Page 27 of Shamrock Kisses

“This is a nice town. I see why you like it here,” he says, staring out the window.

I do like it here, and my mind jumps ahead, thinking about things it shouldn’t.Would I like living in Chicago? Would he want to live in a small town?

“How many screens do you have in your office?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“Eight.” He says it too nonchalantly.

“Eight?!”

“Yeah … eight at the office and four at home. I change it up depending on what’s going on. If we’re being hacked, I prefer to live at the office, otherwise, I like to work remotely.”

“So, you could work from Lake Geneva?” I ask, half-joking but not really.

“I could.”

We share another look, the smiles on both of our faces growing.

“Working from Lake Geneva is going to mess up my minimalist thing,” he says.

“Why’s that?”

“I would need to get a car.”

We smirk at each other.

“Well, don’t impulsively get a car because of a girl you randomly met.”

“I have hundreds of YouTube videos to watch before I consider buying a car. I like to nerd out about the pros and cons of things.”

“I like that you’re nerdy.”

“I like that you’re so cute.”

“My cheeks are hurting. Stop making me smile so much.”

“But I like your smile.”

Stopping at the red light, I stare at it, daydreaming a little about how surreal all of this is.Patrick Nowak.

“You give me ‘I smoke weed here and there vibes.”

Patrick laughs softly, running a hand through his hair. “I used to smoke a decent amount of weed and do shrooms here and there, but my company has a firm no-drug policy. They have amazing benefits, but we have to regularly test clean. So now, I just drink a little.”

“Intense.”

“Our CEO is intense, but he’s a cool guy.” Patrick pauses, then turns to look at me. “What are your vices?”

I smile, my eyes briefly trailing down his arm before meeting his gaze again. “A nice cocktail or a glass of wine … you.”

His laugh is rich and genuine, and he squeezes my hand. “You’re definitely going to be one for me too.”

I love how comfortable we are together. How we can be playful one moment and serious the next. The light turns green, and I ask, “What crypto should I invest in?”

He leans back, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest. “The ones the mainstream doesn’t know about yet. Like if you threw a hundred dollars into everyone that isn’t one of the big ones, I’m sure one will make you a few thousand in a couple of years.”

“So it’s legit? It isn’t, like, a scam?”

He turns his head slightly to look at me. “Isn’t everything a scam?”

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