“C’mon. You have to,” he grinned, reaching for the plates on the service counter.
“Good luck with that.” My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, but it was only my brother calling. I could get back to him later. “I’m going to pour coffee,” I told Hartley, and crutched out into the dining room.
Out there, I scanned the tables, considering our options. Bridger was at one of the long, crowded tables, but Stacia was also there. So that was out. At our favorite table by the door, Dana and Daniel were deep in conversation.
“Where to?” Hartley asked, holding out the tray for the mugs.
“Well, they look awfully cozy,” I said, pointing to my roommate.
“Interesting,” he said. “But they like us, so let’s sit.”
When I made my way over to Dana, she looked up fast. Then an excited smile broke over her face.
“Not a word,” I warned. My face was instantly red.
“O-kayyy…” she said, grinning into her coffee cup.
I sat down beside Daniel. Hartley set our tray onto the table and then slid onto the bench beside Dana. “Morning!”
“A fine day, isn’t it?” Daniel asked with a wink.
“A very fine day,” Hartley began, until I fixed him with a death stare. “If unremarkable.”
Dana giggled.
“Miss Corey,” Daniel said. “If you don’t want gossip, you should not have let him give you that enormous love bite on your neck.”
“What?” I looked down, but of course it was impossible to see my own neck without a mirror.
“Made you look!” Daniel said, sending Dana into a fit of giggles.
“With friends like you…” I threatened. But I was starting to relax. Every time I glanced at Hartley’s handsome face across the table from me, I felt a little lighter.
“Now Corey,” Daniel reminded me. “Don’t let a night of passion distract you from your true cause. Ashforth House has promised not to forfeit today’s game, but now I’m worried that we’ll have to.”
“Why?”
“Bear and Allison have a symphonic performance.”
“Seriously? Bear is a classical musician?”
“He plays the tuba. And Allison is the first viola. I’ll be working the phones after brunch…” he looked at his watch, then at my roommate. “Help a guy out, Dana?”
Dana looked genuinely torn, which is how I knew that she was hot for Daniel. There was no other reason she would even hesitate before saying no. “I just can’t,” she said after a pause. “I’d duck every time the ball comes near.”
“That’s not against the rules,” I pointed out.
My phone chimed with a text from Damien. Where R U? Beaumt Dining Hall? Then my phone buzzed again, and I picked up the call. “Hi? Damien?”
“Please tell me you’re at brunch,” my brother said. “Because I’m climbing the stairs.”
“What — really? Why?”
“What do you mean, why? I came to see you. Are you up here?”
Startled, my eyes went straight to the door. A few seconds later, my brother stood there in the archway, peering out from underneath his Harkness baseball cap. I let the phone fall to the table as he met my eyes and then smiled. Then he was standing over me, leaning in for a hug. “Hey! I found you.” He grabbed a chair from the empty table next to ours and swung it around. That put him on the end, between Hartley and I.
Hell and damn.
“Um, Dana? I said. “This is my big brother, Damien.”
Damien didn’t seem to pick up on my discomfort. “So you’re Dana! Nice to finally meet you, girl.”
She beamed at him, shaking hands.
“And maybe you also know Daniel? And of course, Hartley.” I could feel my face reddening as I said his name.
“How’s it hanging, Hartley? I see you got your cast off. You must be feeling frisky again.”
Frisky? I was going to die of embarrassment in the next ten minutes if I couldn’t figure out how to extract myself from this situation. I snuck a look across at Hartley. He had the good sense not to look too amused.
Damien looked around the room. “Typical scene for a Sunday. I’m just going to grab a cup of coffee. Feels like I never left this place.” He rose again and loped towards the mugs.
“Oh, crap,” I whispered.
“Your face is the color of a tomato,” Dana whispered.
Hartley reached across the table and gave my hand a quick squeeze. “Be cool, beautiful. We’re just having brunch here. Did you know he was coming?”
“No!” I hissed. “He never mentioned visiting.”
My brother sat back down, sipping his coffee. “So, how are you holding up?” he asked me.
“Just fine,” I said quickly.
His blue eyes were studying me so carefully that it was unnerving. “Well that’s good,” he said slowly. “Mom and Dad asked me to check in with you.”