Page 37 of Tequila Tuesdays

When I reached my team, Jaime and Tiana smirked at me, and Kevin narrowed his eyes and stared back at Damien.

“What?” I asked. Gary nudged Frankie’s hand for a pet.

Tiana pointed at Damien. “That man is hot.”

“He’s also the one she hit in the face with a volleyball last season,” Jaime added helpfully. Jaime was a troublemaker.

Tiana hadn’t been at that match, but she’d heard all about it. “Hmm. I’d hit that all right, just not with a volleyball.”

Jaime laughed and gave Tiana an underhanded fist bump.

“Lord, help me,” I muttered.

Tiana poked her finger at me and then at Damien. “The Lord helps those who help themselves. And I say you should help yourself to some of that.”

Chapter 14

Wewonourvolleyballmatch that morning, mostly because the other team was either still a little drunk or hung over from a bachelor party they’d attended the night before. An autobody shop sponsored the team, and the owner’s son was getting married on Sunday.

Most of them bitched and groaned through the match, and one even threw up toward the end of the third set.

Jaime and I watched the poor guy retch.

He wrinkled his nose. “That right there makes me glad I gave up drinking.”

After the match, I went home and got cleaned up then assembled a few turkey and avocado sandwiches to take to Damien’s office for lunch. I changed my outfits a few times and finally got irritated at myself and just picked something.

When I walked in, Damien stood behind the front counter talking on his cell phone. There wasn’t a receptionist today, probably because it was a Saturday. I set the lunch cooler and my laptop on the coffee table and wandered around, then stopped to look at Laurel’s photographs again.

Damien got off the phone and walked over. “Hey.” He’d cleaned up since the volleyball match. I sniffed him discreetly. He smelled like aftershave and something faintly spicy, and his hair was a bit messy as usual. I mentally reminded myself to keep this professional and friendly.

I pointed at Laurel’s photographs. “Laurel and I are going camping in a few weeks with Martina when my sister gets in town. Laurel said she planned to spend some time on the hike taking photographs.”

He looked down at me. “I know. She invited us to go along.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that.”

“Do you care if Sebastian goes?”

I shrugged. “No. He’s not much of a talker.”

He slowly grinned at me. “Do you care ifIgo?”

I hesitated, not because I didn’t want him to go but because I liked the idea too much. I shrugged again and smiled back at him. “No. But if you can’t keep up or whine, we’ll leave you behind. You’ve been warned.”

“So you’re more aLord of the Flieshiker than a glamper, huh? That doesn’t surprise me.”

“It’s not that extreme. But no one wants to hike with a whiney complainer.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded toward the cooler. “What’d you bring for lunch? I expected burgers and fries from a drive-thru.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Only if I want to be bloated for the rest of the day. Turkey and avocado sandwiches and fruit. I forgot to ask if you’re vegan or vegetarian.”

“I’m not, and that sounds good. Thanks.”

He grabbed the cooler, and we headed back to the office area. He led me into a good-sized conference room with a sleek modern table and plush chairs.

“We can spread out here,” he said and set the cooler down.

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