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Hunter sighed, and when I looked at him, his jaw was clenched.
It wasn’t over.
“Ramsey’s too humble to say, but I’m hoping I see even half of this generosity when I call each of you for campaign donations.” She laughed lightly.Tittered—I finally understood what that word meant.
Did she just— Who the hell was this woman, hijacking my event? Was she really begging for funds for Ramsey’s State Senate campaign, now?
“Thank you, Debbie.” Ramsey’s voice was tight. “But Violet doesn’t need us hijacking her event. That’s the peak of tacky.” Though he sounded cool. I saw the anger flashing in his eyes. But if she were a member of his staff, saying more would make him look bad.
“Violet…” Hunter was apologetic.
I yanked away from his hand on my arm. “Nope. Don’t bother. In fact, tell Ramsey it’s lovely to see nothing has changed.” I let disappointment spill into my retort. I needed this kind of visceral reminder of why I kept him at arm’s length.
Two
If there was a mood for so-completely-unsurprised-I-couldn’t-be-angry, that was me. At least, that was what I tried to convince myself of, as I sat at a table in the back of the ballroom, working through numbers and paperwork for the night. My shoes sat next to me on the table, taunting me with their cruel heels and the torture they’d done to my feet tonight.
The hotel staff had cleanup under control, and technically this could wait until morning. But it was going to take me a little while to shut off my brain, to keep it from focusing on the moment I was pretending I didn’t care about, so I might as well get something done while I was here.
The chair next to me slid out, and the familiar scent of ice and musk greeted me. I wouldn’t give Ramsey the satisfaction of looking up.
“How’s my favorite workaholic?” His voice was warm.
I grabbed my handbag and opened the side pocket.
“What are you doing?” Ramsey asked.
I handed him a small make-up mirror. “Letting you talk to your favorite workaholic.”
“She’s got a point.” Hunter dropped into a seat across the table.
Nope. I wasn’t getting sucked into banter with them, especially not after what happened earlier. “Have a good evening.” I closed my tablet and stood to leave.
“Wait.”
Ramsey’s hand on my arm stalled me as much as his request.
He rose as well. “Let me apologize.” The playfulness was gone.
I shook my head. “Please don’t. Not if it’s going to happen again.” And it would. “I’m not mad. I should have expected it.”
Ramsey tightened his grip. “It won’t. I was furious Debbie did this. She’s fantastic at her job, but she’s also new and doesn’t know all our rhythms yet. I’ve talked to her. It wasn’t right of her to hijack your event, and I’m sincerely sorry.”
“Okay.” I tugged out of his grasp and crossed my arms. This was where I should leave, so why was I still here? Because all night, my defenses had been slipping. He’d taken steps to fix things, and this wasn’t specifically his fault. “So… how have you been?” I hid my wince at my weak question.
Hunter smiled. “Small talk. I think you broke her.”
I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Don’t offer unless you mean it.” Hunter winked.
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hide my amusement. Sticking around put me in a tough situation, though. Hunter was right that I hated small talk, but I didn’t want to get sucked into a real conversation with them either.Just leave.“I caught Ravyn’s latest comic. I love where she’s taking the series.” Ravyn was Ramsey’s twin sister.
“She got the imagination in the family,” Hunter teased.
“I don’t need talent when I’m this good looking.” Ramsey gestured at himself. “Besides, you weren’t complaining about my imagination the other night.” His gaze was on Hunter. Were they flirting with each other?
I’d seen them together in the bedroom—the whole friends-with-benefits thing Ramsey and I had with Hunter—but nottogether,as in a couple. “Any secrets about where the story’s going?” I asked. “Insider information?”
