Page 14 of The CEO I Hate (The Lockhart Brothers #1)

MIA

“ Y ou’re sure you guys want to eat here?” I asked as I clocked the peeling wallpaper and the thick coating of dust on the fake plants by the door.

“Don’t worry,” Jerome said as we waited to be seated. “The food is great. And anyway, we’re mostly here every third week for the view.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Trust me, the eye candy is as good as the queso dip.”

A small smile tugged at my face. Eye candy? In this place? I glanced around, wondering what he was talking?—

My heart skipped in my chest. Oh no!

The Lockhart brothers.

That’s who Jerome was talking about. There they were, sitting at a table halfway across the room, looking infuriatingly gorgeous.

I’d rarely crossed paths with Finn or Connor when we were growing up, but we’d seen each other enough at events for Jake or Liam over the years for me to know them by sight—and vice versa.

Finn’s easy charm was on full display as he grinned at the waitstaff. Connor was more subdued, his attention on his drink, but there was the hint of a smile on his face like he’d just laughed at a joke.

“It’s like three Greek gods came down from Olympus,” Jerome said. “To grace us mere mortals with a hot dose of?—”

“Perfection,” Tanya finished.

“Exactly,” Jerome continued. “When that amount of gorgeousness is concentrated in one place, it’s our duty to come and pay homage.”

I glanced away awkwardly, but even happily engaged Kait ogled them. My eyes immediately went back to the exit. Could I fake a stomachache? Ditch before anyone noticed me ?

I still hadn’t told the group I knew the Lockhart family. But there was apparently no avoiding it now because Finn whipped his head around and cried, “Mia Collins? Is that you?”

“Hoooooly shit!” Jerome hissed, his eyes going wide. “There’s something very important you forgot to mention, Mia.”

I winced. Guess the cat was out of the bag. I raised my hand in greeting as Finn jumped to his feet. Connor followed. Thankfully, Liam stayed put, staring at the ceiling like he wanted to be anywhere else. You and me both, pal!

Finn reached us first, his expression a mix of surprise and delight. “I thought that was you.”

“Hey, Finn,” I said, my voice edged with awkwardness. “Connor.”

“Hey, Mia,” Connor said. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. A couple years, maybe? The last time we’d spoken had been when he called to thank me for sending a gift after I heard he was having a baby. “How’s…” Damn, what was the kid’s name? “…your daughter?” I finished lamely.

“Grace is great,” he said with a smile. “Loves books. We definitely got a lot of use out of what you sent.” My present had been a selection of some of my favorite children’s books.

I was the most in-demand babysitter of our neighborhood growing up, and the key to my success had been a bag I brought with me of games and books to keep even the fussiest of kids entertained.

I had strong opinions on what made for a good children’s book, and I’d been more than happy to share my wisdom.

It was nice to hear it had been appreciated.

Jerome’s gaze flicked back and forth like he was watching a tennis match.

Finn tilted his head, eyes sparkling with curiosity. “So, how’s it going with you? ”

“Oh, you know. On that lunchtime grind. Working hard for your brother.”

“Yeah, we heard about that. You have our condolences. Must be torture,” Finn quipped.

“Only on days that end in Y ,” I joked. Finn grinned.

“How’s Jake doing?” Connor asked.

“He’s…okay,” I said diplomatically. “You know, just sort of taking things one day at a time.” A waitress appeared at their table with a platter of tacos, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, tell him we’re thinking about him,” Connor said. “It was good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Jerome latched onto my arm the second they walked away, steering me toward a table blessedly far from the brothers. Tanya and Kait hurried after us. “Umm, excuse me. You did not tell us you were intimately familiar with the Lockharts. Girl, you’ve been holding out!”

“There’s nothing intimate about it,” I hurried to say, feeling my cheeks heat.

Kait raised an eyebrow. “You’re gonna have to do better than that, Mia. They practically treated you like you were their little sister.”

I snorted. “Little sister by proxy, actually. Liam has been best friends with my brother since they were in high school. I’ve known the Lockharts for as long as I can remember.”

“ What ?” Tanya said, leaning so far forward in her chair that the legs almost slipped out from under her.

Jerome made a little exploding sound, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Mind completely blown. ”

I shrugged, trying to play it cool even as I tensed up in fear of their reaction. Would they give me the stink eye over the job thing, believing I’d only been hired because of my connections?

To my surprise, Jerome grabbed my hand instead.

“You’re saying you’ve had front-row seats to the Lockhart show for years?” He pretended to swoon.

That got a smile out of me. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” Jerome’s voice rose an octave. “Mia! I’d let Finn Lockhart do unspeakable things to me.”

“According to the tabloids, you’ll have to wait in line,” Kait cut in. “He’s already busy doing unspeakable things with other people.”

“Don’t step on my fantasy,” Jerome said, touching his chest. “We all like a bad boy. Don’t even try to deny it, Kait. I know it turns you on that your fiancé drives a motorcycle.”

Tanya latched onto my arm suddenly. “Please tell me you have pictures of Liam from back then! Like awkward teenage Liam. Braces. Bad hair. Acne. All of it.”

I blinked at her for a minute, caught off guard by the sheer excitement in her voice. “Actually…” I dragged out the word, a slow grin spreading across my face. “I think Jake’s yearbooks are still at my parents’ house. I can take a look when I see them tonight.”

“Hell yes!” Jerome said. “This is the content we deserve.”

“Just out of curiosity, on a scale of one to scorching,” Tanya said, “how hot was Liam back then?”

I let out a little laugh as I realized I actually didn’t know the answer. I’d had a crush on Liam for about as long as I’d had hormones, but I was all of eight years old when he graduated high school. It never crossed my mind to notice his “hotness” back then .

“He definitely still had the same resting grouch face,” I said, keeping things light.

“I’d like a solid piece of that resting grouch face,” Jerome muttered.

Kait snorted. “You said that about Finn.”

“Yeah, so what? I’m not picky.”

That sent the table into a fit of giggles, and the tension in my chest eased. In a surprising turn of events, I was sort of looking forward to the trip down memory lane tonight. If nothing else, it would be a good distraction from my parents’ constant disapproval.