Page 134 of A Lucky Shot

“I meant,” she said with a grin, “nothing they aren’t comfortable with.”

As far as apologies went, it wasn’t perfect. Far from it, but relief washed over him. He crossed his arms, tucking his hands under his biceps to hide the shaking. “I can work with that.”

“That’s great, but if we aren’t leveraging soul-sucking gossip sites which, for the record”—she held up a finger—“give cheap publicity, what are we doing instead?”

Being ballsy had worked so far. Josh coughed. “I have a crew ready to put my idea together. Give me a month and a budget and I’ll get our film the attention you’re looking for.”

“Alright.” She shook her head, chuckling. “What do you have in mind?”

That wasn’t so bad.

One gut-churning conversation down, one to go.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CASS

For once, Cass would arrive on time. Her morning errands took half the time she’d planned. She knew what to wear without looking in her closet. There was an open parking spot right in front of the coffee shop that she didn’t even have to parallel park to get into.

It was like the universe wanted her to see him.

A muddle of voices and acoustic guitar washed over her when she opened the door, letting the bitter, flowery scent of fresh roasted coffee flow past her and into the snowy afternoon. Thin grey slush collected between the cracks of the exposed concrete floor, and she scuffed her feet on the entrance rug to add to the mess. She unwrapped her blue silk scarf from around her shoulders and scanned the busy café.

It didn’t take her long to find him. His brilliant smile widened when she entered, and he stood from the end of a communal table to fold her into a leather-and-musk infused half hug.

Hot, dark hair, and a where-did-my-panties-go smile. I really do have a type. Cass stifled a laugh and leaned into his chest a second longer, inhaling the memory of all the nights she gone to sleep with that scent on her skin.

Almost every one of those nights, she’d still ended up sleeping alone.

“What’s so funny?” Nick asked, his voice rumbling against her cheek.

“I’m just thinking about patterns.” She disengaged from his embrace to sit opposite him, inching her chair a centimetre away from the couple sitting beside them.

He looked great, but then again, he always did. A man in well-tailored clothes had always been a weakness of hers. Today, a long camel trench was layered over a thick cream cable-knit sweater and windowpane wool pants. It was mid-afternoon, and his beard was already showing up against his olive skin. She’d only ever seen it either freshly shaven or several hours older.

“Your hair looks good like that,” she said. It was longer than she had ever seen before, just starting to curl around his ears. If she took one of the thick locks between her fingers, it would have the lightest feel of the styling cream she’d seen on his bathroom counter. She folded her hands in front of her. “It suits you.”

“Thought I should try something new.”

Isn’t that interesting timing? She twiddled with the end of her scarf.“I’m surprised you agreed to meet me during the day.”

He cocked a brow at her with a curious look on his face. “All the better to see that beautiful face of yours,” he said, lip half-curled in a teasing grin.

“Then why do you only text me at night?”

One of the people sitting beside her choked into their coffee. If Nick didn’t look so surprised, Cass would have sworn he had the audacity to look offended.

“Uh, do you want a coffee?” he stammered, breaking the silence. “They have an excellent in-house roasted Sulawesi blend.”

She wasn’t surprised he didn’t remember that she didn’t drink dark roast. “No, thank you. You said you wanted to see me?”

“I did. I wanted to see you.” The brilliance of his smile faded a tick as he shifted in his seat. He reached across the table, thumb rubbing over the tips of her fingers, and she swallowed a chuckle that he was finally—almost—holding her hand.

“Life has been crazy. Really crazy. I had to go back to Montreal for a while.”

Like cell phones don’t work there? she thought, but stayed silent.

He continued, “And I think I’m staying this time. And now that I’m back, I want to see you. I missed you.”

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