Page 4 of Let Me Win You

Did he really think I’d buy it?

“Okay.” I inhaled. “I tried to get you off easy, but if you want it the hard way…” I leaned in. “My friend isn’t interested in you. She already has a rich, good-looking asshole who is treating her like shit. Wasting her time on another one is the last thing she needs right now. I talked her into coming out with me for a glass of wine and a little dancing after a very stressful day we both had, and I don’t want her to regret it. She’s not here to pick up guys.”

Understanding finally relaxed his face—a damn good-looking face, I had to admit. His long, ink-black hair was tossed into a carefree bun with an artistic flair. His equally dark facial hair was meticulously trimmed and shaped into a pair of trendy sideburns and a short stubble of a beard that further made me think he must be in the arts.

A sculptor or a successful artist, maybe?

He could’ve been an actor or a model. Only then I would’ve certainly seen him somewhere. A face like that wouldn’t be easy to forget.

His eyes of the most fantastic emerald green stood out against his light-brown skin. I stared at them in fascinationbefore realizing that he must be wearing colored contacts. No eyes could be naturally this intense.

“Jessica must be your friend,” he said with realization. “The one who went to the bathroom. Sorry, I got a little confused, but she never said her name. Also, my apologies if I seem a bit slow at grasping things, I’m new to this world.”

To this world?

Did he mean he was new to this city? Or to the country, maybe?

He spoke without an accent, but his manner of speaking seemed a bit strange. It could be foreign.

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“I’m…um, from a small town. A long way from here.” He shifted in his seat, looking uneasy but not getting up to leave.

I feared he might be of that persistent, obsessive type, who saw getting into my friend’s pants their missionespeciallybecause I said she wasn’t interested.

Jessica so didn’t need this right now. She still believed her current relationship was salvageable, despite her asshole boyfriend’s frequent absences and lame excuses. I’d found out that he also cheated on her extensively. The scumbag had even propositionedme,in the nastiest of ways. But I knew it’d break her heart if I told her that. She was so looking forward to doing the cake decorating challenge with me this weekend. It didn’t seem kind to dump on her the news that would devastate her.

Now, I felt guilty about talking Jessica into coming out with me tonight when she just wanted to go straight to bed in her hotel room after we’d won the second round of the cake decorating challenge and advanced into the finals.

It had been by far the most stressful day for both of us ever since we’d opened a bakery together. I hated to compete, especially with someone like Aidan, orChefAidan, like he insisted on being addressed. But the competition of this levelwas sure to put our bakery on the map. The prize money would allow us to open the second location. The final round was going to be televised and broadcast all over the country, which could potentially expand our online market too.

I knew our pastries were good. People would line up sometimes for over an hour for a chance to get some of our stuffed croissants. But the online orders were slow, and the special occasion cakes seemed to be a hard sell in the small town where we lived.

“But I didn’t come to your table to meet Jessica,” the handsome stranger declared, obviously trying to save face in response to the rejection.

“I know.” I nodded, humoring him. “You came to share the duck joke.”

He grinned. The smile lit up his eyes, making the silver sparks in his green irises dance with humor. I didn’t know that color contacts could do that.

“I was too flustered to come up with anything better,” he admitted with disarming honesty. “I really wanted to make a good impression on you but couldn’t think of a single funny thing to say.”

“It’s hard, isn’t it? Especially, when you’re put on the spot like that,” I sympathized. “But you don’t have to waste your time on trying to impress us. There are plenty of interesting young women here. Go talk to them.” I waved a hand at the dance floor. “Just think about something cool to say beforehand. I’m afraid that duck joke won’t get you far with women.” I giggled.

“But it made you laugh.” He slid his gaze to my lips.

“Yeah, well…I laugh a lot, which makes things awkward sometimes.” I suddenly felt flustered, too, my cheeks flushing with unexpected heat. “But I’m not the golden standard for all womankind. Trust me, you’d be better off chatting to someone else.”

“Why would I want to talk to anyone else when I’m already talking to you?”

I blew out an exasperated breath. “Because you’re just killing time, waiting for Jessica to return from the bathroom, hoping against all odds that you still might have a chance with her.”

“I’m not interested in your friend, Nicole. Why are you so sure that I came here for her?”

How long was he planning to keep this up?

“Because I’ve known her since kindergarten,” I said. “Jessica and I have been best friends for almost all of my twenty-seven years. And in all those years, not once a hot dude like you approached us with the genuine intention of askingmeout. She would never date anyone who uses me as an easy way to get to her. And frankly, I’m sick and tired of being taken as her bubbly, approachable matchmaker. It happens so often that by now I’ve developed a strong aversion to your type.”

“What is mytype?”

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