Page 27 of Flirting with the Scrooge

“Oh, Hi Tatum. I didn’t even see you there.”

I give her a wide grin. “Hi Lindsey.”

Adam glances to Lindsey. “Tatum invited us to her charity gala. Since we can’t make it to the other one, we should go.”

“That’s such a great idea.” She glances at me, and I flash her another bright smile. “We should double date?” Her gaze flits between Adam and me. “Surely, you’re seeing someone, or at the very least bringing a date.”

“Oh. Uh. Um.” My heart plummets to my stomach.

“I’m sure Tatum will be too busy with the event for all that,” Adam says.

“Oh. No. Not at all. I’ll be there. Of course, I’ll be there, I’m hosting. But I’ll be there with a date.” I hike my purse higher on my shoulder. “Well great. I’ll see you two then. You’ll be there together. I’ll be there with my date. It’ll be a great night. Okay. Bye.” I sidestep them and race past, needing to get away from them like yesterday. What is wrong with me? Why did I invite them, let alone tell them I have a date?

I weave in and out of various customers milling around the mall, finishing their holiday shopping. Not paying attention since my focus is on what happened, I sidestep one customer and bump shoulders with a familiar green flannel coat.

“Whoa.” Connor’s hands firmly grip my shoulders, preventing me from falling on my ass. His gaze meets mine, then drops. “What’s the rush? Christmas decoration sale somewhere that I don’t know about?”

“Sorry about that.” I pull my coat tighter around me as if he might have x-ray vision and can see what I’m wearing underneath. “My mind’s a little preoccupied.”

“I can see that by the way you almost tackled me to the ground.”

“Bye Tatum!” Lindsey yells and waves from the opposite side of the concourse.

I give her a wave and a sheepish smile. When they pass, my face falls and my hand drops to my side.

Connor's gaze flits from them and back to me. “Friends of yours?”

“Ex-boyfriend and his shiny new girlfriend.”

He releases a low whistle. “Is she younger than you?”

“Thanks for the reminder, ass face.” I backhand his bicep.

“Ouch.” He rubs the spot. “But I’m sure you’re much stronger than her. In fact, I know you’re much stronger.”

I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him.

“The look on your face tells me you’re not quite over him.” He pauses. “But then that brings up a lot of questions about our night together.” He taps his finger to his plump, kissable lips.

My gaze lingers entirely too long to not be noticed. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Turning on my heel, I make it only a few steps before his hand grips my wrist.

“Not so fast. What don’t you want to talk about? The ex-boyfriend? Or the night on my couch where you rode me—”

Quickly, I slap my hand over his mouth. “Could you be any louder? The people in line at the Roasters kiosk didn’t hear you.” A deep rumble of laughter comes from his chest and I drop my hand to the side.

His eyes crinkle in the corners. “No one’s even paying attention.”

We both glance around and sure enough, everyone’s preoccupied with their own shopping to even notice two people standing in the walkway. If anything, we’re just in their way as they weave around us.

“So, which is it?” He tilts his head to the side.

I don’t know if he’s more concerned about me and my ex or if he’s curious if I’m thinking about our night together. NowI’mcurious if he’s been thinking about our night together.

Reaching for his wrist, I tug him to a bench that’s next to an indoor fountain. I plop down on the wood and he sits next to me. “Since you must know,” I dramatically roll my eyes, “it’s the ex.”

He glances over his shoulder before tugging his knit cap down. “So why are you still hung up on him?”

“Just dive right in, don’t you?”

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