“Oh, I’m not… I just work for him. Well, sort of for him.” Technically, he wasn’t my employer, but I didn’t feel like getting into that. “But it’s not like that.”
“No, of course not. Sorry,” she apologized, but I felt it wasn’t exactly sincere.
As I stood with Peyton, my single-spidey senses began to tingle. Over the past fifteen years that I’d sworn off dating, a lot of people had tried to set me up. Fearing that’s where this was headed, I excused myself. “I better get back.”
“It was nice talking to you,” Peyton said with genuine warmth.
“You, too.”
I was reaching for the door handle again when she asked, “Are you single?”
When I’d gotten the inkling that Peyton was about to play matchmaker, I hadn’t thought it would be confirmed this quickly. Maybe I’d heard her wrong because I’d been thinking that was going to happen.
I turned back to her and repeated, “Am I single?”
Peyton cringed slightly. “Sorry, is that too personal?”
“Um, no.”
“Oh, okay,” she nodded, and I detected disappointment in her tone.
“I mean, no, it’s not too personal,” I clarified. “And yes. I’m single. I don’t really date.”
“Oh!” Her expression brightened before she took a deep breath, as if what she was going to say next was important. “Listen, I know that it’s none of my business, but I just wanted to tell you that I’ve known Nick since he was in high school, and he’s not who people think he is.”
“He’s not?” I had thought the same thing, but I wanted to know what she was referring to specifically.
“I mean, yes, he’s definitely lived up to his reputation in some respects. But that’s not who he is. He is an honest, trustworthy, hardworking, loving, and generous person who deserves someone who sees past the persona. He’s one of the good ones.”
I stared at her, not sure how to reply.
“Anyway, I just wanted you to know that.”
“Oh, okay.” I nodded, feeling a little bit off center, as I walked out of the restroom.
On my way back to the table, I noticed that Naomi wasn’t there. Hector had also disappeared. I’d made sure that she was okay before I’d gone to the restroom and told him to text me if there was any issue. I pulled out my phone and saw that the only other message I’d received was a GIF from Ri of three raffle tickets with the words Pound Town on them.
Not allowing myself to be distracted by my friend’s clever yet inappropriate message I put my phone back in my clutch and scanned the sea of people dressed in gowns and tuxes. It shouldn’t be difficult to find them. Hector stood at six-foot-four and was bald as a billiard ball, and Naomi was in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank attached to it. One would think years of dominating Where’s Waldo would have prepared me for this, but I was striking out.
“They left,” a deep, familiar voice sounded behind me.
The hoarse timbre caused goosebumps to rise on my arms. I looked up into the clearest ocean-blue eyes I’d ever seen. I hadn’t spoken to Nick all evening. I’d seen him making his rounds at the event. I watched in awe at the way he captivated every audience he had. I loved watching people’s faces light up when he spoke to them. He had a way of making someone feel like they were the most important person in the world.
I needed to remember that and not let myself be swept away by it. I wasn’t special. He made everyone feel like that.
“Who left?” I asked as a shiver of awareness raced down my spine.
Standing this close to him was an assault on the senses. He wore a suit that was clearly tailored to his body, showcasing his broad shoulders. I still preferred him shirtless in sweats, but this was a very close runner up. His masculine scent was a heady combination of woodsy and fresh.
“Naomi and Hector. She was tired, so I had Kurt drive them home.”
“Oh.” I blinked several times at the man who made me feel things I hadn’t even known I was capable of feeling and thought only existed in movies and romance novels. The air felt heavy between us, and I was finding it difficult to breathe or think. It took a second for my brain to process the information I’d just been given. Hector and Naomi left, which meant there was no reason for me to be here. I should be relieved since this wasn’t exactly my scene. But instead, I felt disappointed. “Okay, well, I guess I should head out, too.”
I started to walk away when the sensation of warm, thick fingers wrapping around my wrist stopped me in my tracks. Tingles instantly spread from the innocent point of contact to the top of my head, the tip of my toes, and everywhere in between.
Inhaling a startled shock, I looked over my shoulder at him.
“Do youhaveto go?” he asked with a look so intense I felt my cheeks burn from the heat of it.
