Page 48 of Meet Cute or Your Money Back

Her chest brushes mine, and I swear I can hear my own heartbeat in my ears. I have both her wrists in my hands, holding her firmly but not too tight to leave a mark.

“Allie—”

She moves before I can finish, steppingon my foot and twisting her wrists toward my thumbs like I taught her. I let go out of instinct, and she stumbles away, triumphant.

“Ha!” She pumps a fist in the air. “I win!”

I exhale sharply, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “Not bad.”

She grins, chest rising and falling with exertion. “Admit it. You’re impressed.”

I don’t admit anything. Instead, I shake my head, stepping back. “Keep practicing.”

She groans. “You’re relentless.”

“Pretty much.”

“So...does being good at self-defense make me more dateable?”

I huff out a laugh, shaking my head. “You were already dateable, Allie. Too damn dateable. That’s the problem.”

She snorts. “Sounds like a good problem to have. Although based on the gala, your evidence doesn’t line up, Thatcher.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…you got the date with the gala guy.”

“Only because you intervened to make him jealous.”

The way her good-natured smile falters cracks my heart. I hate that a man—any man—makes her doubt how incredible she is. “That’s because most men are idiots.”

She tilts her head, eyes glinting with curiosity. “And you? Are you an idiot?”

I exhale slowly, my gaze locking with hers. “The biggest.”

She laughs, that soft, bright sound that always hits me in the chest like a sucker punch. The kind of laugh a man could fall in love with—if he were stupid enough to let himself.

I glance at the clock, needing an excuse to break themoment before I do something I’ll regret. “All right, lesson’s over. And we both survived.”

She places a dramatic hand over her heart. “Thanks to my incredible sensei.”

I roll my eyes. “Go home, Allie.”

She winks. “Bye, Thatcher.”

I watch her walk out, the scent of vanilla and sugar lingering behind, messing with my head.

This should be my easiest case ever. Find Allie a guy. Set her up. Step aside. But somehow, she’s turning out to be the hardest. Because the real question isn’t why she needs help finding someone.

It’s why the hell any man in his right mind hasn’t already claimed her.

And why the only man who really wants to…can’t.

Chapter 14

Allie

Nervously, I enter my office building after receiving an email from Soleil telling me to meet her here at 10 a.m. this morning.

Sharp.

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