Noah broke first. He snorted and sent a spray of coffee over the rim of his mug. Malcolm was next, and then Gavin, and within seconds they were all gasping for breath. It took a full minute and a couple of exasperated glares from nearby tables for them to stop laughing.
“I would pay serious money to have seen your face,” Noah wheezed.
Del wiped his eyes. “Dude, has that ever happened to you?”
“Has what ever happened to me?” Colton scowled.
“Being ghosted by a woman,” Gavin said.
He lifted one shoulder. “Of course.”
The laughter went up an octave. Apparently he hadn’t been convincing.
“So, just to make sure I’m understanding,” Malcolm finally said after things had calmed down. “You turned down what would likely be a very lucrative career move because you were mad that she rejected you?”
Colton returned to sulking.
“Wow,” Malcolm said, shaking his head. “That’s pretty childish, Colton.”
That stung. Malcolm was the group’s resident Zen master and philosopher, and being scolded by him was like getting in trouble at church.
Their food arrived then, and the guys ate in hungry silence just long enough for Colton to reconsider his shitty life choices over the past twenty-four hours. Malcolm was right. He’d been an asshole last night. If his manager found out that Colton had so blithely turned down a major endorsement deal, he’d start to question a lot more than whether Colton was serious about music anymore.
But that wasn’t what was making him so cranky this morning. He hated how he’d treated her last night. He’d replayed his nasty words to her a thousand times in his mind while tossing and turning in bed.
After a few unsatisfactory bites, Colton wadded up his napkin and tossed it on the table next to his plate. His appetite was officially gone. “We gonna pick a book for this month, or what?”
“Yes,” Vlad said, nodding so enthusiastically the table shook. “A Christmas romance.”
“As long as it has sex in it,” Colton grumbled.
Noah held up a fist for him to bump. “Yes. How come so many Christmas romances don’t have sex in them?”
“And how come so many are about a woman going back to her hometown and, like, leaving behind a rich fiancé or something?” Colton added. “What’s wrong with having a rich, professional fiancé?”
“I think the point is usually that when we go home, we’re forced to deal with our past,” Malcolm said, adopting his about to drop some knowledge on your asses pose. Everyone stilled in anticipation of some learning. “And once we deal with our past, we realize why we ran away in the first place.”
* * *
? ? ?
The last thing Gretchen wanted to see when she arrived at the office was Addison teetering precariously on a rickety ladder and draping twinkling white lights across the ceiling tiles.
“What are you doing?”
Addison gasped and whipped her head to peer over her shoulder. The ladder rocked beneath her feet. Gretchen dropped her bag and lunged to hold it in place.
“Thank you,” Addison said, steadying herself again.
“Since when do I allow Christmas decorations in the office?”
“Since I stopped asking your permission.”
“Addison, we go through this every year. This is a serious office dealing with serious issues. Christmas decorations send the wrong message, especially since not all of my clients celebrate Christmas.”
“Lights make people happy,” Addison argued, securing a section of lights with tape. “Not that you’d recognize happy if it hit you in the face.”
She grumbled the last part, but she clearly intended for Gretchen to hear. Gretchen chose to ignore it. “Where the hell did you even find this ladder? It’s ancient.”
“I borrowed it from the tattoo dudes next door.”
“Are they going to pay the workers’ comp when you break your neck?”
“You’re in an especially chipper mood this morning. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Gretchen mumbled. Just that last night had been a humiliating disaster, and not only because of Colton’s cold words but because she had to figure out a way to tell Evan she’d failed. If she thought there was even a ghost of a chance that Colton might be persuaded, she would endure another round of hostility from him just to avoid Evan’s inevitable scorn. But Colton had been as emphatic as a punch when he said he wasn’t interested.
“Well, whatever nothing is, don’t take it out on me,” Addison said. She secured a final segment of lights and started to back down the ladder. “Also, he called again, and lucky for you, I promised him you’d call him back today.”