Page 29 of Cajuns. Love. Curves.

Nick

Well, that didn’t exactly go as planned.

Even by my standards, even with all my planning-for-the-worst-bullshit, that was a shit show.

I expected…

Okay, I don’t know what exactly I expected.

Maybe I thought she’d be happy to see me? To finally meet me in person?

Hell, we’ve been emailing and messaging for nearly two years now. Even if she doesn’t feel this soul deep connection that I do, even if I didn’t dare hope that she’d be all in from the moment we met, I expected more than that weirdly formal, nice to finally meet you.

Like she was meeting a damn client for the first time or something.

At the very least, I expected to have at least an hour in her company.

Now I watch her walk away, a new plan already unspooling in my mind.

I’m on my feet before it’s even fully formed. As an afterthought, I glance back down at Remy, who is still seated, his bottle cradled in his hand.

“I’m gonna go after her.” When he quirks an eyebrow, I add, “Make sure she’s okay to drive.”

He glances up, his lips quirking in an enigmatic half smile. “Go for it, Dude.”

I catch up to her in the parking lot just as she’s climbing into her sensible gray Tesla Model 3.

We haven’t ever talked about how much she makes, but I’m pretty sure she puts in enough hours at that law firm of hers that she could afford one of the more expensive models. But my girl isn’t the kind to spend money on luxury.

“Hey, hold up a minute,” I call out.

She looks up and pauses, the door already open. I jog across the parking lot because I can tell she’s a second away from slipping inside and disappearing on me.

When I reach the car, I put my hand on the open door, just in case she tries to pull a Houdini on me.

She tosses her purse in the car and then turns to face me.

The lighting out in the parking lot is better than it was in the bar and fuck me if she doesn’t look stunning. Tired, yes. And… I don’t know… maybe exasperated she made the long drive out here for nothing. But still, she’s as gorgeous in person as I knew she’d be. Her green eyes are similar in color to Remy’s, but hers are bigger, angled a little, so that her eyes look like she’s always smiling.

Even in the dim lighting, I can see those freckles I love so much from her pictures. And when I inhale, I catch the scent of her—the wine on her breath and a hint of mint beneath that, mingled with something soft and floral. Something heady that reminds me of hiking through the rainforest.

Her gaze is locked on mine and she’s so close I hear the hitch in her breath.

Suddenly, I’m aware that I’m probably standing too close. Given that we just met for the first time and I’m a pretty big guy. Definitely not the tallest or the bulkiest on the team, but I’m nearly six feet.

I take a step back, giving her another inch of breathing room without removing my hand from her door.

“Did you want something?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay to drive back to Austin tonight.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m fine. I only had a sip of wine.”

“Yeah. I saw that. But I’m more worried about exhaustion.”

“Are you telling me I look tired?” She lets out a huff of laughter.

“No.” Damn it. I am doing this all wrong. “I just know how hard you work. You’ve been putting in crazy long hours and—”

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