“Actually, no,” she replied, praying she didn’t blush.
“Lucky me, then.” He leaned his elbows on her desk. “Look, I’ve used Fated Match for years and it’s never really gone anywhere, but when I saw our match rating, I was floored. A ninety-six percent is pretty unheard of.”
“I know.” They had very few pairs with that close to a perfect compatibility rating, and almost all of them ended up together long-term.
“So I thought I should try to meet you. Can I take you to dinner or something?”
She cocked her head at his easy invitation. “Doesn’t it bother you that I’m a human?”
“No. I figure, I’m more than my wolf. You must be more than your humanity, too. I didn’t want that to stand in the way of meeting you. For a ninety-six percent pairing, very little would make me want to walk away.”
“What would?” she asked, curious despite herself.
“If you’re not a Yankees fan, I think we’re done here,” he said.
“Not much of a sports girl, I’m afraid.”
“No problem. I’ll teach you. So how about that dinner?”
She was surprisingly tempted. Christian looked exactly like the man she had always dreamed of. Someone who could laugh, who didn’t mind her human roots, and who really wanted to get to know her. If she’d met him a week earlier, she would have jumped at his offer.
But she wasn’t into dating two guys at one time, especially not when one of those men was Lucian.
“I’d like to, honestly I would, but I’m sort of seeing someone right now.”
His face fell. “Your profile said—”
“I haven’t updated my account yet.”
Some of his disappointment faded. “Is he a were?”
“Vampire.”
A slow grin curved his lips. “Vampire, huh? Cool-blooded suckers.” He reached into his coat and pulled out a business card. Then he scrawled something on the back.
“Here.” He held out the card to her. “I wrote down my personal cell number.”
She accepted the card with a frown. “I just said…”
“I know. But vampires are notoriously bad with humans. I have a feeling I’ll be getting a call from you soon.”
“Arrogant,” she said.
“Confident,” he corrected. “Ninety-six percent rating, honey. Tell me you’re not interested in exploring that.”
“Maybe if I were free, but I told you, I’m involved.”
He shrugged. “Someday you might not be and let’s face it,” he spread his hands, “I’m not getting any older.”
She smiled despite herself. “I’ll take the card but I make no promises.”
“My offer to feed you still stands. I’m a sucker for anything spicy.”
“Me too.”
The grin widened. “How ’bout that.”
“Fine, fine. I’m keeping the card but you need to leave.” She gave him a smile to lessen the impact of her words.
“I’m going.”
She offered her hand and tried not to notice how nice it felt when he enfolded her small fingers in his larger ones. Abbey tried to withdraw her hand but he held on, pulling her closer.
“Just so you know,” he said. “I’m a hell of a lot more fun than any leech.”
He kissed her cheek before she could protest and left her with a last, wicked grin.
Abbey stared after him, one hand on her cheek. He was bold, she’d give him that. But she had Lucian and brash or not, he was the man she wanted to go home with tonight.
…
Something was off. She sensed it the moment Lucian stepped into her office and accepted the file she had waiting. He viewed the information on the were-tiger he was meeting and asked a few questions, showing more interest in the dating process than he ever had before.
“Lavender perfume,” she said, pushing the small pink gift box toward him. “Her favorite.”
“Thank you.” He pocketed the box without protest.
The drive to the restaurant seemed like an eternity. Had something gone wrong? she wondered. When she’d left him this morning, he’d grinned and dragged her back to bed, begging her to spend the day. He hadn’t seemed like a man about to pull away from her.
Yet that was exactly what was happening.
They pulled up in front of the restaurant and she unfastened her seat belt. “I’ll wait for you at the bar,” she said.
“No.”
The word froze her, one hand on the door.
“What?” She swung around to face him.
In the shadows of the car, it was impossible to read his expression. Not that she ever had much luck predicting his feelings.
“What do you mean?”