He smiled again. “Very nice to meet you, Natalia.”
Hunter kept my hand cupped in his as he turned his attention back to Anna. “And why is Adam paired up with the beautiful Natalia and not me?”
My friend snorted. She was definitely stoned. “Because you two would kill each other.”
He seemed to like that answer. His eyes crinkled, and he returned his gaze to me. “Is that so?”
I felt electricity zapping between us, although something told me this was electricity harnessed from lightning in a storm. The last time I’d felt a physical reaction so strong to anyone was when I met Garrett. My delicate heart still had a hole in it from that lightning bolt.
“Do you remember when Derek’s brother Andrew lost his job and was having a hard time in social situations?” Anna asked him. “He started to stay in too often, and I was nervous he was turning into an agoraphobe?”
“Yeah,” Hunter said. “I remember. It was a few years back.”
“I suggested he find a therapist to work with, help him get over a difficult time and his fears. And what did you say?”
“I said you were nuts, and he needed a swift kick in his lazy ass and a job.”
Anna smiled. “Nat here is a behavioral therapist. She visits people with anxiety disorders and works on breaking the habits that cause them stress.”
His brows rose. “That’s an actual thing?”
I slipped my hand from his. “It is. I work mostly with people who have obsessive-compulsive disorders.”
“Well, whatta you know? I thought you were making that shit up.”
“Hunter is a builder,” Anna continued. “He builds large projects like shopping malls. You know, the kind where they need to clear the land of all the trees to build a mile of Gap, Baby Gap, and Abercrombies. He built the one that took over part of the park we used to go to uptown as kids—Medley Park. He and Derek grew up together. They don’t get to see each other often because Hunter travels around the country for months at a time on projects.”
Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome seemed proud of that résumé.
I offered him a sugary smile. “I loved that park. Good job blowing up the carbon footprint of the Upper East Side and desecrating our environment.”
“Tree hugger, huh? Sounds like Anna’s right. We might kill each other if we were partners.”
“Mmm…I want cheesecake. Are you thirsty? I’m so thirsty.”
Yep. Anna was definitely stoned. “We haven’t even had dinner yet,” I pointed out.
“Who cares? Let’s go get some dessert. Come on!” Licking her lips, she started back into the restaurant without us.
Hunter chuckled. “It was nice to meet you, Natalia. And if things don’t work out with that boring shit, Adam, I’m in room 315 at the hotel.” He winked and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “We might kill each other, but fucking to death is the way I want to go.”
***
“Are these seats taken?”
Adam and I were just finishing dessert when Hunter walked over and pointed to two empty chairs across from us. The couple inhabiting them had skipped out a few minutes ago.
“Yes,” I lied.
Adam was kind enough to correct me. “Actually, Eric and Kim were sitting there. They just said goodbye two minutes ago, remember, Nat?”
A wide, gloating smile spread across Hunter’s face. He pulled out a chair for his wedding partner and seated himself directly across from me. “This is Cassie. She’s a tech goddess—graduated from Caltech. Have you met Adam, Cassie?”
Adam’s interest piqued. “We met briefly this afternoon. But I hadn’t realized you were in tech. I’m MIT. I work with Derek over at Clique in robotics programming.”
Conversation between Adam and Cassie took off like a runaway train. Neither of them even noticed the scowl I shot at the architect of this match made in geek heaven.
I leaned forward and smiled, speaking through my teeth. “I know what you’re doing.”
Hunter sat back in his seat with an ear-to-ear pompous grin. “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“Whatever you say. But I’m here if you need an alternate later.”
I finished off the coffee in my cup and adjusted the front of my dress to reveal a healthy amount of cleavage. Then I took my napkin from the table and discreetly dropped it on the floor. Picking up my fork, I scooped up a small piece of cheesecake and accidentally dropped it onto my cleavage.
Hunter watched the entire show with interest.
Leaning in, I wrapped my hand around Adam’s bicep. “Do you have a napkin? They must’ve taken mine when they cleared dinner, and I seem to have made a mess.”