“Thanks for the invitation, Lydia.” He paused. “And you must be Lauren?”
Forcing a smile, she turned to the man. “Nice to meet you, M—”
Lauren cut off. Mark was the hottest man she’d ever seen—besides Steven, anyway. He had light blond hair, dark brown eyes, and a body that had to have been sculpted from the gods. He wore a loose gray shirt, but nothing hid the muscles that screamed out to be noticed.
Steven was going to flip.
He grinned. Good God, he was even hotter when he did that. “Mark.”
“Right,” Lauren said quickly. “Uh, Mark.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I work at the Shillings Agency, and just moved here from California.”
So he worked with Steven. Even better.
“Crap,” she blurted out, still distracted by his dazzling smile. When he looked confused, she forced a smile. She needed to lose this guy before Steven showed up. She had no idea where they stood, or what they were doing, but if he caught her talking to this guy—on a freaking date—he would understandably be upset. “Uh, I mean, cool. I bake things. In my bakery. That I own.”
He laughed. “I like baked things. Where is this—?”
“It’s on Chestnut, next to the bank,” Steven said from somewhere behind her.
Of course he did. Of freaking course.
“Steven.” She forced a smile, her heart racing. “Hi.”
“What’s up, cupcake?”
“Nothing,” she squeaked.
He came up beside her, his gaze running down her body with a primitive possession burning in its depths before turning to Mark. “Lauren makes the best treats you’ll ever taste. You should check it out sometime. I could take you after work, if you’d like.”
“That would be great,” Mark said, nodding.
Lauren blinked at Steven. He didn’t seem jealous. Maybe she’d been putting way too much thought behind what he may or may not feel for her. And that bothered her more than it should have. “Thanks.”
“She hand mixes everything to give it that homemade taste,” Steven said, clapping Mark on the back. “Gives everything she touches one hundred percent of her attention. Isn’t that right, Lauren?”
Lauren swallowed. “Uh…”
“How do you two know each other?” Mark asked, clearly confused.
“From school as kids,” Steven said, his tone light. But then—oh God, then he frowned. And he gave her a long, searching look. “How did you two meet?”
She licked her lips. “I…uh, Lydia…” Crap. Her voice squeaked again. “Uh…”
“Your sister set us up on a blind date,” Mark said slowly, staring at her strangely. She didn’t blame him. “Lydia’s your sister, right?”
All three of them slowly turned toward Lydia…who smiled and waved, clearly unaware of the tension among them. Holt grabbed Lydia and whispered something in her ear, gesturing wildly. Her mouth dropped open, and she shook her head.
“Yeah.” Steven’s jaw ticked. Twice. That was not a good sign. “She’s my sister, all right.” Then he stared at Lauren, fists tight at his sides. “And Lauren is my best friend.”
He didn’t lay claim to her. Didn’t do some juvenile thing where he kissed her to show she was his, or throw his arm around her and pull her close. And yet, somehow…
He managed to do exactly that with a few words.
Lauren’s heart palpitated. She couldn’t look away from Steven, who held himself so tautly that it was a miracle he didn’t break. “I just found out about this, Steven.”
Mark, for his part, caught on to the tension quickly enough. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet. “You know what? I think I misunderstood her. There’s clearly something going on between the two of you, and anyone with eyes can see that. Can I buy you both a drink to make up for all this confusion?”
Lauren blinked. “We’re not…I’m not…”
“We’re not together,” Steven interjected, his jaw harder than ever before. “That’s what you’re trying to say, right, Lauren?”
Lauren stared at him, not sure what she was supposed to say. It wasn’t like they were going to announce to the world that they’d had sex a few times. It was no one else’s business, and Lauren only assumed he wouldn’t want to go around telling everyone.
Had she assumed wrong?
“I don’t know what to say at all,” she finally admitted.
The men stared at each other.
Stared each other down, was more accurate.
Mark smiled, even though it was clear he wished he’d never come up to Lauren in the first place. She didn’t blame him. “So, about that drink?”