Chapter 2 #3
“Just sayin’, I know you won’t be friends, but you can be friendly. And if he’s in your space too much, move back into the farmhouse.”
God, wouldn’t that be great? The icing on the failure cake. “Sure. Maybe you and I can sleep in bunk beds like we used to.”
Webb snorted. “No way. You snore.”
Not anymore, I didn’t. These days I didn’t sleep long enough to snore.
“Hey, you guys.” Hawk slid onto the bench beside me in a fluid motion, still wearing his Panini Jack’s T-shirt and half apron, knocking into my hip. The Brother Code compelled me to shove his head until he squawked. “Nice of you to let me know you were here. D’you order yet?”
“I figured you’d find us when it was time for your break.” Webb grinned. “And no.”
“What’s good?” I demanded.
“Panini of the day. Havarti and apple with honey mustard. Smells delicious, and I’ve been dying for one all day. I might even have two,” Hawk said.
“Done.” I closed my menu. “I’ll have the same.”
But the two sandwiches comment had made me think of Goodman, who’d been heating a burrito when I’d left the office at noon, and that made me say acerbically, “Webb’s such a softie I bet he’ll be getting his favorite employee a couple, also.
Pretty sure Goodman only had two breakfasts and elevenses before lunch. He’ll be wasting away.”
“You know what?” Webb said challengingly. “Maybe I will. And I’ll tell him it was my idea, ’cause I’m a great boss.”
“He wouldn’t believe you if you said it was Knox’s idea.” Hawk’s voice was amused but also faintly disapproving. “Don’t know why you don’t like him, Knox.”
“Exactly what I was saying before you sat down,” Webb agreed.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like him!” I said, exasperated. “Do we have to talk about him constantly? For fuck’s sake.”
“You brought him up,” Hawk reminded me, and the worst part was that he was right.
Motherfucker.
“Gage is great,” he went on stoutly. “Stop being a dick to him, okay?”
I blinked at Hawk for a second. He and Goodman were nearly the same age. It would probably make sense if Hawk had a crush on him. And maybe Goodman… My mind stuttered out before completing the thought.
“Okaaaaay?” Hawk said again. He tried to make this sound like a warning, and his thin arms were folded over his chest, but as the smallest, slightest Sunday, this made him look about as menacing as a Keebler elf at cookie time.
“Down, boy. Yes, fine, whatever. I’ll be nice,” I assured him with an eye roll.
“Meaning you’ll make an effort to be nice?” he demanded. “Which is different from not actively being a dick?”
Webb was staring at me, too, with one eyebrow raised, like if I said no, he’d want to know why. “Yeah, okay,” I said grudgingly.
“And you’ll be approachable and talkative? You’ll ask him how his day is going and make him feel welcome?”
I envisioned a scenario where I actually asked Goodman to tell me the random trivia about his day, which was akin to asking someone to slap you repeatedly.
“I said yes. He’ll be my new BFF, okay? We’ll do each other’s hair and tell secrets.
” We absolutely would not, but Hawk was right.
Being rude to Goodman was uncalled for when my main complaint against him was that he was illogically appealing and my inability to ignore him was driving me insane.
“Seriously. I’ll apologize to him today, okay? ”
“Good,” Hawk said firmly.
But then a deep voice behind us said, “Hey, Webb,” and Hawk nearly jumped out of our booth.
Webb grinned and held out a hand to the owner of the voice, a guy about my height and build, with light hair and blue eyes.
“Jack! How’s it going, man?”
“No complaints.” Jack shrugged as he shook Webb’s hand and smiled, which turned his face from fairly good-looking to genuinely handsome. Deep creases at the corner of his eyes suggested he smiled often.
Honestly, a man could do a lot worse than being set up with Jack… if a man were in the market for a hookup, which I was not.
Especially not in the Hollow.
“Did you need me to do something, Jack?” Hawk’s brown eyes went wide, and he set his palms flat on the table like he was ready to abandon his lunch if his boss needed him.
Jack put a restraining hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “No way, dude. It’s your break. Besides, I need to feed my right-hand man so he doesn’t collapse on me, eh?” He shook the shoulder under his hand, and his friendly gaze swung to me. “Knox. Hey. How’s it going?”
I nodded in acknowledgement. Then, remembering Webb’s warning to be sociable, I added, “Good. Yeah. Nice to see you. I, uh… I like your wainscoting.” Never let it be said that I wasn’t suave.
Jack grinned.
“Hawkins, move over here so Jack can sit by Knox,” Webb instructed.
All three of us stared at him. I maybe stared a little harder than the others.
“But… Can’t he sit next to you?” Hawk asked, bewildered.
“He could,” Webb shot back. “But there’s more room on that side of the bench.”
Oh my God. Like sitting next to the guy was going to make me want to jump his bones or vice versa?
Stop it, I mouthed at him.