Page 85 of Grumpy Darling

Her forehead creased, as if the thought disappointed her. “Okay then,” she said. “How will you know when you’ve found this soulmate?” Her tone suggested she was challenging me to prove I was serious.

I paused, racking my brain for a suitable answer. I’d already found my soulmate, but it was hard to pinpoint the exact moment I realized Paige was it. Perhaps I’d always known. When it came to Paige, it had never just felt like her and me. It had always felt likeus. My life simply wasn’t complete without her. But I had a feeling that sentiment might be a little too intense for this interview. I decided to settle for the most recent reminder I’d had that Paige was the one girl for me.

“I guess, you just get to a point where you wake up, look over at the girl lying next to you, and it just clicks. Nothing else seems to matter but her...”

I could have sworn Paige gasped, but she quickly gulped down the reaction and nodded. We hadn’t really talked about last night. When I’d tried to bring it up at breakfast, she’d just apologized and moved on. But the way I’d alluded to it this time, however subtle, had definitely drawn some sort of reaction out of her. Maybe she wasn’t as unaffected by it as I’d first thought.

“Okay, uh, good. Next question...” she stuttered as her eyes flicked across the page of her notebook, trying to find the spot where she’d left off. When she did, she gasped again, but this time she didn’t try to hide it.

“What is it?”

“Uh, it’s just the question . . .”

“Hit me,” I said. “I’m on a roll.”

She laughed nervously, shaking off a little of the uncertainty my previous answer seemed to have caused. “If you insist.” She grimaced as she looked at the page again. “Are you a boobs or butt guy?”

She was firmly refusing to meet my eyes, and I could tell she was dying inside. I struggled to hide my amusement. “From soulmates to this?”

“I told you they were bad.”

I was actually starting to enjoy this interview.

“I’m more of a smile and eyes guy,” I replied.

She seemed pleased with my response, and her shoulders relaxed a little, but it only lasted a moment.

“Briefs or boxers?” she asked with another grimace.

“Boxers,” I answered quickly. I could see Paige wanted to get off this particular topic. “Next.”

“Blondes or brunettes?”

“I think you already know the answer to that one.” I smiled to myself as she wrote down the second option without daring to look up at me, before she quickly continued.

“What’s your idea of the perfect date?”

“I’d have to say April 25.”

She burst out laughing, and I couldn’t stop a grin from forming in response. She’d forced me to watchMiss Congenialitya few weeks back. Apparently, that romcom had a purpose in my life after all. The building tension between us had eased, and I used the opportunity to ask a question of my own.

“What about you? What’s your perfect date?”

“These questions aren’t for me,” she replied.

“Pretend for a second they are.”

“I guess just something romantic,” she said, her thoughts seeming to drift as she considered it. “But that’s kind of obvious. Maybe something I haven’t done before, or that I wouldn’t expect.” She shrugged and focused back on me. “I wouldn’t really know, because I’ve never been on one. Hopefully that’s about to change...”

She glanced toward the ice, and I did my best not to break my hockey stick in two as Damien skated past. He winked at Paige, and her eyes darted back down to her notes. She quickly read the next question.

“Tell the story of your first kiss.”

Now it was my turn to feel uncertain. My throat went tight, and I could feel the heat of embarrassment crawling up my neck. I’d met my match. There was no way I could answer this question.

But as Paige looked up and our eyes met, something shifted in the air between us. The tension was back, but it was different now. Her gaze had fallen to my lips. There was a curious, almost longing look in her eyes, as if she was imagining what it would be like to kiss me. My stomach clenched. Could she really be thinking that? Or was she just wondering what it would feel like to kiss anyone?

I was stunned into silence, and when I didn’t answer, Paige spoke first. “So, your first kiss?” Her voice was slightly dry and the words came out in a whisper.

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