Marrying Mr. Wrong (Dirty Martini Running Club #3) - Claire Kingsley Page 0,72

I said, it’s private. If she’d like to share the details with you, that’s up to her.”

“That’s actually pretty fair,” Nash said.

Calloway shot him a look, then turned back to me. “What’s your game, Cox?”

I put my hands up. “No game, unless you count Sophie’s winning streak at the craps table. We had a wild night in Vegas with some unintended consequences. And if you’re insinuating that I’d use a quickie marriage as a means for some kind of corporate espionage, you’re giving me too much credit. I’m not that subtle.”

“You mean to tell me this wasn’t planned? You just happened to run into her at the casino?”

“Not exactly. I was there looking for her. Sophie’s a beautiful woman. I don’t think I need to apologize for wanting to pursue her.”

Calloway narrowed his eyes. “You do if by pursuing her you mean manipulating her into marrying you.”

He was starting to piss me off. Sophie’s dad could grill me all he wanted, but who the fuck was he? “Do we have a problem here, Calloway?”

Nash leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Interesting move.”

Calloway glanced at him. “Are you analyzing him right now?”

“I’m just saying it’s interesting that he chose to up the ante with what could be construed as a threat. Or maybe the precursor to a threat. Male lobsters do a similar kind of posturing when competing for territory.”

“Lobsters?” I asked.

“They’re not the only animals with a hierarchical social structure, of course,” he continued. “But the fact that they’re crustaceans makes them particularly fascinating. We expect to see those kinds of complex social interactions among mammals, but not so much in anything with an exoskeleton.”

I had no idea what to say to that.

Was it weird that I kind of liked this guy?

“Here’s the thing,” Calloway said, apparently ignoring Nash and his biology lesson. “Sophie isn’t just my assistant. She’s my wife’s friend. Which means I have a particular interest in her well-being.”

“Then I’m happy to reassure you that Sophie is just fine.”

“She better be.”

I was about to fire back when Nash spoke up again.

“I think he has intimacy issues.”

“How can you tell?” Calloway asked.

“Subtle nonverbal cues,” Nash said, eying me up and down. “And there’s a certain hesitance in the way he says her name.”

Calloway shook his head. “I’m glad you didn’t know me before I met Everly.”

Nash laughed. “Since when are you glad to know me at all?”

“Is there a point to all this?” I asked.

“What Shepherd is trying to say is that you better not screw things up with Sophie,” Nash said. “She might not have any brothers, but she has us, and we make it our business to look out for her. Also, he’ll ruin your life if you hurt her.” He gestured to Calloway.

“Why do I feel like you’re enjoying this?” Calloway asked.

Nash shrugged. “It’s nice to be on the other side of it this time.”

“Look, I didn’t manipulate Sophie into anything, least of all marrying me. That was all the whiskey. And I have no intention of hurting her. I’m a man of my word, and I’ll stick to my side of our agreement.”

Calloway stood and buttoned his jacket. “You better not make me regret doing business with you, Cox.”

I stood and met his eyes, holding my ground. “You don’t need to threaten me to make sure I do right by Sophie.”

“Good. Then prove me wrong.”

“I plan on it.” I reached out to shake his hand, my mouth turning up in a slight smile. I kind of liked him, too.

How could I not? He’d come down here to bust my balls because he cared about Sophie. I had to respect that.

I shook hands with Nash again. “Let me guess. You’re a scientist of some kind.”

“Research psychology and data analytics.” He adjusted his glasses.

My eyebrows lifted. “Intimacy issues?”

“I call it like I see it,” he said with a half grin. “Although relationship dynamics are complicated.”

“That is a fact.”

“I have this questionnaire that—”

“Corban,” Calloway said, interrupting him.

“Yeah, that’s probably not…” Nash trailed off. “Maybe another time.”

Calloway headed for the door, but Nash paused and patted me on the back. “You did great. I’m rooting for you.”

That made me chuckle. “Thanks, man.”

His friendly smile disappeared. “But seriously. Don’t fuck this up.”

I put my hands up again. “I hear you loud and clear.”

“Good.”

He left and I sank back into my chair. That was not the meeting I’d expected. For some reason, my mom popped into my head. And I had a feeling she would have been