Page 29 of Bidding War

“Coming right up.” I pour him a Mayflower and deliver. “On me.”

“You don’t?—"

“Yeah, I do. I’ll be busy for a while if you want to hang out until my break or something?”

He grins. “Yeah. I’ll be here.”

God, he’s cute as hell. “Good.” I get back to work, stealing glances at Neil all the while. He wears the heck out of his deep green cashmere sweater. It’s stretched tight over his muscles, showing him off without being showy. When we had texted, he’d wanted to go out, and I had to tell him I couldn’t do it. The fact he showed up for me is really sweet.

He has such a different demeanor than Anderson.

Anderson probably would have just paid me to stay in with him or something equally over the top. Instead of doing something heavy-handed about my lack of availability, Neil showed up for me. He’s this cute, sweet, normal guy. I haven’t had that in a very long time. Even the guys I dated before Anderson weren’t thoughtful enough to show up and support me.

It's weird to think of missing Anderson while also considering beginning a new thing with Neil. Feels like having a foot in two worlds. At some point, I’ll have to choose which world to be in, but not tonight. Tonight is for work. And after work, tonight is also for some fun with someone new.

After the rush, I get a break and find a quiet corner with Neil. He balks at my basket of fries. “Come on, that can’t be dinner.”

“I ate a proper dinner before I came. The fries are to get me through the rest of the night.”

He chuckles. “So, how are you liking it here?”

“It’s fun, actually. I’ve missed this place.”

“Oh?”

“I used to bartend here when I was in college.”

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

He doesn’t know the half of it. I laugh. “More than I care to admit.”

“Well, in case you’re interested in going back to your day job, I just found out my bank is looking for an attorney.”

I could work for a bank. But, “Thanks, but for now, I’m happy here. Things are tighter financially, but I have not been this relaxed in years. My boss doesn’t even have my email. He doesn’t text me at all hours. No one is crying about millions of dollars. The worst I get from the patrons is a pinch on the ass, and I have full permission to beat the shit out of them if they do, which is a huge step up from the worst I’ve gotten as an attorney.”

He raises a brow at that. “Some client got handsy with you when you were doing their tax stuff?”

I huff. “A client got offended when I told him I had no interest in starting an affair with him, so he tried to get me fired and disbarred.”

Neil laughs once. “What? Fired is one thing, but disbarred? How?”

“He’s a judge. He has friends in places he doesn’t deserve to have friends.” I shrug. “It went nowhere, thankfully, but when some people have too much money, they lose their minds.”

“That’s wild.”

I nod. “So, for now, I’m happy to stay put.”

“Understandably.” He sighs and gets a wistful look in his pretty green eyes. “Sometimes, I have this fantasy that I’ve saved up a bunch of money, and I open up a sunglasses hut on a hot beach in the Caribbean. No stress, no bosses. Just me, the beach, all the oysters I can eat.” His wistful expression goes slyly blissful. “Paradise.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“Funny. I never thought I’d end up in Boston, of all places. But you never know where life takes you. I try to be open to every possibility. Live in the moment. Life is stressful enough without trying to control everything, you know?”

“Amen to that.” I feel like Neil really gets what I’m going for. “Never thought I’d hear surfer philosophy out of a hedge fund manager from Nebraska.”

He grins, and his dimple deepens, capturing my attention. “Surfer life has an appeal all its own. One day, maybe.”

“I—"

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