“Why don’t you answer my question?” Both her expression and her silence told Linc he would get nowhere. That didn’t stop him from persisting. “Have you ever considered dating Knox?”
“I thought you said he was already interested in someone.”
“What if that someone is you?”
Sawyer’s eyes went wide and she gave her head a vigorous shake. “Me and your best friend? That’s a recipe for disaster.”
“I disagree. You two have a lot in common with your love of preserving Charleston’s old buildings. I figure if he ever decides to settle down, you’d be good for him.”
“What about him being good for me?”
“You’re right.” Linc knew his sister well enough to recognize when it was time to back off. While he believed she and Knox would be a perfect mat
ch, too much pushing from him and they’d never realize it. “Forget I said anything.”
Sawyer was quiet for a long time, but Linc held his tongue and waited her out. In the end, his patience was rewarded.
“You’re right that we do have a lot in common.”
“Do you want me to have him ask you out?”
“Geez, Linc. No. Forget it. Don’t you dare say anything to him.”
“Too late. I’ve already put the idea in his head.”
“Linc Thurston, how dare you meddle in my love life.”
“To quote our mother, ‘I just want you to be happy.’”
“Then you’ll mind your own business and never speak of this again.”
“You know I can’t do that. I inherited our mother’s meddling gene.”
To his surprise, Sawyer wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a fierce hug. “Everything is going to be all right with both of us,” she murmured. “You’ll see.”
Linc put his arms around her and squeezed gently in return, basking in her affection. “I hope you’re right.”
But all he could think about was the endless party that stretched before him and how a certain brunette with soulful brown eyes was going to handle seeing dozens of women flirting with him all evening long. He only hoped she’d hate it as much as he was going to.
* * *
Carrying a stack of clean plates, Claire scanned Bettina’s party guests and the waitstaff and the bartenders, making sure everything was running smoothly. In addition to sending Jenny and Steve around with trays of appetizers and glasses of wine, Claire had opted to set up hors d’oeuvres in a couple locations. Every fifteen minutes or so, she made a loop of the party.
It might have seemed like she was micromanaging things, but staying focused on the tasks at hand kept her from dwelling on all the beautiful women in attendance and wondering which of them would end up with Linc. Automatically, her gaze swept the room in search of him. Her chest ached when she spied him in a group composed of his friends and a familiar blonde woman. Everly Briggs looked comfortable and at home as she repeatedly touched Linc’s arm as if to punctuate whatever she was saying.
Although Claire had seen a significant number of women vying for Linc’s attention tonight, for some reason, seeing him with Everly made her feel slightly sick. Perhaps it was because the woman had been so forward at the grocery store. And even though she suspected it had been more curiosity than cruelty that had made the woman so blunt, Claire couldn’t help but feel uneasy at her appearance here tonight. Would she be bold enough to repeat to Linc the gossip she’d shared with Claire?
“Claire, are you all right?” Jenny asked, pulling her attention away from Everly and Linc. The waitress stood beside her with a tray of dirty glasses and plates.
“I’m fine,” Claire said as she surreptitiously indicated Everly. “I ran into that blonde woman standing next to Linc a few weeks ago at the grocery store and made the mistake of telling her I worked for him. Do you know anything about her?”
“Everly Briggs? She’s big on the charity circuit.”
“That makes sense. She wanted to hire me to do an event. What does she do?”
“She owns some sort of branding company.” Jenny lowered her voice. “There was a huge scandal involving her sister last year. She went to jail after leaking a bunch of engineering documents or something to her employer’s competitor. I heard they were worth over two million dollars.”
“Why would she do that?”