I can’t help my grin.
Would any of the guys I’ve been with before have cared had I gone missing for longer than I should’ve?
Nope.
I reread the message, my grin widening.
That wasn’t sexting, but it was hot enough to rival the heat of the sun.
Kazimir Lindström, you’re a man of many talents.
Still high on that saucy exchange, I tuck my phone inside my clutch.
“I’m surprised your date isn’t glued to you.”
My head snaps up and I whirl around, my eyes colliding into a pair of calculating hazel-green ones.
Chett?
I recover from my shock. “Funny. I could say the same about you and your date.”
“At least she’s not my mom’s reject.” He smirks.
I fight the urge to round on him, causing a scene would look bad on Kaz. “You have an uncanny ability to muddle the truth.” I tip my head to the side and stare at him through narrowed eyes. “I think the story goes something like… your ex-stepdad divorced your cheating mom after catching her in the act in his own Hamptons cottage on the day he threw a birthday party for her and for you. Someone needed to tell your mother that a birthday shag means you actually shag the man you’re with.” I purse my lips.
“Wow.” He fake claps. “You and Stepdaddy are real close if he’s willing to share that kind of intimate detail.”
“He was simply telling the truth.”
“Kazimir Lindström didn’t have anything more to offer, so my mom moved on.”
“By cheating on her husband? Real classy.”
“What do you hope to get out of Kaz? I doubt his restaurants are the types of businesses that would require your corporate floral services.”
He’s wrong.
Number 22 Grill is a high-end restaurant, complete with white tablecloths and spectacular floral arrangements. Kaz would’ve been the perfect client for my former life.
Chett snaps his fingers. “Wait a minute. Didn’t you move onto another business?” He squints. “You partnered with a couple. Isn’t the wife from small townBumfuck,California?” He snorts.
Bummerville, California, you moron.“Why don’t you go bother your date?”
He gives me a onceover. “She doesn’t look nearly as good as you.”
“I’m sure your mother approves of her, so that trumps everything.”
“That’s the problem with the women my mother wants me to date. They’re not as interesting as you. You’re different.”
My eyebrows lift, hanging out somewhere near my hairline.
“Being with you was like a breath of fresh air because you don’t eat, breathe, and live hockey.” He runs a hand through his dark blond hair. “When I’m off the ice, I’d like to talk about something other than the game.”
Boo-hoo-hoo.“Your mother made her position clear.”
He takes a step closer.
I take one back.
