The Man Who Has No Love - Victoria Quinn Page 0,30

Tucker asked.

Pria chuckled then leaned into him. “Of course.”

I had to sit there and watch them do this for the next hour?

Tucker leaned into her and kissed her.

I’d kissed Cleo in front of him once—and it was in my own home. I drank from my beer and looked at the TV. Fuck, this was going to be a long night.

Cleo finally joined us. “Sorry I’m late.”

Oh, thank god. I pulled out her chair so she could sit down.

“What did I miss?” She set her purse on the counter.

My arm moved around her, and I pulled her into me to kiss her, because I wanted to kiss her every time I saw her, especially after missing her all day. I was busy at work, my mind completely absorbed in my research, but she popped into my mind from time to time.

She melted at my kiss—like always. “I got you a beer.”

“Thanks.” She turned to Tucker and Pria. “I’m Cleo.” She shook her hand across the table. “It’s so lovely to meet you.”

“You too,” Pria said. “And you two are adorable.”

“Aww, thanks,” Cleo said.

“How long have you been together?”

“Only a couple of months,” Cleo said. “We’re in the honeymoon phase.”

“That’s so sweet.”

Tucker nodded to Pria then winked at me.

I cocked an eyebrow.

He subtly pointed at both of them then waggled his eyebrows.

I continued to stare at him blankly.

Then he mouthed, “They’re getting along.”

Instead of mouthing back, I just said the words out loud. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

Tucker rolled his eyes and drank his beer. “What’s new with you?”

Cleo and Pria finished their conversation, and then we spoke as a group again.

“Nothing,” I said. “Derek starts school next week.”

“Wow, that’s crazy,” Tucker said. “I feel like he was just born yesterday.”

I couldn’t believe it either. “Yeah, now time will go by even faster.”

“Do you have a picture?” Pria asked.

Before I could grab my phone, Cleo pulled out hers and showed a collage of pictures.

“Oh my god, he’s peeeeeerfect.” Pria smiled as she looked at the pictures.

I didn’t realize Cleo had so many, but I guess it didn’t surprise me.

“He is perfect.” Cleo put her phone down. “He’s such a sweet little boy. I want him to stay that way forever.”

She spoke about him the way I did—and I liked that.

“What do you do?” Pria asked.

“I’m a concierge at the Trinity Building,” Cleo answered. “It’s like being a personal assistant, almost like in a hotel, but the residents are permanent. That’s actually how Deacon and I met.”

“Cool.” Pria turned to me. “Tucker told me you were super smart, but he didn’t really explain what that meant.”

“Because he’s too stupid to know what I do,” I fired back.

Pria laughed.

Tucker laughed too, but his was sarcastic. “Asshole.”

“I just bought a beach house in the Hamptons,” I said.

“Okay, not so much of an asshole now,” Tucker said quickly. “Especially if you slip me the keys once in a while…”

I drank from my beer then answered her question. “I’m a medical researcher. I find natural pathways to fight chronic diseases, like cancer, heart disease, viruses…things like that.”

“Wow.” Pria’s eyes widened. “You are suuuuuper smart.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I looked down into my beer.

“Anything interesting happen at work today?” Tucker asked.

I shook my head as I tried to think. “In terms of data, no. But a new physician just joined the team today. She’s very bright, very accomplished, and she has a lot of fresh ideas. She’s young, a few years older than me, which is another plus.”

“Why does the age matter?” Tucker asked.

“Younger people are more ambitious,” I explained. “They have more time to prove themselves, so they work harder. Once people are somewhat close to retirement, they slow down. And younger people aren’t set in their ways. Their brains function differently, so they’re more likely to look at problems from a different angle, and therefore, find a solution. Sometimes youth is synonymous with inexperience, but in most cases, it’s actually beneficial.”

Tucker nodded slightly. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Is she working on your project or something else?” Cleo asked.

“She’s working on something else, but we’ll converse with each other about our projects all the time, so she’ll join me here and there…and I’ll join her work too. Sometimes there’re too many cooks in the kitchen, but I think cooperative involvement yields better results. We’re respectful of each other’s ideas and understand that disagreement isn’t synonymous with dislike. We don’t have egos.”

“Ha.” Tucker took a drink. “You don’t have an ego. Right.”

“He