“Aha! So the attraction was instant,” she says, snapping her fingers.

“What part of what I just said translated to attraction?”

“None of it,” Marley admits. “But I saw you guys talking when he first came in. It was a toss-up whether you were going to arm-wrestle or just start making out.”

I sneak another glance at him, but all of his attention is on Hailey and her big blue eyes and the adorable gap between her front two teeth.

The kicker? I really like Hailey. She’s super sweet, but not sugary sweet. And she’s smart. Funny. Pretty. Damn it.

I’m telling myself that the only reason I’m annoyed is because she’s too good for him. He’d try to diminish all her light, dull her sunshine.

“You’re staring,” Marley whispers.

“He hates me,” I mutter, deciding to have more tiramisu after all.

“Nope. He just doesn’t know what to do with you.”

I turn toward her, making a continue gesture with my hand.

She smirks. “Oh, man. You’ve got a crush! You really haven’t seen him watching you all night?”

“Are we talking about the same person? Stuffy guy in a fussy suit? I’ve seen him pay attention to every girl but me.”

“Not me, though,” Marley says, holding up a finger. “I want friend points for that. I haven’t made a single move now that I know how things stand with you two.”

“Things don’t stand anywhere. Things are lying down, dead all over the ground,” I say, gesturing dramatically.

“Ask him out,” she says.

“Um, no.”

“Why not?” Marley demands.

“Because we haven’t had a single conversation that’s lasted longer than five minutes and was even halfway friendly.”

“Hmm. Plus, he did pretend not to know you when we saw him with Liv,” Marley muses. “This may be trickier than I thought.”

“Exactly!” I proceed to scrape the plate clean, thinking the conversation is done, and when I glance up, Hailey and Andrew are still talking, only she’s typing something on a phone.

His phone, I realize as she hands the iPhone back to him.

I toss the plate into the trash.

Marley pats my arm. “I got this.”

“Got what? Marley!”

My friend’s already moving away from me. “Hailey!”

The pretty blonde turns.

“You’re headed to Cielo later, right? Want to share a cab?” Marley asks.

“Oh. Sure.” Hailey glances my way. “We should help Georgie clean up first, though.”

See? Told you she was nice.

“Nah, I got it,” Brody says, refilling his wineglass and coming to stand beside me. Close enough for his arm to brush mine just barely, but the casualness of it has a couple-y feeling. Deliberate, I’m guessing.

I glance at Andrew, but his attention’s on his phone. Probably already texting Hailey.

“No, I’m fine,” I say to Brody. “You guys can go.”

Brody frowns. “You’re not coming to the club?”

“Nah, I have an early morning tomorrow, which means I need to make it an early night.”

I think I hear Andrew snort, but nobody else looks his way, so maybe I imagined it.

“No worries,” Brody says with a smile. “Early night it is for me too, then.”

“For God’s sake, Brody, take a hint. She doesn’t want you to stay,” the ever-blunt Lynlee says in exasperation, sauntering over and linking her arm in Brody’s. “Besides, the rest of us need you to run dance floor interference, give the stink-eye to the creepers.”

Brody opens his mouth, but I nudge my hip playfully against his. Anything to get him to leave. “She’s right. Our people need you.”

He searches my face and correctly reads that he isn’t going to get lucky. He takes a gulp of wine and sets the glass aside. “All right, then. But tomorrow night, George. No excuses.”

“No excuses,” I confirm, lifting my water bottle in confirmation.

Brody grins and leans down, his mouth close to my ear. “Wear that strapless pink dress you wore last week. Hot.”

“Don’t be gross, Brody,” Marley calls out. “Crew, we’re headed out.”

“You should come,” Hailey is saying to Andrew.

Lynlee chimes in. “Yes, do!”

“No. Thank you,” he says stiffly. “I have an early morning tomorrow.”

I smile just a little at his exact echo of my words, even though he doesn’t look at me while he says it.

“We can make it an early night. Have you home by two,” Lynlee says.

His eyebrows lift. “That’s an early night?”

“Leave him alone,” Marley orders our friends as she starts ushering everyone toward the door. She winks at me and I give her a laser burn with my eyes, causing her to trot over.

“You realize you’re leaving me with a huge mess in the name of futile matchmaking,” I say when she grins big and mischievous at me.

“I know. Sucks. But you’ll thank me one day, promise.”

“Uh-huh.” I know my friend. Her grand plan is to force me and Andrew to spend time together.

But I know him better than she does. The man struggles to tolerate my company in the best of circumstances. He’s certainly not going to jump at the chance to clean up takeout containers, paper plates, and a butt-load of wine bottles.

I hug my friends goodbye, apologizing for bailing on them two nights in a row and promising that I’ll see them tomorrow. Brody’s hug is just a little too lingering, and I’m suddenly extra glad that cleanup duty’s given me an excuse to hang back. I don’t know what’s happened to make Brody renew his efforts, but I’m finding it kind of exhausting.

Finally, finally, my noisy, wine-buzzed friends are out the door and I exhale a long breath, knowing there’s one more goodbye to get through and it won’t involve a hug, lingering or otherwise.

But when I turn around, Andrew’s not right there, waiting to exchange barbs.

Instead he’s opening and closing all of the cabinets in the room. Looking for his briefcase, no doubt. Which he’ll find in three, two . . .

He pulls it out of the cabinet and holds it up, giving me a look. You’re ridiculous.

But he doesn’t say it out loud. And instead of dashing for the door, he merely sets it to the side and continues opening and closing cabinets.