Nash spread his hands.“That’s why we’re here.”
“Let’s start with logistics.How many people total?”
“Five, including Bailey.”
“She’s the…project recipient?”
Nash nodded.
“So you need four others?”
“Three,” Nash corrected.“I’ll be the fourth.”
“Ah.”Sawyer nodded, then went quiet when Gwen appeared, a Guinness in a pint glass on a tray.
“Yours, I presume?”she asked Nash, and set it on the table in front of him when he nodded.
“What happened to the server?”he asked, though he already knew the answer.
“She seems a little flustered at the moment,” Gwen said drily and aimed a look at Sawyer.“Dial it back a little, would you?”
“I do try,” Sawyer said with an unrepentant grin.
“Try harder,” she suggested, and hurried back to the hostess stand where a handful of people waited to be seated.
Nash picked up his beer and drank.
“So three hires, and you?”Sawyer said.When Nash nodded, Sawyer pursed his lips.“Have you ever done something like this before?”
“Something like what, the group project or hiring out for one?”
“Either.”
Nash set his glass down.“No to both.”
Sawyer watched him for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table.“Do you know what you’re getting into?”
“Not really,” Nash admitted.“But this has been a wish for Bailey for a long time, and she’s trusting me to pull it off.I’m not going to let her down.”
“Chloe told me you’re not together.”
“We’re not.”
“But you are in love with her.”
Nash just sighed.“Yeah, I am.”
Sawyer’s voice was soft.“And you think you can watch the woman you love fuck someone else—three someone elses?”
“Yes.It’s what she wants.”
Sawyer leaned back.“You know, I think you mean that.”
“Whatever I have to do to make this happen for her, to make it everything she’s ever dreamed of, that’s what I’ll do.”
“Including spend several thousand dollars?”Sawyer asked.“Because that’s what you’re looking at, here.”
“I’m aware.”