I tapped on the notification.
“We need to talk.”
I drew my knees up to my chest and typed out a response.“I’m busy.”
“With what?”
Casting a glance around my apartment, I landed on the juicer.“Cooking.”
“What’s for breakfast?”
“Juice.”
“How strange, I also happen to be in the mood for starving myself. I’m coming over.”
I scrambled for a response that would ward him off. The thought of Kaz coming here and seeing where I lived made my chest tighten.“You don’t have my address, and I’m not giving it to you.”
“I’m sure Trinity will be happy to share it.”
“That’s an HR violation.”
“You’re one to talk.”
Heat crept up my neck. Would Kaz tell Trinity about what we did at the party? I was ninety-nine percent sure he wouldn’t do that, but maybe I did need to talk to him to confirm. I couldn’t lose my job. I needed to move out of here.
“Fine. Let’s meet somewhere.”
“Spicy Dumpling on 7thstreet, 7 pm.”
Huh. I loved that place.Piper and I would order dozens of dumplings from there and do movie nights every few months.“Okay.”
“It’s a date.”
“NOT a date,”I typed out, following up with a string of exclamation marks for good measure.
“See you at 7.”
Ugh.My head fell against the door, and I released a pent-up breath. I had only a few hours to come up with what I was going to say to Kaz.
* * *
The restaurant was bustling when I walked in a little after seven. Clinking chopsticks, energetic conversations, and the mouthwatering smell of broth and fried rice filled the air. I preferred places like this over fancier restaurants where I always felt out of place.
The top of Kaz’s head was sticking out of a booth, and I made my way to him. A fluttering sensation filled my chest as I got closer to the singer. He wore a long-sleeved shirt with the buttons at the top undone and the sleeves pushed up. My gaze paused on the dark tattoos marking his forearms and the muscles visible beneath before trailing down to his powerful hands. Memories of last night flashed before my eyes.
“Hi,” I said on a breath.
He drank me in slowly, as if I were a glass of expensive bourbon he wanted to savor. I’d purposefully kept it casual in a simple skater dress that reached just above my knee, but if he was disappointed in my rather unsexy outfit compared to last night, he didn’t show it. Instead, when his eyes finally met mine, they were filled with an unmistakable heat. “I was worried I was going to get stood up.”
I slid into the seat across from him. He put his elbows on the table, cradling his jaw with one hand. The air between us crackled.
“Why would I? You said you wanted to talk. Communication is important, especially between coworkers.”
He arched a brow, calling me out on my bullshit. “Let’s eat first. I already ordered for both of us.”
“How did you know what I like?”
“Took a wild guess.”
