Stop Playing ‘Mother Hen’!

George tilted his head, studying Ariel with a gaze that felt almost too intense. "Funny, I wouldn't have thought our paths would cross like this," he mused. "But then, life has a way of surprising us, doesn't it?"

Ariel forced a smile. "Yes, it does."

Lauren couldn't shake the feeling that there was more going on than either of them was letting on. 

Again, she had to remind herself that George was rarely this persistent about any woman, and Ariel… she was usually calm, self-assured, but now she looked like she couldn't wait for the conversation to end.

She decided to press a bit, hoping to break through whatever barrier had gone up between them. 

"You know, George, Ariel has been such a great friend since I returned to Baltimore. I don't know what I'd do without her and Cheryl after my friend that made me return abandoned me because of a man to tour the world with him."