Page 104 of Meet Cute or Your Money Back

“Yeah, buddy?”

“I like Allie.”

I smile despite the ache in my ribs. “Yeah? Me too.”

He lifts his head, his green eyes filled with a curious kind of hope. “Is she your princess?”

I chuckle, wincing as pain lances through my ribs. “Not yet. But I was thinking about asking her to be.”

His eyes widen. “Really?”

“Yeah. But only if you’re okay with it.”

Duke bounces on the bed, suddenly all energy again. “I want her to be your princess! And mine too!”

I grin, ruffling his hair. “So, you wouldn’t mind if she became part of our family eventually?”

His face turns serious again, and he thinks for a long moment before nodding. “She takes care of you. And she makes you laugh.”

I nod, my chest tightening. He sees everything.

“Yeah, buddy. She does.”

He leans in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You should ask her soon. Before another prince comes and sweeps her off her feet.”

I laugh, pulling him into my good arm. “I think you’re right.”

Griffin clears his throat and crosses the room, his mouth quirked up at the corners with that same smug grin he wears to every damn occasion. Weddings, funerals, attempted homicides, you name it. “Hate to break up the tender moment,” he says, pretending to dust off his sleeve. “But you should probably know something.” I raise a brow, and he gives me a shrug in return. “We’ve been outed.”

“The matchmaking business?” I ask, trying to hide my surprise. “Allie’s article?”

He shakes his head. “Every other news outlet other than theSunhas covered the takedown of Drakon and how our matchmaking company played a part. But Allie’s article isn’t among them.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that this story is front-page news. Actually, I had never really considered the option that the matchmaking business would continue after finding Drakon. But it’s hard to imagine doing anything else now.

“The bright side,” Griffin continues, “is that we’ve got a shit-ton of new clients. By the time I got in this morning, the phone was ringing off the hook. Emails. You name it. We might actually need to hire someone else. People like the fact that we run our matchmaking like a mission. They actually fucking like us.” His voice carries the thrill of a kid on Christmas morning, and I realize how much he’s been waiting for this. Not for the business to take off, but to find something he can believe in. Like me. Like Hunter. Like the whole damn world.

“That’s great, Griff,” I say, my own excitement catching up with me. “You were right. As always.” We couldn’t stay underground forever. I was fooling myself to think we could. Just like I was fooling myself to think I could keep everyone at a distance, that I could keep Allie out of my life.Out of Duke’s life. It’s a relief to stop pretending. To stop hiding. We’re out in the open, and it doesn’t seem to matter. We’re free. “Any angry ex-husbands show up with AKs yet?”

“None that Hunter hasn’t taken care of.” He grins, then glances meaningfully at Duke who’s still curled up on my chest, playing a game on my phone.

My free hand strokes the mop of curls on Duke’s head. “I think you’re going to have to take point on these new clients, Griff.”

“Seriously?”

I nod. “I’ve been compromised. My face is all over the news. There’s no way I can help people on their dates and maintain an under-the-radar cover. Besides,” I add. “I have a feeling my social calendar is about to get a little fuller.”

“Dad’s going to have a girlfriend!” Duke announces from his perch on my chest. He launches to his feet, all thoughts of dragons and towers and missions temporarily forgotten. I catch him as he wobbles, and he throws his arms around my neck, an irrepressible ball of excitement and energy. It’s contagious, this enthusiasm of his. Maybe he gets it from me. Or maybe I get it from him. Either way, it’s not something I’ve had for a while. Not until now.

“Is that so?” Griff grins, and there’s a warmth to it I’ve missed.

I catch Griffin’s amused expression and roll my eyes. “Slow down, Duke. One thing at a time,” I say, but my son’s enthusiasm is relentless. His head bobs up and down like a caffeinated bobblehead.

“Allie’s here at the hospital! You can ask her now!” The force of his excitement launches him off the bed, and he impatiently squeezes my hand. “Daddy, come on!”

I chuckle and look back at Griffin. He’s watchingthe whole scene like it’s the best entertainment he’s had in weeks. Knowing him, it probably is. The guy doesn’t miss a thing, even when it seems like he’s not paying attention. “We ran into Allie in the hallway when we were coming in.”

My heart climbs into my throat. “How is she?”

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