Noelle reached out, stealing another look at Steven.
Steven nodded slightly and extended his hand, giving Noelle a quick, courteous shake before pulling back. "Folks, I've heard about Charles tying the knot for a while now. I've been swamped, so I couldn't make it back to catch up with you all. Sorry for the oversight. I hope you're not mad."
"You're kidding."
Noelle pulled her hand back, her eyes briefly darting to where Charles had pinched her. She could not resist giving Charles a quick pinch at his waist, then shot him a challenging look, her eyebrows arching ever so slightly. It was as if she was saying, that's for pinching me earlier.
Steven and Sean caught Noelle's playful behavior. Both men raised an eyebrow—Sean was used to it, but Steven seemed taken aback by Noelle's boldness, while Charles just seemed to go along with it.
Steven's eyes lingered on Noelle's face momentarily before he decided to move on. "Let's go!"
"By the way, knowing you'd be back, I had someone spruce up your villa a few days ago. It's been empty for a while, though, so I'm not sure how comfy you'll find it."
"No worries, it's just a crash pad. I won't be sticking around Brookville for long," Steven said, leading the way with Charles, deep in conversation.
Being a doctor, Sean was never one for business chatter and had no interest in eavesdropping on their market talk.
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