Definitely not the fact that he wasn’t Dhillon.
“That is so hot. Do you have any tattoos?” Something about his lopsided grin made her stiffen back into her chair.
She had a small Ganesha tattooed on the side of her shoulder that was currently covered by the cap sleeves of her dress.
Instinct made her lie. “No.”
“You know, it’s kind of a fantasy of mine to be with a woman firefighter.” He said this like he was ordering food off the menu.
“Excuse me?” She was sure her voice had gone up an octave.
“I mean, come on. Firefighting is totally hot—no pun intended. But it’s a real turn-on. Don’t you think?”
Riya narrowed her eyes at him. “I mean, I know some people think firefighters are hot, but our job is serious. People die if we don’t do our jobs.” She squirmed in her seat. He couldn’t possibly...
“You’re a gorgeous woman. You’re a firefighter.” Akash simply shrugged.
“So you thought, what the hell, let’s see if she’ll just sleep with me? Check that box?” Riya gave him her most saccharine smile.What an asshole.
He nodded, visibly relieved that she had caught on. “Yes. See, you get it.”
She sat straight up, her eyes hardening. “Oh, I get it. But no, thanks.”
“Come on. One night. You can’t possibly be a virgin.”
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Riya pulled out some cash and dropped it on the table. Then thought better of it and picked up the cash. Let the asshole pay. “I’m not interested. If you want to score a firefighter, get someone to play dress-up for you.”
She stomped out and got into her car, shuddering. A shower was necessary. She was pulling into her driveway when she realized that she completely missed out on the apparently amazing tiramisu. Damn it. Why were men such assholes?
And now Dhillon was having a fucking fantastic time on his date. She sat in the driveway a moment and gathered herself before going back into the house. Her mom was getting better, but she’d probably need Riya around for a couple more weeks. She started to open the car door when headlights blinded her momentarily. She failed to ignore the little jump her heart gave.
Dhillon was home.
She suppressed a satisfied grin that he was home at the same time as her. He exited the car with a to-go box in his hand. She smirked. She’d bet her turnout gear that was chocolate cake in there. Dhillon had a sweet tooth, but his date didn’t eat dessert.
“Hey,” she called out.
“Hey.” He sauntered over to her car, leaning against the hood next to her, and she was at once in the protective bubble of his scent. Wisps of his cologne andhim.
“What’s up?” she asked, nodding at the to-go box. “How was Sonia?” She tried not to say the woman’s name with a tone, but she was probably not successful.
He opened the box, and sure enough, there was a huge slab of chocolate cake in there, along with one fork. “She’s awesome. Intelligent. Funny. Very attractive.” He nodded as if that said it all. He put a piece of cake on the fork and held it out in front of her mouth. “How about Akash?”
“Same.” She opened her mouth and ate the cake. “Very handsome, he totally works out. Just the right amount of geeky.”
The cake was light and moist, and the icing was chocolaty without being too sweet. In other words, perfection. And the fact that Dhillon was feeding her didn’t hurt, either. Though, they used to do that when they were kids, sharing dessert. Who needed two spoons?
“You’re home early,” he said, as he fed her another bite.
She took the cake and was grateful for the full mouth so she didn’t have to talk. She shrugged and swallowed. “So are you.”
“She doesn’t like pets.”
Riya’s mouth dropped open. “No! I’m so sorry.” No, she wasn’t. A little part of her danced a jig. She was excited that Little Miss Perfect Pediatrician didn’t like pets.
He nodded as he ate more cake.
“Shouldn’t that have been on her profile? Why did she even waste your time coming out?”
