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“Doesn’t anyone make an appointment anymore?”
“When did we ever make appointments, Ryan?” Luke asked, blinking as though he thought that was the strangest question. I didn’t know why I was being protective of Laura with my brothers. We’d been dating for nearly a month now and I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone. We’d avoided the paparazzi by staying at my place for our dates. Ordering in and having Laura for dessert hadn’t been a hardship at all.
In fact, I couldn’t imagine going into a restaurant and keeping my hands away from her long enough to get through an entire meal. We’re usually pulling at each other’s clothes by the main course.
Colton nudged Luke. “He’s buying her diamonds. It must be serious.”
“Can you get away from my computer?!”
“Why haven’t you told us about her yet? What are you hiding? Is she an arms dealer? Does she have a third eye?”
Colton’s question took me aback. I hadn’t asked Laura much about herself. Surely, that would come in due time.
“Wait,” Colton said. I hated when he got that look in his eye. “You’ve done a background check on her, right?”
I shifted in my chair, then swiveled to face my computer again.
“Are you kidding me? After all the bullshit you put us through about looking into every person we’ve ever dated? You said we had to ensure there were no skeletons in their closet or some other motive to blackmail us or ruin our business, and then you don’t do the same for yourself? What’s gotten into you, Ryan?”
“Nothing. I just haven’t had time to look into it yet.”
“Haven’t had time? It’s one phone call. That’s all it took for you to find out about my wife.”
“Are you going to bring that up for the rest of our lives?”
I messed up, and I apologized. Frances forgave me, but Colton obviously did not.
“No, I won’t,” said Colton. “But I will remind you of the same reasons you told me then. If she has nothing to hide, then what’s the big deal?”
“It’s not a big deal. I’ll get around to it. I just haven’t had time, that’s all.”
Luke dropped a hand on my shoulder. “Bring her around for dinner. Grace and I would love to have her over. What does she like to eat?”
“She loves Indian food.”
He rubbed his hands together with a smile. “Perfect. I have this great Chicken Marsala recipe. Shall we say this Friday?”
Colton stared at me, and I pulled at my tie. “Buying her diamonds and you even know her favorite food. This is serious, brother.”
“It’s not serious, Colton.”
“You’re lying. Your left eye is twitching.”
“Fuck off, Colton. It’s not twitching.”
Except it was, for fuck’s sake.
“Fine. I’ll ask her to come to your place for dinner this Friday. Now, will you all leave my office so I can get some work done around here?”
“Sure, Ryan,” said Colton as he walked to the door. “Just don’t forget to do the check, okay?”
I nodded but didn’t look back. I had thought about running a background check on Laura. But I told myself it wasn’t serious and we were only just casual with one another.
But lately, I was feeling differently about that. I wanted to know everything about her and what made her happy. I thought about her all the time. Even when I was busy at work, I’d think of something she’d said or done and I’d smile.
I picked up my phone and texted Laura.
Me: Are you busy this Friday?
