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Obviously, she knew who I was, but she wasn’t the least bit daunted by the fact that I was a Durand.
I paused in my pursuit of cutting a chunk of cake and putting it on a nearby paper plate. “Remington? Like in Kaleb Remington of KTD Remington?”
I automatically cut her a piece and grabbed another paper plate from the stack on the island. I dropped the second piece on a plate for her and pushed it toward her before I dug into my own.
She nodded as she chewed and swallowed. “Kaleb, Tanner, and Devon Remington are my cousins. We’ve been close since we were kids.”
I nearly choked on my first forkful of cake.
Kaleb Remington and his two brothers were now self-made billionaires who lived in Montana. I’d known Kaleb since college. We kept in touch, and met up as often as we could. He was one of less than a handful of people I trusted.
That sort of explained why she didn’t blink an eye when speaking to a guy with a boatload of money and power. She had three cousins who were in the same positions.
I suddenly remembered exactly why I’d recognized her name. Kaleb had tried to set me up on a blind date with Shelby about a year ago, when she’d relocated from Montana to San Diego.
I’d nixed the idea in a hurry.
I was way too big of an asshole to go out with a woman who was Kaleb’s beloved cousin. He’d mentioned how sweet she was way too many times for me. Sweet and salty didn’t always mix well, and I wasn’t looking for a long-term relationship.
I watched as Shelby put her plate and utensils in the dishwasher.
She lifted an eyebrow when she turned to face me. “You do remember when Kaleb tried to set us up?” she asked in a frosty tone.
I nodded as I chewed my cake, my eyes never leaving her glacial expression.
Jesus!I almost felt guilty, even though I’d decided not to meet up with her forher own good.
“Just so you know,” she shared. “I wasn’t all that excited about going on that date with you, either. Did you see my picture and decide that tall, chubby, redheaded women weren’t your thing?” She instantly held up a hand. “No, don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care for men who are superficial assholes and stuck on themselves anyway. I’ll never understand why Kaleb wanted me to meet a guy who lives in the world of luxury brands and high fashion. I’m not exactly your type.”
I couldn’t say a word as I watched her pick up my glass of whiskey, toss it back without flinching, and then sit the crystal tumbler carefully back onto the island. She picked up the cake I’d pushed toward her before she said calmly, “Sorry, it’s been a really rough day. I’ll take my cake to-go. Have a nice evening, Mr. Durand. It was really a beautiful reception and a lovely event.”
She headed to the door so fast that I never got a chance to answer.
I tossed my cake onto the counter and followed her, but I saw the headlights of her vehicle leaving as I opened the front door.
What in the fuck had just happened?
Ihadn’tdecided she wasn’t my type. Hell, if I’d seen a recent picture of her, I probably would have been somewhat tempted to meet her.
And who in the hell would ever think she was too tall or…overweight?
“Son of a bitch!” I cursed as I slammed the door closed and locked it.
It irritated the shit out of me that she’d left with the last word, and without giving me a chance to say a goddamn thing.
Thatneverhappened to me.
I was tempted to call Kaleb even though it was the middle of the night.
Why hadn’t he told me that she’d known about this attempted hookup? I’d assumed that he’d askedmefirst.
I stopped myself before I could call and ask him.
Would it have made a difference if Ihadknown? Probably…not.
Her opinion of me was valid, if not quite accurate.
I was definitely better off leaving this situation alone, even though part of me wanted to correct her opinion of me for some odd reason I didn’t understand.
