Harry broke the still air with a grin when he said, “So I guess Astrid and I doing Jell-O shots and karaoke is off the table?”
Everyone dissolved into laughter, breaking the tension.
Harry looked at his watch and frowned. “I have to get back to work. Regrets, ladies. I hope we’ll get the chance to talk more later. Until then,” he said on a chuckle, pulling Mara to stand with him, and tucking her close. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner, right?” He didn’t bother to wait for her response. Instead, he planted a light but lingering kiss on her lips before scooping up the bag Carl had packed and heading out of the cafeteria.
Her eyes strayed to his tight backside, before admiring the way he sauntered out of the cafeteria like he owned the joint.
Well, until he crashed into the glass door, forgetting to push it open and knocked over a potted palm, spraying the dirt and moss from the base all over the floor.
He bent to pick it up, waving at her with a sheepish grin as the women giggled.
She cupped her chin in her hands and sighed. Even clumsy Harry was dreamy.
Leah reached her hand out and patted Mara’s to console her. “Don’t let Astrid upset you. She’s got a lot of stuff going on I think even we don’t know about. It bothers both of us the way she hoards you, and creates drama when there isn’t any. If she would just accept the fact that when she’s not behaving like she’s the antagonist in some psychopathic killer movie, and always worrying about whether we’re mocking her in some weird code, everything is okay. But something’s not right with her, and sometimes it scares me. I’ve always said that, haven’t I, Ying?”
Ying nodded her agreement, her deep eyes solemn as she twisted the multicolored scarf around her neck. “Um, yeah. We knew you before she did. So if anyone has first dibs on lopping your head off, it’s us. But in all seriousness, she can be really lurky and creepy sometimes. I know she’s valuable to Pack and the brightest star in production, but she’s also the moodiest. I tread lightly because I can never seem to gauge her moods.”
Leah patted Mara’s hand and smiled, her eyes twinkling. “Either way, if she’s not happy for you, we are. It’s like your dream come true,” she gushed, batting her eyelashes. “And you guys are adorable together. You make a gorgeous couple, so dark and just pretty. And who knew Harry was so funny and charming. Did you, Ying? Up top, girlie. Score for the nerds!”
Mara clapped Leah’s hand, but she was uncomfortable brushing aside Astrid’s unhappiness. She didn’t want to lose a loyal friend due to a lie that would soon end.
Yet she couldn’t deny Leah was right. Something was off about Astrid. She’d always chalked it up to her quirky genius, and that intense glare she wore when she thought no one was looking was just her brain in constant overdrive—solving some Rubik’s Cube of a problem in the dark corridors of her mind.
But she’d known how nuts Mara had been about Harry for all this time, and she’d supported her fantasy about him—her ridiculous gushing about him—until it had actually become a reality. It stung a little to see a dream realized, even if it was a pretend dream, crushed by Astrid’s discontent.
However, the good news?
Mara found herself less uncomfortable pretending Harry was her new BF.
Especially after that Vulcan mind-meld of a kiss.
She’d be fanning her lady-garden for days after.
CHAPTER
10
“Darnell!” Mara cried, lunging at her favorite demon disguised in a teddy bear’s body, thrilled to find him looming with a cheerful grin in the middle of her tiny cottage. She hugged him hard, kissing his cheek.
He looked as big and out of place as Harry did amongst the large willow baskets of hydrangeas and overflowing vases of silk peonies, ducking his head when he dropped her to his side. “How are you? How was Carl today?”
Darnell tucked her beside his solid, lumbering girth. “Aw, you know how it goes with ol’ Darnell. People always end up comfortable with me. Carl and me made cupcakes today, didn’t we Carl? Outta cauliflower and cornbread. He’s a good helper in the kitchen, our Carl is.”
Carl grunted and groaned, lifting his stiff arm to thump Mara on the back. He drew her into a rigid headlock intended as an affectionate hug, making Mara tug at the arm he’d planted around her neck.
Darnell put his hand on Carl’s sweater-covered arm. “Easy now, brotha. I tol’ ya, Carl. You gotta be nice to e’rybody, gentle, right? But remember, not just the ladies, the menfolk, too.” Darnell tugged at Carl’s arm, stroking them with his paw-sized hands until Carl let go.