Page 24 of Just Add Mistletoe

“I’m already a terrible date.” He glanced over at her. “Did I tell you that you look beautiful?”

She smiled. “You did. But that compliment always makes me suspicious.”

“How so?”

“Do I only look beautiful if I put on a formal dress and pile on the makeup?” she teased.

He winced. “That’s not how I meant the compliment at all, but I see what you’re saying. How about I tell you that you looked beautiful when I first met you. And you look equally beautiful now?”

Lori laughed, but her cheeks had flushed. “You’re pretty good at flirting when you put your mind to it. I guess we should practice before I meet Penny?”

Malcom slowed at the next light. It seemed he was hitting every red light in town. “I’m not flirting . . . yet. Just being honest. And yeah, we need to talk about Penny.”

“Is that what has you a million miles away?” she asked.

Malcom sighed. “Not exactly.” The light turned green, and this time he didn’t need any prompting. “Brandy agreed to look over my company’s financials.”

“Oh. Wow. That’s great.”

“Yeah.” He accelerated and took the next turn leading to the highway.

“You don’t sound too excited about it,” Lori said.

“I guess I’m nervous about what she’ll find.”

“Because then you’ll have to do something about it?”

“Exactly.” Malcom checked his blind spot and merged onto the highway. “If she finds something, I can’t just pretend it’s my own paranoia.”

“But then you’ll know,” Lori said. “And what you choose to do at that point is up to you. Having the information will be what you need to make the best-informed decision about your next steps.”

“True.” She was right, absolutely right.

Lori reached over and squeezed his arm. “It will be better to know than not to know. It will stop eating you up inside.”

“You’re right,” he said. “You’re beautiful and wise.”

Lori laughed. “Okay, don’t overdo the compliments. Without all my wise advice, you’d come to the same conclusion all on your own. You’re just emotionally invested and I’m not, so it’s easier for me to cut through all the other stuff.”

“Like I said, wise.”

She smirked. “So . . . what’s our plan for Penny? How are we going to pull this all off?”

Malcom took the next exit and slowed for the light. “Great questions. She’ll know that we’ve recently met—at least since the condo project started.”

“Right. So we aren’t too far into our dating relationship?”

“Exactly.”

“Which means she’ll be watching to see if we’re affectionate.”

“Likely.” Malcom turned onto the road leading to the hotel where the gala was being held. He stole a glance at her. Yep. She looked beautiful. Tonight, and every time he’d seen her. “We can’t be completely hands off, but we can’t be kissing every minute either. Too much.”

“Um, you didn’t say this date would include kissing.”

“It won’t,” Malcom rushed out, his heart lurching. What had he said? “I meant—”

Lori laughed. “You should see your face.”

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