Whatever-his-name-is frowns.
As they walk into the echoing lobby, I hear him ask, “Do you know him or something?”
“Unfortunately, I do. We’re co-workers.”
“Oh.” Dumb-nuts frowns again, but I watch him ease the expression off like he does Kate’s coat.
Instantly, the heat in my stomach is singeing all over again. Kate has on a very short dress that exposes her toned legs. She’s painted in gold leaf, the dress’s tiny straps spaced so wide they’re a whisper away from falling off her shoulders. He places a hand on the small of her back as they walk, the tips of her long hair brushing his skin.
I swallow and turn back to the winter night, but each spike of her high heels drives me crazy. Kate never uses her plus-one to theseevents. In fact, I’ve overheard her tell Amantha that she’d rather get a bikini wax by a blindfolded person than bring a guy around work.
If this is the same guy she went out with last week, this is likely their second date.
Which means Kate has actually gotten serious for once, or she’s being blackmailed.
I’m betting on the blackmail.
Empty checkboxes stare up at me from my clipboard. I twirl the pen I stole from the circulation desk and rap the clipboard with it. I wasn’t planning on participating in the scavenger hunt, but Kendra said she didn’t need me until the raffle begins.
I spot Kate and Peter Pan’s lost boy near the Ancient Egyptian display. After planting myself behind a shadowed wall near the doorway, I hear him mansplain to Kate—the assistant who helped curate thisveryexhibition—how hieroglyphics work.
She’s going to hate that.
I break into a huge grin, relief cooling my jets. It was dumb of me to be worried. This guy seems about as interesting as mayonnaise.
I’m counting down the seconds until she tells him off, but I’m close to twenty-four when I stop.
My eyebrows furrow as I glance around the wall.
His arm is a snake as it wraps around her waist. She smiles up at him before checking the “Egyptian Scarab” box on their clipboard.
“Thanks for explaining.” Her voice is saccharine sweet. “I’ve always wondered.”
I scrub a hand over my open jaw. What game is she playing?
There are only two explanations, and they both piss me off. One: she’s changing herself to impress him, which makes him an idiot and her desperate—which I know she’s not. Or two: something in her life has rocked her so hard that she’s buying into her mother’s crap again.
Anger burns beneath my skin. Kate needs to be reminded of who she is.
I roll my shoulders back. As an upstanding citizen and an employee of this beautiful establishment, I decide the duty falls on me.So I swing around the wall, press my shoulder against the opening, and wait.
It takes less than two seconds for Imposter Kate to notice me, and she breaks out of her act with a scowl.
“Aren’t you supposed to be assisting the elderly with the scavenger hunt?” she says.
“Nope. Kendra doesn’t need me until the raffle, so I’m free as a bird. And you already know what services I provide to the elderly.”
Kate rolls her lips in and clamps down, but I swear there’s an amused flicker before it’s snuffed out. Her date’s smile remains uncertain as he glances between us.
Since Kate has obviously forgotten her manners, I breeze closer and shake the guy’s hand. I’m the bigger man after all—by at least two inches and twenty pounds of muscle, but who’s counting?
“I’m Brandon, Kate’sco-worker.” I catch myself before I wink again, because Kate’s already confirmed she’s packing heat and won’t hesitate to pepper spray me.
“I’m Tanner Evans, Kate’s… date.”
So, they’re not ready for labels but serious enough for a plus-one?
“And how did you two meet?” I ask through an easy smile.
