Page 28 of Matchmaking the Rival

"Yes, sounds great." There was another reason I was grateful that she was coming. Sonya would be a great chaperone and keep me out of trouble.

Not a chaperone, a voice in my mind said. There was absolutely no need for that. I wasn't interested in Cade like that. Did my body go up in flames every time I was around him? Yes, it most certainly did. But I knew better than to act on that chemistry.

Why, then, was I on pins and needles the whole day? It wasn't because I feared we wouldn't make it to the next stage of the competition.

As the afternoon went by, I became downright restless. At five, I threw in the towel. I wasn't going to do anything productive today, so instead, I looked up Cade online. He didn't have much going on. Not much was posted on his social media profile—that the public could see, anyway. I had to friend or follow him if I wanted to see his timeline, and I wanted to do neither. I could imagine his smug smile if he saw me following him.

He had both high schools listed on his profile, though. I searched around for the status, but it didn’t say if he was in a relationship or not. He’d referred to himself as a flirt, so probably not, but still.

Oh damn it, Meredith. It doesn't matter.

But I wanted to know. How silly was that?

"Meredith, you went to the same high school as Cade Whitley?" Sonya's voice startled me so badly that I nearly fell off my chair. I hadn't heard her come in, and now she was standing beside me, looking over my shoulder.

"Yes, we were classmates," I said. There was no reason for me to lie.

My heart started beating faster.

Calm down, Meredith. You're not doing anything wrong.

"Well, well," Sonya said with an uncharacteristic smile. "Now, that's some very interesting news."

Was it good or bad news? I couldn't tell from her expression.

"I came to tell you that I need to do some errands before we go, so I'll meet you there," she continued.

I pressed my lips together. She was going to leave me hanging like that?

"Sure. I'll meet you there, Sonya."

"We'll talk more about it later."

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if it was a problem that I knew Cade, but I couldn’t see why it would be. I wasn't required to disclose everyone I knew, even if that someone was a competitor. But despite my confident pep talk when Sonya left, I wasn't just on pins and needles anymore. I was a basket case.

Forty-five minutes later, I hurried to the bathroom, checking my appearance in the mirror. I was conscious of the fact that I was unnecessarily refreshing my makeup. My mood lifted as I left the building.

The restaurant was downtown. The second I entered, I was on alert. I wasn’t on the lookout for Sonya but for Cade. My heart was hammering in my rib cage.

Would he be even more shameless than usual? Would I? I wasn’t sure.

"Meredith!" I heard his voice behind me. My entire body lit up before I even turned around. I could smell his aftershave. There were a gazillion men around me, but somehow I knew it washisfragrance. I turned slowly, just as I gave my coat to the attendant.

“Cade!" I drew in a sharp breath, watching him take off his coat. I was fixating on his hands undoing every button with care and dexterity, and I had a flash of dirty images. I'd bet he was good with his hands in every way.

Jesus, Meredith, you definitely have a second personality when you’re around him.

"You look amazing tonight," he said as he took off his coat.

It was on the tip of my tongue to return the compliment, but I simply couldn't. I needed to tell him that Sonya knew we knew each other. I had no clue if that was relevant, but knowing his impulsive nature, I figured it was better if he was prepared. I had no idea what Sonya had in mind.

"We need to talk," I said.

He gave me a wicked grin. "I'm all ears. What are you going to challenge me about tonight? Work events seem to be our favorite places for sparring."

I sucked in a breath as we moved away from the coat room to make space for others. "I wasn't challenging you last time."

"Really? That's just the way you talk to everyone?" he questioned.

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