Page 8 of Stars and Swipes

I glance back at her and smile. “I’m just looking around. I’ve never been in your store. It’s really cute.”

She stiffens and glares at me. “What are you trying to say?”

I laugh. “Are you always this testy, kitten? I’m just saying that it’s nice.”

She steps back when I turn around and smile at her. I reach out a hand and run my fingers down her cheek, feeling how soft her skin is. She flinches back and stares at me, her lovely mouth hanging open, giving my very lurid imagination even more to play with.

“You need to go.”

I glance around at the store that’s only got one person over in the corner shopping.

She sighs. “It’s my lunch-time. I close the store for lunch because it’s just me here.”

I frown at her. “You shouldn’t be cooped up all day in this store alone. It’s not safe.”

She throws her head back, laughing. “Magnolia Point is one of the safest places in the world.” She gives me a pitying look and sighs. “I know you’re used to the big city and don’t know how the small town works but I’m as safe here as I am if I’m sitting in the police station.”

I smile at her and step back, knowing it’s time to go. I don’t want to push too much. I want her to want to see me.

“I need to get back to work. I’ll see you later, kitten.”

And I turn around and leave before she says what I can tell by her eyes that she’s getting ready to say.

I consider this to be a win and head for the pet store a couple of towns over even though I should be working on the lobby again. I need to get Tigerlily a catnip mouse because that kitten is like my wingman at this point!

I whistle and drive out of town, my fingers tapping on the steering wheel, my favorite eighties music on as I listen to the singer singing about wearing sunglasses and slip my own on, the sun’s glare hitting me right in the eyes.

I don’t care if my kitten sees what’s hiding in my eyes. I’ll gladly show her. I’m ready to win my little kitten.

But after a week, I’m just about desperate enough to break into her house and tie her pretty ass to my bed until she talks to me.

Which is when her best friend shows up at my door and smirks at me even though I have no idea who the hell she is

“I think we need to talk.”

CHAPTER 5

Promise

Isit at the table at The Mad Vine and tap at my wine glass like I’m starting the beat for a band, winding up a crowd or something. I glance over and see some of the other diners glaring at me. I smile at them weakly and gently set my spoon down and huff out a sharp breath.

I don’t know how I let Petra talk me into this. I don’t want to date. But she’s trying out a new app and she’s trying to build up the number of people who have used it to good effect.

But a matchmaking app? Ugh! I cannot believe I agreed to this. If I hadn’t been so messed up from seeing Kade and worrying about what he makes me feel, maybe I would have noticed that she wasn’t paying a helluva lot of attention to my sniping about him. Maybe I would have noticed that she was about to snooker me into doing this for her.

I drop my hands into my lap and twist them around and around until I’m wrapping my silk blouse around my fingers. My sleek pencil skirt and black pumps with the strap around the ankles actually looks like I might be on my way to a business meeting but I don’t date so I did the best I could after Petra called me and begged me to go on this date. She ran me through her computer and said that she found me the perfect match.

Considering that I don’t think there is one…I’m keenly aware that I do not believe this “app” works at all. But I wouldn’t do anything that would hurt my bestie and she said she needs to prove to her boss that this app works. So she needs help and I would do anything for her.

“Well, well, little kitten. Here we are again.”

I close my eyes and count to ten, picturing how I’m about to kill my best friend. Because she could not possibly have fixed me up with the one man that I hoped not to run into again.

I open them and look up and up and up. Right into a sparkling pair of pale green eyes and broad shoulders that are wide enough to block out all the light in the dining room.

He sits down and I immediately back away from the table like I can keep myself out of the massive firewall of sexy that is him. He’s too young, too brash, too arrogant and way too sexy for me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask. But I already know and am absolutely gonna hunt my duplicitous bestie down after I’m done with this date from hell. She is dead to me.