Chapter 17

“I said I would be back in five,” he sighed in exasperation.

“Actually, I don’t think we had a chance to figure out when you’d be back here.”

Jared stiffened at the amused tone in Rick’s voice. His coffee splashed against his wrist, and he hissed in pain. “Sorry, I thought it was Theresa.” Jesus, was he always going to be apologizing to this guy?

“I figured as much.”

“Let’s try this again, shall we?” Jared gave an awkward wave to Stella before juggling his phone and coffee on the way to a quiet corner. “Hi, Rick, how are you?”

“Good. Did I call at a bad time?”

“Actually, you probably managed the one time all day I haven’t had my hands all over models.”

“Male or female?”

“Female.”

“Good. I don’t have reason to get jealous then.”

They both laughed at the small joke, but a thrill rippled through Jared. Maybe he hadn’t botched the date part of the night as badly as he’d thought. Unless Rick was calling for a quickie, which actually wouldn’t be a bad thing either.