Page 28 of The Best Man Problem
He hung up, a huge smile tugging at his lips. She hadn’t wanted to call him; that was clear from her tone. But something else had been clear, too. She needed him, and not just for the computer problem. He’d heard the breathiness of her voice, the subtle longing when she said his name. He recognized it because it was the exact same need that colored his voice every time he talked about the woman. She may not want to want him, but she did.
That was something, at least.
Heading out of his apartment, he hopped into his car and drove toward Mile High Happiness, grateful Marie suggested putting the address in his GPS “just in case.” The streets of Denver were a maze of one-way confusion. In the short amount of time he’d been living here, he’d almost driven down the wrong street four times. Who the hell designed this city?
He pulled into the building’s lot a few minutes later. The large, twenty-story building had office space on the first level and apartments above, so the parking lot was filled with mostly resident parking spots, but there were a few visitor spots up front, and he was lucky enough to grab one. Another thing he’d learned about Denver since moving here—the city had crappy parking options. But other than the weird streets and limited parking, he loved it. So far everyone had been really friendly, the restaurant options were diverse and delicious, and the mountains in the distance were breathtaking. He could see why so many people moved to Denver.
Locking his car, he headed straight to Mile High Happiness. He opened the glass door with the etched frosted flowers and saw three women huddled around a computer: Mo, a woman he didn’t recognize, and, sitting right in the middle, the woman who starred in every single one of his recent dreams: Lilly Walsh.
“Did you try this button?”
“Yes, Moira.” Lilly shook her head, a frown marring her beautiful face. “I tried every damn button on this thing. It’s broken, okay?”
Since none of the women realized he’d come in the door, he cleared his throat. “Mind if I take a look?” That was why she’d called, after all.
Three heads popped up with varying expressions filling their faces. Mo broke out into a bright, welcoming smile. The woman he didn’t know tilted her head to study him with a smaller, uncertain smile. Lilly glared at the computer in front of her, but when she spotted him, he swore he saw a bit of relief filling those beautiful eyes. As much as he wished that happy gaze was for him, he’d bet his last bit of RAM it was for his tech skills.
“Lincoln.” Mo hurried from behind the desk to greet him. “Thank you so much for coming. Another few minutes and I think Lilly would have hurled the computer into the wall.”
“Don’t put it past me yet,” the seated woman muttered.
He laughed softly. “Before you ruin your lease by damaging property walls, let’s see if I can be of help.”
He stepped around the desk to Lilly’s free side. The woman standing beside Lilly held out her hand.
“Hi, I’m Pru. The third member of Mile High Happiness. And you must be Lincoln, the…best man.”
“Prudence,” Lilly growled under her breath.
He shook the woman’s hand, wondering at her emphasis. How much did Lilly’s partners know about what happened between them?
“Thank you for coming. Now, can you just fix this damn thing before it gives me a stroke?” Lilly pushed back from the desk, rising from her seat and motioning for him to occupy it.
“I’ll do what I can.” It would probably be an easy fix. Most computer issues were operator error. He’d bet it would take no time to sort out whatever the problem was.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Mo said a bit too cheerfully. “Why don’t Pru and I go grab everyone dinner while you and Lincoln fix whatever issue this is?”
Why did he hear something other than computer issue in that offer?
“We don’t need dinner right—”
Mo cut Lilly off. “Yes, we do. I’m hungry, and I know Pru is, too.”
“I am?” the other woman asked with a raised brow.
“Yes, you are. Besides, we need to show Lincoln we appreciate his help somehow.”
Lilly narrowed her eyes at her friends. “We can pay him.”
“Dinner sounds like a perfect payment to me,” he chimed in with a grin.
She sent a death glare his way, but he was having too much fun to be intimidated by it.
“Perfect, then we’ll just head out and let you two figure this out.” Mo grabbed Pru by the arm and practically dragged the other woman out of the office despite her soft protest. “Bye!”
The moment they left, he released the laughter he’d been holding in. “She’s not subtle, is she?”
“About as subtle as a Mack truck,” Lilly grumbled.
