Sandcastle Beach (Matchmaker Bay #3) - Jenny Holiday Page 0,157
Gia had flown in at the last minute, which was a bit of a surprise because she’d visited only a week ago, and she was in the middle of a job in California. But whatever, Elise would take Gia whenever she could get her.
Jay: I sent the rug back.
Normally she wouldn’t answer a text while she was out with the girls, but this particular one was impossible to ignore. They were sitting at a bar having cocktails, and she turned away to try to reply without drawing too much attention to herself.
Elise: What? The ripped one?
She tamped down a little spurt of panic. It was just a rug. She was the one who’d tried to talk him into returning it in the first place. It didn’t have any inherent meaning. Just because it was a silly symbol of their relationship didn’t mean it had any actual power over their fate.
“Is that Jay?” Gia asked.
“Judging by how alarmed she looks,” Wendy said, “I’m gonna go with Daddy dearest.”
Jane laughed, but then she stopped, like she was trying to hide it. Elise looked at her friends. What was up with them? If Wendy really thought Elise’s father was texting, she’d be all up in her face about it, rushing to defend Elise from what she perceived as the enemy.
Her phone dinged again.
Jay: Yeah. I thought it was time to get a new one. Come over and see if you like it.
Elise: You got a new rug without consulting me?
That might have come off a little shrewish, but she was his designer. And he was in the advantageous position of not being charged for design services these days.
Jay: Come see it. If you don’t like it, I’ll return it. Bring the girls.
“Seriously,” Wendy said, “Who is texting and making you make those faces?”
Elise looked up. “It is Jay. He got a new rug at the office, and he wants me to come over and see it.” Which, said out loud, sounded like a dumb thing to be texting about. The girls didn’t know about the rug subtext. They’d all enthusiastically endorsed her whirlwind romance with Jay, but Elise was maybe guilty of not telling them every single detail. Which was a new one for her. But…She felt her face heat as she thought back to Jay working her over so expertly and thoroughly this morning before they got out of bed. Some things were private.
She picked up her phone. “I’ll tell him I’ll see it later.”
“Let’s go see it!” Jane said with a strange amount of enthusiasm.
Elise narrowed her eyes. “It’s eight on Friday night. We’re all together”—she shot Gia an affectionate look—“so we’re not going to an accounting firm to look at a rug!”
“Mmm, look at a rug.” Gia snorted. “Sounds like it could be a euphemism for something dirty.”
Wendy hopped off her bar stool. “Let’s go. This place is boring anyway.”
“And Cohen & Smith is not boring?” Elise grinned. “Besides the decor, I mean. The decor is the opposite of boring.”
Wendy slapped down a wad of cash and was halfway to the door when the others shrugged. They all knew there was no point in trying to talk Wendy out of anything.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the elevator, on their way up to Jay’s office. “Hey, maybe after we’re done here, I can show you guys the bank job.” She’d redone the HR department of a major bank, which spanned three floors of Jay’s building. It hadn’t been the most exciting job because she’d had to work within a narrow corporate-approved color palette, but it had led to another job doing the CEO’s house, which had been an exciting one in that she’d been given carte blanche—and a huge budget. Still, she was proud of her work in the bank offices. It was a living testament to how far she’d come, and if they were on-site anyway, she wanted to show it to her best friends.
“For sure!” Gia said. “I totally want to see it.”
“Yes!” Wendy echoed, with an uncharacteristic degree of excitement.
What was wrong with them? They were way too chipper.
“Ladies.” When they pushed through the heavy oak doors to the Cohen & Smith lobby, Jay rose from a sofa. He must have been waiting for them.
His eyes roamed over everyone as he greeted her friends, but then his intense gaze landed on Elise and stuck there. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Her heart stuttered. It had been four months, but he still had that effect on her.