Page 9 of Six
But a former British Special Forces soldier?
What could he provide them other than brawn?
“I think it’s possible,” Devil said. Six looked around the table to find her friends all nodding.
“I don’t know why Franklin would have picked him,” Nora said. “But I think it’s worth asking.”
Devil let out a small laugh. “You don’t know why Franklin would pick him? Really? Have you seen the man? He’s too delicious to look at for very long. He could foil any nefarious plan by just standing there in all his glory.”
Six frowned. “Aren’t we beyond judging people solely on their looks?”
Three sets of eyes swiveled to her. Joe looked down at his coffee, but Six would swear she saw his lips twitch.
“We are most definitely not above judging someone by their looks,” Cyn said. “And Gavin Cooper looks every bit the Special Forces soldier he is. While I agree, he’s a good-looking man—not as attractive as you, babe,” she clarified as an aside to Joe, who rolled his eyes and took a sip of coffee. If there was one thing Cyn and Joe were, it was confident in the other’s commitment to them. “I think we all know two things. First, part of what makes Gavin attractive is the fact that he’s confident and capable, so yes, we’re judging based on looks, but not the superficial kind.”
“Speak for yourself,” Devil said, arching one eyebrow, then taking a sip of her wine.
Cyn gave her the side-eye but continued. “And second,ifFranklin sent him, we know he’s qualified to do something that he thinks we need.”
“Fill a gap in our capabilities?” Nora suggested.
“We have no gaps,” Six said.
“No, we have no gaps that you want to consider because if you do, you might find a reason that it’s a good idea for Gavin to stick around,” Nora said. “I’m curious why you’re so against it.”
Six wasn’t born yesterday and was well acquainted with her friend’s style of conversation. Nora was trying to lead her down a path Six wasn’t interested in going down.
“If there is a legitimate reason for him to be assigned to work with us, then I would have expected Franklin to call attention to the gap in our capabilities prior to sending him,” Six said.
Cyn snorted, and Six was sure a little coffee came out of her nose. Yep, it did. Joe reached over and snagged a napkin, then handed it to Cyn.
“Sorry,” Cyn said, wiping her nose. “It was almost like you were serious about expecting Franklin to tell us anything. I can’t believe you kept a straight face while you said that.”
Six glared at her friend, though in her heart, she knew Cyn was right. Franklin may be Cyn’s uncle, but that didn’t mean he felt any compunction to share his plots and plans with them. Joe was proof of that.
“There’s only one way to find out if Franklin sent him or not. And if he did, why,” Devil said.
“Oh, believe me, I plan to call him when I get home,” Six said, narrowing her eyes in anticipation of that conversation.
Again, Cyn snorted. “Did you not just hear what I said? Franklin isn’t going to tell you shite. You need to ask Gavin.”
Six’s stomach did a little swoop at the thought of confronting Gavin. Again, Cyn was right—she’d get more out of the soldier than Franklin. But her gut was telling her that once she spoke with Gavin, things would change. She didn’t know how they’d change, only that they would. And she wasn’t ready for that. She liked her small circle of friends and even believed Joe had been a good addition. But Joe was Cyn’s to deal with. Did that make Gavinhersto deal with? Was Franklin playing matchmaker again, as they were all certain he’d done with Joe and Cyn?
If that’s what he was trying to do, he’d learn soon enough that he didn’t always get what he wanted. She might be pissed about him sending Gavin without speaking to her about it first, but from a professional perspective, she could almost understand that decision. If, on the other hand, he was trying to interfere with her personal life, they were going to have some issues.
She sighed. When she’d arrived at Cyn’s thirty minutes ago, she’d been confused about Gavin’s actions. Now the answer seemed obvious, even if she didn’t like it.
“I’m going to fucking kill Franklin,” she muttered in Italian. Everyone around the table chuckled. They didn’t need to be fluent in the language to get her meaning.
“It worked out for me,” Cyn said, baring her teeth in a cheeky smile as she leaned into Joe.
“That,” Six said, waving her finger between Cyn and Joe, “is not in the cards for me. Aside from not being interested in a relationship of any kind, you forget, Gavin and I still work together. I refuse to become an office romance cliché.”
“Don’t let a label define you, babe,” Devil said with a grin as she rose and started gathering their empty cups.
“I agree,” Cyn said. “When it’s love it’s love.”
“Stop teasing her, you two,” Nora said.
