Page 41 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

He looked uneasy as he said that, but it was clear: he was giving me an out. My brain raced, frantically creating a list of whether I should accept or reject the offer, and all the points were firmly in the pro column. It was perfect, and I’d be a fool to say no.

Buthisdeal was equally important to him. It was a huge opportunity that probably wouldn’t knock twice, and it would crush him if he lost it. And for reasons I’d rather not delve too much into, ending our agreement this way wasn’t something I felt comfortable doing.

“You sure it’s an apology?” I raised my chin at him. “Smells like a bribe to me.”

“It’s not. I don’t do bribes. Just say the word, and I’ll cancel brunch, and you don’t have to continue with the rest of our arrangement.”

It’s your chance, my brain whispered. Go ahead, nod and say yes…

“No. We agreed to do this until your acquisition is completed,” I said, as my brain cells threw their hands up in exasperation and screamedFOOL!while my heart cheered and tossed colorful confetti to celebrate. “So that’s what we’ll do.”

His gaze never wavered from my face. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, trying to portray a confidence I didn’t feel. “Positive. As long as we move on from last night. Nothing happened, so let’s not talk about it anymore. We will both be professionals from now on. Is that a deal?”

“Yes.” A smile lifted the corners of his lips. “So we’re good?”

“Totally awesome.” I hoped my enthusiastic tone convinced him.

Now all I had to do was to convince myself.

By the time we were on our way to meet Jacqui, last night’s embarrassing Kiss That Never Happened was a distant memory,securely tucked away in a dusty compartment at the back of my brain, never to be revisited. As an addendum to his apology, Alec agreed to swap his podcast for my Spotify playlist and was now humming off-key to a Coldplay tune.

I smirked with satisfaction.Boring podcasts: 0, Ellie Pang: 1.

“Told you I’d convert you.”

Alec only grunted a response, but his mouth twisted into a smile. He was wearing a navy button-up shirt and dark-gray pants, dressed like he was going to a magazine photoshoot instead of a casual weekend brunch at a seaside restaurant. We stopped at a red light, and while waiting for it to turn green, he took one hand off the steering wheel to roll up one of his sleeves.

I pretended to look straight ahead, but I was really watching him from the corner of my eyes. I’d never thought that the simple act of someone rolling up their sleeves could be that appealing, but here we were.

Eyes away from the arm porn, Ellie.

“Hey. It’s Sunday.”

“Whoa.” He snorted. “Your wisdom knows no bounds.”

“It’s Sunday, smart-ass, and you’re wearing a shirt and dress pants.”

“Because I’m meeting a potential business partner. Let me share a free tip with you: it pays to present yourself well and make a good impression.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to be stiff and uptight about what you wear.” I gestured at my mint-green shirtdress. “Exhibit A. My casual look is still presentable and acceptable for a semiformal business meeting on the weekend.”

He spared me a brief glance. “You look nice.”

“This is how I rolled out of bed.” I ignored the warm fuzzy feels from his compliment. “You’re dressed like you’re going to a job interview. Jacqui wouldn’t judge you or your business based on what you wear on a Sunday.”

“Well… old habits die hard.”

“You mean you’ve always been this uptight? Were you born that way?”

He ignored my quip and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Only since my dad left, I guess. A few guys I used to hang out with made fun of my family because my parents separated.” He let out a bitter laugh. “I was ashamed at first. For some people, apparently it meant that my family was somehow inferior to theirs. Like I wasn’t good enough to hang out with them, just because I didn’t have a father figure in my life, or because we weren’t rolling in cash since we had a single mother supporting our family.”

Something tugged at my heartstrings, instantly wiping the smirk off my face. I’d never heard him mention anything this personal about his father before.

“But your brother,” he smiled a little, “reminded me that those guys aren’t my true friends. That I wouldn’t want people like them hanging around me anyway. How it was better not to have a father, rather than having one who never wanted to be in my life, and that having my mother and my sisters was more than enough. That I had nothing to be ashamed of. And he was absolutely right. So to me, dressing up nicely is a way of showing people that even though my dad left us, we’re still doing okay.” He looked embarrassed. “It’s silly, I know.”

My heart broke for him. “Not silly at all. Do you miss him?”

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