“What?” he asked.

“You just said she has a ‘great smile,’ ” Cole said. “And you’re telling me you’re not into this woman?”

“Cole has a point,” Penelope said. “Guys only say a woman has a great smile when they’re super not attracted to her or they’re secretly in love with her.”

“Oh my God,” Jackson said, running his hands through his hair in irritation. “Then I guess it’s the first one. I’m not attracted to her. Also, are you guys always like this?”

“No, no, we’re usually much worse,” Jake said.

“I can do tall, thin, and a great smile,” Lincoln said.

It was on the tip of Jackson’s tongue to snap that Lincoln wouldn’t be doing anyone, but he bit it back. He didn’t care whom Mollie slept with. Maybe if he repeated it enough, it would be true.

“When?” Lincoln said.

“Friday night,” Jackson said, hoping Mollie didn’t have other plans.

Cole shook his head. “You’re making a mistake, man. Never let your woman near Lincoln Mathis.”

“Hey, I got near Lincoln and didn’t get sucked into his sexy web,” Penelope said.

“Don’t remind me,” Lincoln grumbled good-naturedly.

“That’s because you were head over heels in love with me and just didn’t know it yet,” Cole said, bending down and planting a kiss on the top of Penelope’s head. “Unless this Mollie’s in love with Jackson, she’s not going to have that sort of protective shield.”

Cole glanced up at Jackson. “She’s not in love with you, is she?”

“Hell no,” Jackson said. “I’m too old for her. And too—”

“Grumpy? Antisocial? Self-important?” Cole suggested.

“I was going to say too much like a brother to her, but thanks for the character references,” Jackson said.

“Sure,” Cole said cheerfully. “Anyway, so Lincoln will go out with your girl under one condition—”

“I already said I’d go out with her,” Lincoln said.

Cole made a shushing motion at his friend. “Lincoln will go out with your friend if…”

Jackson tensed.

“…you let me put a picture of the two of us on Twitter saying that we’re bros.”

Jackson stared at the other man. “You want to take a selfie together?”

“It’s better than having you sign my bra,” Cole said.

“Oh, you can sign my bra!” Penelope said. “For the record, I’m a way bigger fan than Cole, so I want in on this selfie.”

Before he knew it, Cole had whipped out his cell phone, and Jackson was flanked on either side by his two coworkers—and, dare he say, new friends?

Chapter 10

“Gross. I can’t believe you’re living in a penthouse and you’re still getting the cheapest possible Thai food and bringing in the leftovers for lunch,” Kim said, jabbing a fork at Mollie’s take-out container.

Mollie smiled as she twisted the cap off her water bottle and settled down on the bench where she and Kim usually ate lunch together. “I’m just trying to be relatable to you little people.”

“Sure,” Kim said with a sniff. “You say that now. But just wait until you and Jackson are doing the red carpet at a Broadway premiere and having dinner with the Kardashians or someone afterward.”

Mollie rolled her eyes. “If I have any chance of meeting the Kardashians, I’ll bring you.”

Kim nodded, somewhat mollified, as she took a sip of her smoothie. “Okay, so tell me about the place. I’m still waiting for you to invite me over.”

“Oh, you know. Just a whole lot of awesome views, hardwood floors, and granite.”

“Does it have two ovens?” Kim asked. “I’ve always wanted to see a home with two ovens.”

Mollie pointedly held up her take-out container. “Like I know about the ovens.”

“I so need to teach you how to cook.”

Mollie snorted. “The only thing you cook is brownies. From a box. And half the time they don’t make it into your one oven—you just eat the batter out of the bowl.”

“Um, as do you,” Kim said.

Mollie lifted a shoulder in agreement as she shoveled in a bite of pad thai. She did love brownie batter.

“So how long is Her Highness going to be living in her marble palace?” Kim asked.

“Dunno,” Mollie said. “We haven’t really talked about it, but it’s just a temporary thing. You know, a chance for me to find a place of my own without the threat of death by tarantula.”

“And has the quarterback been keeping his hands to himself?”

“Yup.”

Kim turned to face Mollie. “What is that?”

“What is what?”

Kim lifted a finger and pointed it at Mollie’s face. “That tone?”

“What tone?”

Kim’s finger wiggled. “You want him to touch you.”

Mollie batted her friend’s hand away. “I do not. I told you, I’m over that. It was just a stupid crush when I was younger. He was the first guy who was nice to me, and that’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” Kim said. “I think you want him to be very nice to you.”

Mollie didn’t respond as she forked up another bite of pad thai and chewed in silence.