Connor changed his mind: He hated his brother.
Rachel laughed and tucked her hair behind her ears, that hair that felt like silk when you wrapped it around your finger. “You’re a real pro at sweet talk.”
“I’m a master pastry chef, Rachel,” Alec said seriously. “All things sweet are my specialty.”
She laughed louder, and Cian, the traitor, grinned too. Connor would have liked to leave, just like Maddie, who had withdrawn immediately after the last round ended because she was tired and no longer lived around the corner. But only over his dead body would he leave Rachel with Alec, who lived in a town where there were obviously no single women left for him to have fun with.
God, why was Rachel still sitting here? She didn’t need to be! If she didn’t want to spend time with Alec, she could have left with her sister. But no, she was still sitting here, so she was obviously trying to talk Alec and Cian out of the idea of the date…for his sake.
It wasn't because she didn’t want to go out with his brother, but because she didn’t want to make the situation awkward for him.
Everything. Was. Fine. If she went out with Alec, and then ended up in bed with him…Connor’s jaw cracked.
“Are you cracking nuts, or what’s wrong with you?” Cian asked innocently.
“Nothing. It was the chair.”
Cian grinned knowingly, and Rachel glanced over at him uneasily. Shit, was she considering hisfeelings? Feelings he damn well didn’t have!
“You should go out,” he squeezed out. “If your beloved questionnaire tells you he’s the one, feel free to do it.”
“So, you’d be okay with it?” Alec batted his eyelashes.
“Yeah! I don’t give a shit who goes out with who here.”
Rachel narrowed her eyes almost imperceptibly before raising her chin. “Well then,” she said woodenly, “Alec, how do you feel about a breakfast date tomorrow?”
“I love breakfast.”
“Wonderful, because at seventy-two percent, we shouldn’t waste any time.”
“Is seventy-two percent high?” Cian asked.
“Relatively.” Rachel smiled. “So far, the highest score was eighty-seven percent.” Her gaze flicked to him, and he was surprised it didn’t split the table because it was so damn sharp. “They’re still together.”
“Good for them,” he replied dryly.
“I really enjoyed the questionnaire, by the way,” Alec drew Rachel’s attention again.
Rachel’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“I feel like it’s given me the opportunity to get to know myself better, don’t you think? It encourages you to be honest with yourself.”
Rachel’s gaze shifted to him again. “I tweaked a few things last week, so that you’re really honest. Because I wasn’t, before.”
Stunned, Connor’s hands slipped off the table.
“That was a good idea,” Alec confirmed. “Connor here, for example, would be lying from start to finish if he filled out something like that.”
Rachel’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“I would not,” he countered.
“Oh, yes, you would.” Alec nodded. “The last time Mallory asked you what your type of woman was, you told her you liked quiet, unassuming ones!”
He rolled his eyes. He’d wanted to rile up his ridiculously nosy sister, and he’d succeeded!
“And anyone who’s ever lived with the eighteen-plus version of you knows that you like them loud,” Alec continued undeterred. “In all areas.”
