“A family party.”
Oh, okay. Interesting. Maybe he’s into his family. It would match with the watching movies with his niece thing.
“My cousins bought my aunt and uncle a house, an old thing that’s taken ages to renovate, and they’re throwing a housewarming to coincide with their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.”
He straightens and walks around to the kitchen side of the breakfast bar. “But,I now also have to get there for the business meeting of my life. When my phone died, my cousin was telling me the dream investor I’ve been trying to get to see us for months is going to be there.”
“The investor’s a friend of your family?”
These rich types all seem to climb the ladder on the backs of each other.
“Hell, no.” Owen paces back and forth across the kitchen. “If I had to guess, I’d say he caught Elliot by surprise and, in a fit of social awkwardness, Elliot invited him.” He shrugs. “But this guy could change everything for us. So, I need to get there to close the deal.”
“Well, obviously, you’re not going to make it. But I’m confused. Who’s Elliot? Your business partner? Or your cousin? Is he at the party too? Can’t he deal with this investor?”
“You like questions, huh?” The furrow in his brow relaxes for a second as he side-eyes me and half smiles. The cheekiness makes my belly do that wobbly thing again. Belly needs to remember cheeky is irritating, not hot.
“Elliot’s both. My partnerandcousin. He runs the New York end of our business, I run the West Coast end. And the party’s not tonight. My aunt and uncle got married on Valentine’s Day.” He rolls his eyes. “Such a cliché. So, the party’s on Saturday.”
Clearly, he’s an old romantic.
“Well, what the hell is all the fuss about then?” I throw up my hands. “You do realize today’s Wednesday, don’t you? This might feel like a different country from California, but I’m fairly sure you didn’t cross the international date line to get here.”
He tilts his head. “Yes. Thank you.”
“I’m sure your cousin will be fine for now.”
“I doubt it. He’s more the tech person than the people person.”
“Well, I don’t hold much hope out for the deal ifyou’rethe people person.” Two can play the cheeky game.
He pauses, holds my gaze, and a devilish smile that matches the glint in his eyes spreads across his face. “I can be extremely charming and persuasive when I need to be.”
Oh, I bet he can. The curve of his lips is making my lady parts feel things they haven’t felt for eighteen months. Actually, more like two years—the final six months with Alastair were hardly a passion fest.
Owen rubs his hands together, like he’s ready for action. “Okay. If you know where Blythewell is, you can give me directions. Draw me a diagram or whatever it is people did before Google Maps. Then I can hit the road.” He looks at his phone again. “Once this is fully charged.”
Is he serious? I point at the front window. “You can’t go out in this. You heard the man on the radio. There’s a driving ban and a stay-at-home order.”
“Yeah, but those things are meaningless. If I head out and drive, what’s anyone going to actually do about it?”
He pushes up the sleeves of his sweater. Okay, so he has strong forearms. But he sounds like all those irritating tech bros I was at college with. The shallow, self-obsessed dudes in beanies, desperate to make their way in Silicon Valley, who believed rules didn’t apply to them.
“Oh, I don’t know.” I plant my hands on my hips. “Maybe someone will have to chip your body out of your car a week from now, when they’ve finally been able to dig it out of a giant snowdrift?”
He sighs. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
I point at the front door. “Be my guest. Go take a look at your car.”
“Sure.”
As he walks across the living room, Elsa’s eyes follow him. She knows a good-looking butt when she sees one too.
Even standing all the way back here in the kitchen, as soon as he opens the door, the cold air slaps me and I shiver.
He shuts it quickly.
“Well?” I ask, wandering toward the living area.
