Page 55 of Mr. Flirt

Interviewer: Really? Do we have our facts wrong? Are you in a relationship?

Shep: No. I’m not in a relationship, but I’m not looking. I’m not eligible. I’m too... jaded.”

Interviewer: Jaded?

My heart pounded wildly. What was I doing playing with fire?

Shep: Everything in life breaks. Cars break. Love breaks. Hearts break. I’m in the business of building and surviving. I don’t have time to break.

Interviewer: That’s pessimistic.

Shep: Realistic.

Interviewer: So, you’re basically breaking hearts across Seattle by declaring you’re not looking for love.

Shep laughs.

Shep: I can promise you that love isn’t looking for me, either.

I gulped so much air it hurt. I slammed the article shut. For some crazy reason, it felt like I was invading his space, his mind.

Sliding the magazine to the passenger seat, I leaned my head back and groaned.

It was like Shep and I were the same people.

This was doomed.

Even my bright idea of keeping it casual so I could learn a few tricks was a twisted testament to the messed-up way we viewed love.

No matter how badly I wanted to pry those pages open to keep reading, I wanted to hear it from his lips, and that was what I intended to do tonight.

Maybe.

Chapter Nineteen

Who’s the Boss?

Shep

Even though I was determined to prove my point and not get her the one type of food she craved, I stopped by her favorite Italian restaurant and ordered enough for an army.

It was a few minutes after five, and I stood at her door with four silver trays of food. I’d gotten spaghetti, manicotti, chicken parm, and lemon chicken Piccata.

The moment she swung the door open, I took a breath and couldn’t wipe the smile from my lips.

She was fascinating. I could never get tired of seeing her standing in front of me.

I could never get tired of her.

There was just this sense of comfort in being with Lucy, and I didn’t understand it at all.

“It smells like you hijacked a garlic plant.” Her eyes widened. “I thought you didn’t want Italian. Didn’t you need to show me who the boss was?”

I chuckled as I walked into her house. “I think we’ve established that.”

“Oh, yeah?” She ushered me into her kitchen. “Who is it?”

I smiled, putting the trays of food down on her counter. “Me.”

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