Page 58 of The Wrong Date Deal

It didn’t take long. August really did live close by, and she hadn’t been lying when she’d said it was closer than Piper’s place. Piper had taken the subway over to the café. She’d had no idea she was within walking distance of August’s place.

The loaded energy between them finally broke when they got to August’s door and a small, ginger cat was sitting beside it like a furry guard.

“Hello, Melon,” August said warmly, bending down to stroke the cat, who instantly dropped onto its back and tried to attack her hand.

Piper laughed. “Melon? That’s a good name for a cat.”

“He’s not mine. I actually don’t know who he belongs to, but he likes to roam the building. It’s like being the chosen one when he sits by your door.”

“Well, congrats on being the special one tonight. Maybe he knew you were out on a dodgy date and wanted to look after you.”

August stood back up, shooting Piper a look. “You’re not that dodgy.”

Piper laughed. “I’m glad you think so. Maybe one day I’ll be chosen by a cat as cool as Melon too.”

“I don’t know,” she teased as she unlocked her apartment door. “Melon’s pretty special.”

“That’s true. I only just met him, but it’s clear he’s one in a million.”

August led the way into the apartment, glancing over her shoulder at Piper. “Oh, now you’re just trying to butter him up and make him love you more than he loves me.”

“Hey, whatever it takes to be the chosen one.”

She laughed. “Well, you’re competing with a whole building full of people.”

“Actually, I’m competing with you. You’re the one he’s chosen.”

She moved around the place, taking her coat off and turning on a couple of low lights. “He’ll be onto someone else by morning.”

“His loss.”

Piper looked around the space. It was sleek, clean, and modern, cast in deep, seductive shadows by the low lighting, and she couldn’t help but feel like August was doing that on purpose. Of course, the café they’d come from had been filled with moody, almost romantic, evening lights, but it felt different in public than it did in August’s apartment.

She hung her coat on the spare hook by the door. “Nice place.”

August smiled. “Glad you approve.”

“Does it have a sound system? Speakers?”

“Ever the musician, huh?”

“Not a musician. I just work in music.”

“Hm. I don’t know if it’s all that different.” She shook her head. “But, yeah, there’s a Bluetooth speaker you can connect to.”

Piper pulled her phone out, going through the process of connecting to the speaker and looking up a rumba playlist. When the music started, she held out a hand to August, who had dropped onto the edge of the sofa. “Show me what you’ve got then?”

August laughed, the sound tinged with embarrassment. “You know I’ve only had one class.”

“Something tells me you’re a quick study.”

“How could you possibly know that?” she asked, but she took Piper’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled up to standing.

“I clearly know you better than you realize,” Piper said, a little lost in the intense look August was giving her, and painfully aware of where their hands were connected again.

“You sure you want to do this?” August asked, her brown eyes intense and wondrous as she looked directly at Piper.

“Get a secondhand dance lesson? Absolutely.”

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