Chapter Five
Link didn’t take his eyes from Elise as she moved to the booth under the pavilion, her new lapdog David at her side. She glanced over once and averted her gaze just as quickly. She was nervous. Off her game.
Good.
“So,” Rose said, yanking on his arm and effectively breaking the spell. “Just a woman from town, is she?”
He ran his hands across the back of his neck and exhaled. “She’s…” What was she exactly?
“She’s definitely more than a passing interest,” Rose quipped, threading her arm through his again. “And she’s beautiful, so I get the attraction.”
She’s more than beautiful, he thought.
“But…”
He glanced down at Rose, eyebrow raised questioningly. “Why does there have to be a but?” he all but growled.
“Firstly, she’s got a man.”
“He’s not her man.”
“Seems like he wants to be.”
“Wanting and being are two different things. He’s not her man.”
“Okay, at the very least, she has an admirer.”
“That’s never stopped me before.” His eyes found Elise once again, and his jaw clamped tight as he watched David put his arm around her and lean closer to whisper something in her ear.
“No,” Rose admitted. “It hasn’t, but…”
He swore under his breath.
“That’s not nice,” Rose replied with cheek.
“Enough with the buts. Just say what it is you want to say, because I know there’s something rattling around in that brain of yours, and Lord knows you won’t let it rest until you’ve shared whatever the hell it is.”
“You have a type.”
“Do I?”
“You do.” Rose nodded. “Young. Plastic. Big boobs.” Her eyes widened. “Definitely big boobs. Remember that Victoria’s Secret model? Crikey, she barely kept her girls covered. The last time you were in London and we met up for drinks, I didn’t know where to look. And damn but she prattled on, didn’t she?” Her gaze narrowed. “I suppose you used to like girls who talk too much because it made it easier to ignore whatever words come out of their mouth. You zone out.” She frowned slightly. “Oh, and overly white teeth—”
“Overly white teeth?” he sputtered, suddenly amused.
“Yes. I don’t understand it, but you have to admit, all your girlfriends, and let me just say I use the term girlfriend rather loosely, but they could power a grid the size of London with the wattage coming out of their smiles.” Rose’s nose wrinkled. “It’s distracting. Unnatural. But don’t try to get me off my point.”
“Which is?” They were slowly making their way over to the pavilion.
“This woman isn’t your normal type. Like I said, I get the attraction, but Link, she’s obviously older than you—”
“Age doesn’t matter.”
“You might say that, but how can you be sure? And I’m not talking about physicality. Your Elise is in better shape than most of my friends. I’m talking about life stuff and where you’re at. That sort of thing. How did you meet?”
“What do you mean, how did we meet?” Annoyed, he glared at his cousin. What the hell business was it of Rose’s?
“Ah, so that’s it,” she replied slowly. “You swiped right on some dating app.”