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I huffed out a breath. “I want to ask if she’ll go try a bakery with me after. For the gala. Is that acceptable? I didn’t realize she—or I—needed your permission.”
Austin chuckled. “Touchy, touchy. You know, I like bakeries. You could invite me. Pretty sure Noah and Wes also are fans of baked goods. Tristan—well, he’s on a health kick, so maybe not—but you get my point.”
I did get his point. In fact, I’d spent most of last night tossing and turning and reminding myself of that same point. Not that it had done any good. I wanted Megan to come.
Just Megan.
“Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Austin snickered and clapped my shoulder. At least he didn’t say anything else.
I hurried to catch up with Megan as she and a tall—wow, that woman was tall—lady made their way toward the foyer.
“Meg. Wait up.” I jogged the last few steps after she stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Concern clouded Megan’s face.
My face heated. Of course she was worried something had happened. This was unlike me. Completely out of character.
I cleared my throat. “I was wondering what you were up to after lunch. You’re coming to lunch, right?”
“Oh. Well.” Megan glanced at the woman then back at me. “Have you met Jenna? She knows Noah. And she did the learning center design for Austin.”
Jenna smiled and stuck out her hand.
I took it. “Nice to meet you. Maybe again?”
Jenna chuckled. “I think again. You look familiar. But it might be because Noah has talked about you.”
My eyebrows lifted. Was Noah spending time with a woman? I’d have to give him a hard time about that. “You’re joining us for lunch, right?”
“I hadn’t planned to.” Jenna glanced over her shoulder at the exit. “I really hadn’t intended to crash the service. I told the girls on Friday that I preferred streaming, but they can be persuasive.”
“Were we wrong?” Megan crossed her arms.
“No. You weren’t wrong. Itisbetter in person.” Jenna’s lips turned down at the corners. “Just not as cozy.”
“Yeah well, you can’t have everything. Come to lunch. I know the diner’s better than any sandwich you could drum up out of your fridge.” Megan glanced over at me, and I read a silent plea for backup in her expression.
“She’s right. The food’s good. Affordable. Filling. And you can’t beat the company.” I gestured toward the rest of the crew, who were finally making their way toward us.
“If you’re sure I’m not intruding.” Jenna bit her lower lip.
“Jenna! You’re coming to lunch, right?” Noah joined our loose circle and shot her a welcoming smile. “And you’ll come back next week? Be part of the gang?”
I studied Noah a moment before turning my attention to Jenna. She was probably three inches taller than him, but he didn’t seem to care. Was there something going on there? I didn’t often miss having a roommate, even though Noah had been the best roomie ever, but for a few seconds I got a little pang in my chest.
Jenna groaned a little. “How about I agree to lunch as a place to start?”
“All right. If it’s the best we can get.” Noah bumped his shoulder into her arm. “You want to follow me? Or did you catch a ride?”
“No. I have my truck.” Jenna shrugged. “I can follow you, I guess?”
Megan made a shooing motion. “That’s fine. We’re all headed the same place. I’ll see you in a bit.”
The group began moving off.
“Hmm.” I wasn’t aware I’d made the noise aloud until Megan frowned at me. I held up my hands. “Just thinking. You have any scoop about there having been something between her and Noah in the past?”
