Page 28 of Perfect (mis)Match

“Aiden and I figured we’d stay in the dorms and have a sad little Christmas on our own, but as soon as he heard about it, Trent loaded us up in his car and drove us both to Long Island to stay with his grandmother. Didn’t even let her know until we werealready on the road. I half thought we’d show up and she’d kick us right out again for being rude enough to drop in out of the blue, but Nana Dee just bundled us inside where she had cocoa waiting, beds made up for us, and presents with our names on them under the tree that she’d rushed out to buy as soon as Trent called. You’d think she’d been planning to host us for weeks. By the time we left, she’d basically adopted us. Called us her Lost Boys—and Paul and Dominic were added to the group when we all came back for spring break. She’s family, in every way that matters.”

He was wearing a smile I’d never seen on him before—one that was soft and warm. Loving. It suited him better than I would have thought.

I tried to hide my shock. Who was this stranger sitting beside me?

“I’m pretty sure she’d adore you,” he added, shocking me even further.

Part of me wanted to snap back something sarcastic, but I was so flattered that no quips came to mind. It was obvious how much Nana Dee meant to him, so for him to say she’d like me…that was a pretty amazing compliment. “You really think so?”

“Absolutely. You’re very charming. And yes, funny occasionally,” he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and cracked a smile. “And you one hundred percent donottake my bullshit.”

I laughed. “Truth bomb.”

We both went silent.

“And you’re definitely beautiful,” Vincent added in a quiet voice. “There’s no question about that.”

I sucked in a breath. He didn’t have to say that. My heartbeat picked up speed as he pressed on the accelerator to push the sportscar faster.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “That’s kind of you to say.”

We arrived at my building faster than I would’ve liked. Despite everything, I found that I wanted to keep experiencing this side of Vincent. The one that opened up to me and called me beautiful.

I knew it wouldn’t last. Come Monday, he’d be back to ordering me around.

He pulled up in front of my building, and I grabbed the car door handle. “Thank you for a shockingly nice night.”

“Hold on, I’m walking you to the door,” he said gruffly, already half out of the car.

“But…this is a loading zone. You can’t park here,” I protested.

Vincent stared at me, frowning. “Do you really think someone is going to tow a McLaren P1?”

Andtherewas the Vincent I was used to.

“Well, do what you want—but I’m not responsible if it happens. I was already part of one car incident with you; I’m not taking the blame if something goes wrong with this thing.” I gestured to the bright blue car.

Vincent was standing on the sidewalk waiting for me, looking way hotter than was necessary. I’d managed to not gawk at him the whole night by focusing on Richard, but now I couldn’t help it.

In any other life, we’d end what was a wonderful evening with flirty pleasantries, and then I’d no doubt ask if he wanted to come up to my place. I considered it for a split second. Darcy was out, possibly for the night, which meant I had the apartment to myself. I had, admittedly, had some racy thoughts about hate-fucking him in the past. But now, I started to wonder what it would be like to have the fuckingwithoutthe hating part. Did I really want to find out?

We walked to the double front door of my building in silence. Was he thinking the same thing? Vincent turned to me suddenly, and I held my breath because there was a different sort of fire burning in his eyes.

“That was…good,” he finally admitted. “Thank you for being so kind to my father.”

We were standing closer than normal beneath a burned-out light above the main doors.

“How could I not? He’s an absolute charmer,” I said. “Too bad it doesn’t run in the family.”

Vincent pretended to take a blow to the chest. “Ouch.”

“Kidding. He reminds me of you in some ways. His intensity. It’s similar, but different. I can’t quite figure it out.”

“Well, it sounds like you’re going to be seeing more of him, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get to the bottom of it,” Vincent replied. “Yoga, golf, the farmers’ market…you definitely went above and beyond. But honestly, I appreciate it. I’m all for him having hobbies thatdon’tput his life at risk.”

“You do know you have to come to yoga, too,” I teased.

Vincent grimaced. “Eh, we’ll see about that. I probably have some important meetings that can’t be shifted?—”

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