Emma: I’m getting ready for work, but yes. Definitely still on.
Relief flooded through me so fast, it left me lightheaded. One of our longest standing rules was not discussing work. Shortly after we’d met online in the weirdest, silliest way possible, we’d discovered we both loved rules and we’d laid down a few—no real names, no mention of work, and no talk about family.
All she knew was that I was in New York for business. She didn’t know about the convention, the panels, or the swarm of finance executives currently populating Midtown like a well-dressed plague. She didn’t know my last name, either.
Emma: Try not to be mysterious and brooding all day. Save some personality for tonight.
Me: I make no promises.
I stared at the screen after the conversation ended, adrenaline simmering beneath my skin and anticipation sharpening every sense. Tonight, I was finally going to meet her and I had no idea how to prepare for that, and before I could even get there, I had to make it through one last day of not knowing what her real name was first.
It was going to be hell getting through the next twelve hours, but after half a decade, it was a kind of torture I was intimately familiar with.
Colin was already waiting near the breakfast buffet when I arrived in the lounge after grabbing a quick shower. He sipped his coffee as I dropped into the seat across from him, totally ignoring the roughly three thousand corporate drones around us.
“You’re scowling again,” he said, nodding at me rather than wasting his breath on a greeting. “Has someone pissed you off already?”
“No, I’m just thinking.”
“About faking an illness?”
I shrugged. “It’s always good to have contingency plans.”
He huffed out a quiet laugh and went back to his coffee. Bringing him on this trip had been the best decision I’d made in months. He moved through crowds like a shadow, polite, efficient, and allergic to unnecessary conversation. It had been a blast so far.
I ordered a coffee of my own and turned back to him. “I’m heading out tonight, so I won’t be around for dinner.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly. “If you’re saying it like that, I’m assuming it’s not a meeting.”
“Nope. For a change, it’s not business.”
He frowned. “You’re going out with someone? For fun?”
I hesitated for half a second before I nodded. “Yeah.Someone.”
Surprise flickered across his usually neutral expression, his eyes widening as he stared at me like he was wondering if I’d been body-snatched. “Afemalesomeone?”
“Yeah.” I exhaled slowly. “At least, I’m fairly certain it’s a woman. Technically, it’s possible she’s been lying about that, but I doubt it.”
Colin blinked a few times. “Youhopeit’s a woman? What the hell does that mean? Are you hiring a professional?”
“No. Jesus. It’s nothing like that.” I sighed and raked a hand through my hair, finally elaborating when he kept just looking at me like he was considering having me committed for a seventy-two-hour psych hold. “She’s just a friend, okay? We met online a few years ago and we’ve been talking ever since. She lives here in New York, so when I told her I was coming, we decided to meet up.”
“So, wait. You’ve been talking online for years, but you said youhopeshe’s a woman. Does that mean you’ve never actuallyseenher before?”
I shrugged. “Nope.”
“And you’re finally meeting her tonight.” His eyebrows swept up almost to his hairline. “That’s significant.”
“That’s one word for it.”
“You sound nervous.”
I snorted. “Check your ears. I sound fine.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re nervous to meet your pen pal. Well, aren’t you adorable?”
“This date has been a long time coming,” I grated. “There won’t be anything adorable about it.”
