In any case, she knew the things the merry widows and Doug and Carlton said were heartfelt. That brightened her world. She hadn’t known others viewed her in such a positive way. It was clear they cared a great deal about her.
“Thank you,” she murmured, not certain what else she could say. “What I was trying to say in a roundabout fashion is that I’m not a complete pushover. Andrii is a strong personality.”
“Dominant,” Doug said.
“Aggressive,” Carlton agreed. “A fighter. He wouldn’t hesitate to take someone out. I was in the service for a number of years, Azelie, and I’ve seen a few men like him.”
“Were they protective of the men in their unit?” Azelie asked the question without challenge. She was genuinely curious.
Carlton sat back in his chair, folded his arms, and nodded slowly. “Actually, yes, they were, now that I think about it. They saved our butts a few times when the enemy swarmed us.”
“That’s right,” Doug said. “Those kinds of men might be extremely dangerous in the right circumstances, but they do have a code and they protect their own.”
“Aha!” China said. “So, we women are right.”
“I didn’t say that,” Doug protested. “I didn’t even imply it. He’s still a Casanova.”
“You don’t know that,” Blanc said. “You just want to justify your opinion because even you can see Andrii is hot.”
Doug opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. He exchanged a long look with Carlton.
“The man has a sensual appeal,” Carlton conceded. “But that’s the problem. He’s a woman magnet. Our Azelie doesn’t need that kind of hurt.”
“You’re so certain that he’ll cheat on me.” Azelie made it a statement. Truthfully, she didn’t have a lot of confidence in herself as a sexy woman. Andrii told her over and over that he found her sexy, but she didn’t know the first thing about sex. She hadn’t even kissed another man. That was how truly pathetic she was when it came to sex.
“Don’t you dare undermine her confidence,” China said.
“You don’t get to make Azelie feel like she won’t have the ability to hold a man,” Penny added. “I know something about how that feels, and it sucks.”
Doug and Carlton exchanged a horrified look. “Did I make you feel that way, Azelie?” Carlton asked. “I certainly didn’t mean you couldn’t keep a man.”
“Men are going to fight over you,” Doug assured her.
Azelie found herself smiling despite the insecurity she felt. “I very much doubt that.”
“Why?” Blanc asked, expressing the curiosity reflected on the faces surrounding Azelie.
She could see they were genuinely puzzled. “I’m just me. I know you’re my friends and you only see good in me, but there isn’t anything special about me.”
“You have to know you’re beautiful,” Doug said.
“Well, actually, no. I think I look okay, but I wouldn’t call myself beautiful.”
“How could you not know?” Carlton demanded. “You look in the mirror, don’t you?”
“It isn’t like I think I’m not pretty, just not the turning-heads kind of pretty,” she clarified.
Doug threw his hands into the air. “What is wrong with women?” he asked Carlton.
“I don’t know. I’ve never figured it out,” Carlton replied, sounding every bit as exasperated as Doug. “We have four gorgeous women sitting right here at this table, and every last one of them believes the others are much more beautiful. Good God, girl.” He glared at Azelie. “You have to be blind not to see what any male would see in you. Your skin and that hair. Doug and I considered hiring a bodyguard just to ensure men like Andrii didn’t come around. We knew the minute he came into the shop with his friend he’d see right through your disguise and make his play for you.”
“Disguise? I was wearing a disguise?” She was feeling a little faint. The two men were just on the edge of anger, and she didn’t understand why.
“Sure you were. Your oversized sweatshirt that covers you up so no one can see you,” Penny said helpfully. “We told you about your silly dress code.”
The merry widows had spoken to her numerous times about the oversized sweaters and hoodies she wore. They had no idea she was hiding her body from Billows. Okay, maybe from everyone. She hadn’t been ready to face the world. Bradley Tudor had freaked her out when he kept insisting they would be so good together. She had no intention of dating him and she despised hurting him. She didn’t want to repeat that experience with anyone else. So maybe she had been wearing those clothes so no one would look twice at her.
“Maybe I have done that,” she conceded. “But I’m not wearing the sweatshirt today. I still don’t see men beating down the coffee shop door to date me.”
“Doug and I make it known we’re your uncles and we look after you,” Carlton announced.
Azelie was back to laughing or nearly crying. She loved these older gentlemen and the merry widows. How could she not? They were incredible, and they’d adopted her when she wasn’t paying attention. They made her feel as if she had a family after all.
“That’s so sweet. Although, thinking about it, that means you’re running men off.” She tried to scowl at them but knew she wasn’t successful.
“Obviously, we didn’t scare Andrii,” Doug said, looking anything but pleased.
“Were you trying to scare him?” Azelie was shocked that she hadn’t noticed the men posturing at Andrii.
“We only saw him the one time, when he first came in with his friend,” Carlton admitted. “We saw both looking at you. As usual, you weren’t looking back. Even so, we tried to give them the stare-down.”
A smile slipped out. “Aren’t they wonderful?” she asked the merry widows.
“You must not have understood him, dear,” Penny said. “They were trying to keep your Andrii from taking notice of you.”
“I heard.” She flashed a smile at the two men. “Thank you for looking after me.”
“Attempting to look after you,” Doug corrected. “Evidently, we failed. You’re going out on a date with him.”
