Page 21 of Meet Cute or Your Money Back

He catches me watching him as he straightens his already immaculate tie. “What, you don’t trust me to keep this professional now?” He arches an eyebrow.

“With any other woman, no question. But Allie...” I trail off, struggling to put words to my convoluted feelings.

She’s smart, a little quirky, annoyingly daring…and adorable as all hell. She’s exactly the sort of woman Griffin would seek out and woo for a one-night stand under different circumstances.

He pauses, regarding me curiously. “You know, now that I think about it, you seem awfully invested in how this all goes down with Allie. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous.”

I scoff, avoiding his gaze. “Don’t be ridiculous. This is about the job, nothing more.” But even as I say it, a twinge of something I can’t quite name torques in my chest.

Griff studies me for a moment before his expression softens. “Hey, I get it. Don’t worry, I’m not going to sweep her off her feet or anything. I’ll play my part well enough to get a read on her.”

I nod, hoping I don’t look as transparently conflicted as I feel. The truth is, I know how easy it would be for a man like Griffin to win Allie over, charm offensive or not. And the possibility that they could genuinely hit it off tonightleaves me unsettled for reasons I’d rather not examine too closely.

With a weary sigh, I rub my eyes and try to focus back on the matters at hand.

Our job is to find Allie her soulmate.

And that soulmate is clearly not me…no matter how bright her smile or how effortless her charm is.

I found my soulmate already…

And she’s buried six feet underground.

Chapter 8

Allie

The menu, with its tiny font and dim lighting, is a battle I’m not prepared to fight.

I hadn’t thought to bring my reading glasses to my review tonight. I set the menu down and tug the candle in the center of the table closer to me, squinting to try to read the appetizers.

On the table beside me, my phone buzzes and I quickly glance at it. It’s only a text from my mom checking in. And there’s still no sign of my sister. She’s officially twelve minutes late.

Which isn’t all that surprising. She rarely gets out of work on time.

The clink of glass on wood startles me from my thoughts. I look up from the menu to see a tall, bubbly drink with a spiral of orange zest perched on its rim set down before me.

“Sorry, I think there’s been a mistake,” I say, trying to catch the attention of the server who is already walking away from the cocktail delivery. “I didn’t order this.”

“It’s from the gentleman over there,” the server says, but he doesn’t gesture in a specific direction.

Confusion creases my brow as I glance around the trendy new restaurant that had opened last week. The place is industrial chic—exposed brick, hanging Edison bulbs, and succulents in geometric terrariums dotting the reclaimed wood tables. It’s the kind of spot that will make for a great review in the paper, assuming the food matches the atmosphere.

“Well, I don’t think I should accept?—”

Before the words can fully leave my lips, a man appears before me, cutting me off from the line of sight of the server.

My protest dies on my lips as I stare up at Adonis himself…if Adonis traded his ancient robes for a well-tailored suit that screams urban chic. A charming smirk curves his full lips. He’s so strikingly handsome it would almost be laughably cliché—like he’s walked straight out of a rom-com montage where the heroine sees the love interest for the first time in slow motion.

His easy smile suggests playful mischief and his eyes, a deep ocean blue, hold mine with an intensity that feels like a physical touch.

“Hope you don’t mind,” he says, the corners of his mouth tilting into a smile. “I noticed you sitting here alone and thought you might enjoy this.”

“Uhhh,” is my eloquent reply.

He pauses to gesture at the server who delivered it before promptly scurrying away. “I had a server deliver it so that you’d know it was never in my hands. Totally safe to drink.”

That’s actually quite considerate and it leaves me caught somewhere between flattered and flustered,which isn’t a neighborhood I frequent. My brain scrambles for something witty, something non-Allie-esque to say, but I come up short.

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