“The guy at the bar?”

“Oh, no one.”

“Nice looking.”

“I guess.” I sat down next to Mack and, unable to help myself, looked up and found his hazel gaze locked on me. What I saw there made my heart give a little flip.Don’t look at me like that if you aren’t going to do anything about it.

Not even five minutes later, a guy approached our table, his eyes trained on me. He was conventionally good-looking. We’re talking clean cut, with a jawline that could slice bread. He wore a slick charcoal suit that looked like it was stitched together by angels or something. On top of that, he had that “future senator” vibe going on, complete with a confident swagger.

“Hey there, I’m Jack. Do you mind if I join you guys for a sec?” The smile he flashed us was a hit at networking events, I’m sure.

“Sure, have a seat,” Sam replied, shifting to make room for him.

“Arabella, isn’t it? I’ve been following your journey. You guys are doing something amazing.” His eyes were locked onto me like I was the last piece of Christmas cake.

“Thank you.” I was trying to balance being friendly and keeping some distance. Although he was pretty good looking, he was a bit too slick for me. “It’s been quite the ride so far.”

“You can say that again. The work you’re doing—it’s inspiring,” Jack continued, making it very clear that he only meant me, not Mack.

“Yeah, it’s a real team effort. So, anyway, what brings you here tonight?” I was hoping to steer the conversation away from us and onto him.

“Oh, you know, the usual—supporting a good cause, meeting interesting people.” His look clearly said that by ‘interesting people,’ he meant me. “Speaking of which, would you like to dance later? They’ve got a great lineup of music.”

I felt Mack tense beside me, a subtle shift in his posture that sent a little warning bell ringing in my head. I looked at Jack, then back at Mack, and made my decision. “I appreciate the offer, Jack, but I’ll have to decline. We’ve got a pretty busy evening ahead.”

Jack’s smile didn’t waver, but I could tell he got the message. “Understood. Maybe another time.”

“Maybe,” I echoed, my voice polite but noncommittal.

“Well, it was lovely meeting you both,” Jack said, finally pulling his gaze away from me to include Mack, Evelyn, and Sam in the conversation. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

“You too,” Mack chimed in, his voice polite but with an edge I hadn’t heard before.

Annnnd Jack had barely been gone two minutes when another two guys came up to our table.

“Looks like we’re tablemates,” the taller one said with a smile, extending his hand toward me. “I’m Connor, and this is Nate.”

“Nice to meet you,” I replied, shaking his hand. “I’m Arabella and this is Mack, Evelyn and Sam.”

Connor’s eyes lingered on me just a tad too long before he finally looked away to greet everyone else before sitting down. Nate, on the other hand, gave everyone a brief nod, clearly more interested in the dinner menu than making small talk.

“So, how do you guys know about this event?” This was from Evelyn and thank fuck, because it forced Connor to look at her instead of me.

“We’re sponsors,” Connor answered, his eyes drifting back to me. “It’s a great cause, and we love to support these sorts of initiatives.”

“That’s awesome.” I felt the weight of Connor’s attention mixed with the weird vibe I was getting from Mack. It was making me feel all tense and tongue tied.

“Absolutely,” Sam agreed, picking up his beer glass and taking a sip. “Every bit helps.”

“So, Arabella,” Connor turned to me, ignoring the subtle tension in the air. “You’ll be making a speech later, right?”

“Um, yeah, that’s right.”

“Great! I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Thank you.” My polite smile felt stiff and uncomfortable.

Connor seemed about to ask another question, but just then, the servers began to circulate, distracting everyone with the first course. Phew, because this whole dynamic was stressing me out. It was all just too overwhelming. I’d never really had much attention from guys, which, you know, made sense. Hard to date when you’re tied to a hospital bed. But these guys were making their interest very clear, and it just made me feel weird. They were all so nice looking, and successful in their fancy suits and friendly smiles. But they just didn’t do it for me. At all. It made me feel frustrated and out of sorts.