Page 44 of Icing It

“Oh, come on.” Now I’m really furious. “You can at least be a man and take the heat for your girlfriend. Not throw her under the bus.”

Brady turns red. “Shit. Sorry. We were just trying to do something nice for Luna.”

“Doing something nice for her is sweeping the floor or bringing her lunch. Not pimping her out to total strangers online.”

“No one says pimping anymore, Dad.”

I swear to God. The vein in my temple starts pulsating. “He could be a murderer, he could be a stalker, he could be married with three kids, for all you know. At worst, it’s dangerous. At best, it’s none of your damn business who Luna does or doesn’t date.”

“But Lydia said that this guy likes all the same bands Luna does.”

I also know for a fact Luna doesn’t want to be set up. If anything, she wants Alexsei to ask her out. Alexsei thinks Luna needs to figure some things out. So they’re dancing around each other. And she wiped frosting off my mouth. She doesn’t need Tinder to find men to fall at her feet.

And what the fuck am I talking about.

Still…“I’m getting rid of him.”

Brady straightens again in alarm. “But—

“But nothing.”

“Lydia says…”

I raise an eyebrow and wisely, he clams up.

“Don’t be a dick to him,” Brady says. “It’s not his fault.”

“I’m not going to be a dick to him.”

Knowing that I have a good seventy-five pounds and four inches on this guy, I stride over to him and give him a friendly smile. “Hey, listen. You’re not going on a date with Luna, buddy. Sorry. There’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Who the hell are you?” he asks, frowning at me.

I point to the door. My words sound cheerful, but my expression is meant to be menacing. “I’m her boyfriend and there’s the door.”

I’m not sure why I say I’m dating her. Maybe it’s wishful thinking. I don’t need to pretend to be her significant other in order to get rid of this guy. But it’s what comes out of my mouth and I run with it. But hopefully if he thinks I’m around all the time, he won’t get any ideas about showing back up. Luna is probably in this place alone sometimes, and the thought of her being vulnerable if a random guy comes sniffing around makes my blood run cold.

“Boyfriend?” He eyes me up and down with a confidence that I have to respect. Even if it’s sadly misplaced. I could crush this guy without breaking a sweat. “Then why is she trying to hook up with me?”

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Luna says, coming across the bakery. She eyes me in amusement.

“Is this guy your boyfriend?” Tinder Fool demands.

Fully expecting her to call out my lie, I still stare down the guy in front of me. Boyfriend or not, I’m not leaving her here with a total stranger.

To my shock, Luna doesn’t deny it, though. “Yes, he is. And you’ve been catfished.”

“Ah, fuck,” the guy says. “I’m about done with these apps. No one is real.”

“I’m sorry,” Luna says, looping her arm through mine. She glances up at me and gives me a conspiratorial wink. “Owen and I met through my brother. Dating apps definitely suck.”

I barely hear the latter part of what she says because I’m instantly hard from that wink. Damn it, I love it when a woman winks. She makes it worse by leaning her head against my bicep.

“Sorry about your luck,” I tell the guy, tugging Luna a little closer to me just because I can. She feels fantastic all snug up against me. Tiny and curvy and like a perfect fit. She smells good, too. Like butter and sugar and that spice that’s all her.

Not that any woman wants to hear that.

Tinder Fool leaves with a hard push of the front door and still Luna stays tucked into my side.

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