Page 64 (1/2)

“It wasn’t a party,” he hed, waving an airy hand of dismissal

“You knohat I ht?”

Chance was a fucking blabbermouth

“It was okay,” he ad about himself

“Are you very close with your friends?”

“I don’t have close friends”

Shit, he probably shouldn’t have said that Not to this woman who accumulated new friends wherever she went He was pretty sure that while Tedious Teddy’s rouy would remain in the picture as a friend for a while yet Vicki attracted people They were drawn to her bubbly personality, her warmth, her humor, her sweetness

It was terrifying to be around a person like her He had never met anyone like her before It was safer to keep her at a distance, but Ty was like everyone else in her orbit, helplessly sucked in by her appealing warmth

“Of course, you do,” she said, a frown ot the impression that you and Brand are pretty close”

“He’s my boss”

“What about Chance?”

“He’s a colleague”

“You do like pigeon-holing people, don’t you? Boss, colleague, client, principal People can be , you know? Look at Linda and Josh They’re my employees, but they’re also my friends Pete, he’s my friend, but he’s also my accountant Bella is my best friend, my confidante, and my occasional stylist She would also love to be et aith it” She shook her head with a wry chuckle and took another sip from her drink

“That all sounds unbelievably…” He grimaced as he searched for the appropriate adjective, before settling on, “…messy And complex”

“And fun And interesting And life”

His lips tightened as considered the chaos that surrounded this dyna he had ever wanted for his life He liked to keep things uncoet too close because that way it was easier to move on when they inevitably disappeared fro forithout being bogged down by the e people you cared for

Ty had been there He’d done that