Page 17 of The Texan's Secrets

She borrowed Paris’s reason as an excuse, giving a slightly self-conscious laugh. “I was after the free date. Plus, an invite to the IPO launch party. I hear the decked-out TTC ballroom is a sight to behold.”

Nick’s grin widened. “Ah, so this is purely mercenary.”

“Completely,” she said with a straight face.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Why not? Who wouldn’t want an expenses-paid date and an invitation to a great party?”

“You’re an introvert.”

It was true. She was. But that wasn’t on her bio. “Why do you say that?”

“Because you’re a coder. And coders are invariably introverts. It takes far too much alone time. Extroverts would reach out and find themselves some company before they finished writing their first module.”

“Some introverts like parties,” she challenged.

“Not many. Mostly, we end up huddled in a quiet corner with another introvert.”

She couldn’t disagree with that. “The best conversations happen when you’re huddled in a quiet corner.”

He raised his glass in a mock toast. “I’m not about to argue.” He polished off his wine, then a contemplative look came over his face. “I wonder what it was.”

“What what was?” She followed suit, lifting her glass to finish it.

“I wonder why Surprise Me! tossed us together.”

Emilia choked on her final sip of wine, wheezing then coughing.

Nick hopped up and came to her. “Are you alright?”

“Went down wrong,” she managed.

“I’ll get you some water.”

While Nick retrieved the water bottles from his saddlebags, Emilia squelched her guilt. She wasn’t about to admit to Nick that it was his compelling gaze, secretive half smile and her own hacking skills that had thrown them together. The Surprise Me! function’s algorithm had nothing to do with the match.

Three

“You see?” Misha said to Nico from across the table as she glanced around the bustling RCW Steakhouse. “Nobody’s paying the slightest bit of attention to us.”

Nico’s back was to most in the room, but he believed his sister was right. He continued to be amazed that he wasn’t being recognized without his beard and with his hair cut short. He knew his face had changed quite a bit since he was twenty-two. It was leaner, the planes and angles sharper. His chin had squared out, and his features were heavier now.

Still, he kept expecting someone to point and shout his name and remind the world he was an ex-convict.

They paused the conversation as a waitress brought their cocktails, thanking her before she left the table. Misha had ordered an old fashioned, while Nico had gone for a straight bourbon.

“So, how was your first Surprise Me! date?” Misha asked after they took their first sips.

“I didn’t learn much about the function itself.” That had been a failure on Nico’s part. Distracted by Emilia, he hadn’t remembered to bring the conversation back to Surprise Me! while they rode back to the barn. It wasn’t until after a long goodbye kiss in front of her car that he’d remembered his data-gathering mission. “I asked some questions, but she gave vague answers.”

Misha pulled a face. “But did it seem like a promising match? Did you like her?”

“Sure.” Nico had no intention of admitting just how much he’d like Emilia, never mind his intense, almost electric sexual attraction to her. Their kisses had all but buckled his knees. “She seemed nice.”

Misha sighed. “Nice. Okay. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. But I don’t know how much more we could have expected on a first date. I mean, Maggie and Jericho had fireworks pretty early on. But I suppose their situation was an anomaly.”

“I thought I’d ask her out again,” Nico said.

---