Page 26 of Meet Cute or Your Money Back

Fortunately, she signed an NDA. Her sister, on the other hand,didn’t. And I have to admit, Allie’s been very good at avoiding the landmines tonight at dinner.

“Special ops?” Allie ventures another guess, her eyes darting between us, hungry for the truth beneath the veneer.

Griffin chuckles, a low sound that doesn’t reach his eyes. “We could tell you, but then?—”

“Please don’t finish that sentence,” Abby cuts him off with a playful roll of her eyes, but the sisters share a look that tells me they’re already filling in the blanks.

“We’ve had our fair share of...adventures,” I say, allowing a sliver of truth to seep into the conversation. It’s safer to let her think she’s guessed right than to outright lie. In the world of covert operations, half-truths are thecurrency we trade in, and tonight, we’re spending them generously.

“Adventures,” Allie repeats, as if tasting the word, considering its weight. “I bet you’ve got stories.”

“Stories for another time,” I deflect, with a smile that doesn’t quite meet my eyes. The protective instinct that’s been drilled into me is flaring up, a warning to tread carefully.

“Fair enough,” she concedes with a knowing nod, as if acknowledging the dance of disclosure we’re engaged in. “But I’m a good listener, for when you’re ready to share.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I reply, the corners of my mouth twitching in a semblance of a grin. It’s actually impressive how she hasn’t broken a single part of the contract considering I’m the one who agreed to join Allie and her sister for dinner. Most of the probing questions came from Abby. And the few Allie had were well within her right to ask.

Even still, there’s something about Allie—her clever and shielded questions, her quick wit—that reminds me why I usually keep to the shadows. Out here, in the open, it’s harder to control the narrative; harder to keep the past where it belongs.

In the rearview mirror.

I can tell Abby’s about to press further when I clear my throat, bringing our dessert-sweetened banter to an abrupt halt. I tug my company credit card from my wallet and start to hand it to our server, when Allie stops me, pulling out her credit card instead.

“It’s on the newspaper, remember?” Her voice has a cute little purr that vibrates through the cozy ambiance of the restaurant. The server pauses, looking between us, then takes her credit card, which is already out and pinched betweenher fingers.

The girl just paid me several thousand dollars for our matchmaking services and then Griff and I crashed her dinner with her sister. It doesn’t feel quite right to make her cover our meals, too. “Does the newspaper coverall fourof our meals?”

She worries her bottom lip. “They’ll cover most of it. I have a cap on what I can spend, but it almost covers the bill?—”

Before she can continue arguing, I have my phone out, and quickly Venmo her our half of the bill.

She blinks in surprise as her phone chimes with the money depositing into her account. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“I know,” I say as the server returns with her credit card, a pen, and the receipt. But this way, she gets the newspaper to cover most of it and our half can be utilized by her as needed.

She scribbles a tip down and signs the merchant copy with a hefty sigh. We both stand at the same time, but I’m a tick faster as I take her cardigan from the back of her chair and hold it up for her to slide her arms into.

She does so, still eying me warily. “I’ve never seen someone so bothered by a Venmo payment before,” I whisper to her.

She shrugs the cardigan up onto her shoulders, then procures a silk scarf from her purse, wrapping it around her neck despite the fact that it’s summer in South Carolina. “Itoldyou I had it covered,” she says sharply.

“I know you did,” I respond. “But I’ve already taken enough of your money for one week, wouldn’t you say?” When her glare doesn’t lift, I add with a sigh, “Look, I didn’t feel right making you pay for our half of the meal. Not when Griff and I?—”

“Got caught lying?” she provides.

“I was going to sayinterrupted your evening.”

All four of us make our way to the front door and Abby gives Allie a tight hug. “I’m parked in the garage around the corner,” she says. “Do you need a ride home?”

Allie shakes her head. “I’m fine?—”

“I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” I interject.

Abby eyes me with a cheeky smirk. “Very well.”

“I’m parked in that garage, too,” Griffin says, falling into step beside Abby.

I know for a fact he isn’t parked in that garage, but I don’t call him on it. “Good night, guys!” Abby calls over her shoulder, her laughter mingling with the low hum of conversation as they disappear around the corner.

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