defense mechanism that he developed growing up. Whenever we tussled as kids, he’d get so barking mad at me if I’d gone at him when he had his glasses on.
“I think you might be spot on, good sir,” Benji slurs and pokes his finger into Theo’s chest. “Good Lord, are you wearing protective armour under your dress shirt?”
“No,” Theo replies without a shred of amusement.
“Someone needs to get control of him,” I grumble, annoyed.
Vi moves in and grabs Benji around the arm, “C’mon Benji boy, here’s our seats.”
Her eyes flash coolly to me as she pulls him down onto a chair. She looks away and pours a glass of water, then shoves it into his chest. Her eyes find mine again and I can’t help but frown at the whole situation. If this is her boyfriend, she should have better control over him. Wanker.
Leslie catches me scowling at Vi and steps in between my line of sight. “Hayden, you remember my coworker Vi, right? And Benji?”
I nod dismissively and then quietly excuse myself. I’m confused by how I feel about having the woman who sparked something I thought was dormant inside of me be here to witness the speech I just gave about all of my innermost secrets. Definitely not the first impression I would have wanted with her. And now she’s eyeing me like I’m the prat here.
I stroll over to my parents and take my seat. The farther I stay away from Vi tonight, the better. Perhaps I don’t affect her the same way she affects me. The way she was eyeing me at The White Swan Pub led me to believe otherwise. Regardless, something about her makes me feel out of control…and I don’t like it. It doesn’t help that every time I look over at her, she looks over at me. God, it’s so maddeningly juvenile I could laugh.
“You were rather rude to my coworker,” Leslie chastises as she settles down beside me, followed closely behind by Theo.
“Why is she even here?” I whisper as the announcer begins the bidding on a custom dining room set of Theo’s.
“Good question,” Theo drawls. “Fucking Benji wears on my last nerve.”
“Oh shut up! He’s harmless. Vi and Benji took Mitch and Julie’s tickets. What’s the big deal?”
“It’s kind of inappropriate for her boyfriend to get pissed at a charity if you ask me,” I sneer.
Leslie’s green eyes widen in disbelief. “Pot! Meet kettle!”
My face goes white as I realise what I’ve just said. “That was different,” I bite out between clenched teeth. Christ, I walked right into that one.
Leslie’s face softens. “Don’t be hard on my coworkers. They’re good people. Really, you’d get on with Vi, I’m sure.”
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.
TURKEY’S DONE
B urr. Feels fucking glacial in here now , I think to myself after my less than warm and fuzzy greeting from Hayden. Not that I had much to expect, I suppose. It’s not like we really know anything about one another. But bloody hell, he could have at least acknowledged my presence without a moody glower.
Benji sucks down the glass of water I handed him. He begins hiccupping to himself and giggling. “I’ve never drank wine before.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “You’re drinking water.” The bugger can’t handle his liquor, that’s quite apparent. I just hope I’m able to pour him into a cab after this.
As the auction begins, I find myself impressed by the furniture pieces being displayed for bidding. Leslie told me about Theo’s talent, but I’d never made it over to his shop to see for myself. Their flat rests above his business, so hopefully I can see more when I pop around tomorrow.
The announcer continues rattling off numbers as a suited man carries several small wooden boxes out and places them on every few tables. He drops one on ours and Finley reaches for it first, smoothing her fingers over the glossy, nearly black wood. The MC explains there’s a silent auction sheet inside each box, and as soon as Finley places the box
“I think you might be spot on, good sir,” Benji slurs and pokes his finger into Theo’s chest. “Good Lord, are you wearing protective armour under your dress shirt?”
“No,” Theo replies without a shred of amusement.
“Someone needs to get control of him,” I grumble, annoyed.
Vi moves in and grabs Benji around the arm, “C’mon Benji boy, here’s our seats.”
Her eyes flash coolly to me as she pulls him down onto a chair. She looks away and pours a glass of water, then shoves it into his chest. Her eyes find mine again and I can’t help but frown at the whole situation. If this is her boyfriend, she should have better control over him. Wanker.
Leslie catches me scowling at Vi and steps in between my line of sight. “Hayden, you remember my coworker Vi, right? And Benji?”
I nod dismissively and then quietly excuse myself. I’m confused by how I feel about having the woman who sparked something I thought was dormant inside of me be here to witness the speech I just gave about all of my innermost secrets. Definitely not the first impression I would have wanted with her. And now she’s eyeing me like I’m the prat here.
I stroll over to my parents and take my seat. The farther I stay away from Vi tonight, the better. Perhaps I don’t affect her the same way she affects me. The way she was eyeing me at The White Swan Pub led me to believe otherwise. Regardless, something about her makes me feel out of control…and I don’t like it. It doesn’t help that every time I look over at her, she looks over at me. God, it’s so maddeningly juvenile I could laugh.
“You were rather rude to my coworker,” Leslie chastises as she settles down beside me, followed closely behind by Theo.
“Why is she even here?” I whisper as the announcer begins the bidding on a custom dining room set of Theo’s.
“Good question,” Theo drawls. “Fucking Benji wears on my last nerve.”
“Oh shut up! He’s harmless. Vi and Benji took Mitch and Julie’s tickets. What’s the big deal?”
“It’s kind of inappropriate for her boyfriend to get pissed at a charity if you ask me,” I sneer.
Leslie’s green eyes widen in disbelief. “Pot! Meet kettle!”
My face goes white as I realise what I’ve just said. “That was different,” I bite out between clenched teeth. Christ, I walked right into that one.
Leslie’s face softens. “Don’t be hard on my coworkers. They’re good people. Really, you’d get on with Vi, I’m sure.”
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.
TURKEY’S DONE
B urr. Feels fucking glacial in here now , I think to myself after my less than warm and fuzzy greeting from Hayden. Not that I had much to expect, I suppose. It’s not like we really know anything about one another. But bloody hell, he could have at least acknowledged my presence without a moody glower.
Benji sucks down the glass of water I handed him. He begins hiccupping to himself and giggling. “I’ve never drank wine before.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “You’re drinking water.” The bugger can’t handle his liquor, that’s quite apparent. I just hope I’m able to pour him into a cab after this.
As the auction begins, I find myself impressed by the furniture pieces being displayed for bidding. Leslie told me about Theo’s talent, but I’d never made it over to his shop to see for myself. Their flat rests above his business, so hopefully I can see more when I pop around tomorrow.
The announcer continues rattling off numbers as a suited man carries several small wooden boxes out and places them on every few tables. He drops one on ours and Finley reaches for it first, smoothing her fingers over the glossy, nearly black wood. The MC explains there’s a silent auction sheet inside each box, and as soon as Finley places the box
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