettling my thoughts by acknowledging me.
“You do?” he questioned, raising a brow.
“Indeed.” I gave nothing away by my admission and waited for Tricia’s explanation.
Stepping back from him a little, Tricia shrugged. “Like you, Bradley, James and I… dated in the past.”
Hearing how she’d described us annoyed the fuck out of me, because that wasn’t how it had felt on my end of the deal. I wondered if she’d said what she had to make Bradley jealous. If she had, it had worked from the flash of jealousy that instantly burned in his narrowed suspicious eyes.
“You did?” he asked, trying to keep his face from showing how pissed he felt by that news, but his low gruff tone gave it away.
Tricia shrugged, glancing at me with an unusual hint of nerves. “Kind of. I really liked him. James would have been quite a catch.” For the first time I saw a definite tinge of regret when she briefly looked at me. “It…” she shrugged again, “just wasn’t to be.”
Hearing her comment frustrated me, setting a burst of adrenaline coursing through me as I digested her remark. In that moment I had wanted to drag her off and ask what the fuck she was playing at, but I stood my ground when I saw Bradley wrap his arms around her again and he pulled her against his body.
“My bad, it’s none of my business,” he replied, clearly fucked off by me being there, and I noted the second he eyed me as a threat. “The last thing I want to do is to make either of you feel awkward, and as it’s in the past, it’s best we leave it there, eh? Afterall, we’re all here to work.”
When Tricia stepped away, Bradley headed for the seat next to but one away from Rhea, leaving a gap I instinctively knew was meant for Tricia. A frown creased Tricia’s brow and I realized she was undecided what to do. As I was still standing, I reached out and I drew my index finger lightly down her arm. A small wiggle of her shoulders told me I’d sent a shiver through her.
“What’s with that?” I asked quietly close to her ear.
She turned, gave me a wry smile and shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing,” she replied, her voice almost a whisper, the word fanning across my face.
“Sit next to me, we have some catching up to do,” I prompted, wanting to keep her near a little longer, despite her being with Bradley. He looked from Tricia to me as she hesitated, then moved and took a seat at the opposite side of the table. Biting back a grin, I slid into the chair beside her and placed my drink on the table.
Rhea immediately engaged Tricia and Bradley in conversation and the next few minutes gave me time to digest all of what Tricia had said.
