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"Was Connor here?"
"Yeah, my family grew up near Westchester so it was a chance for us to get back in the same state. I missed my brother. He's the only family I have left."
She nodded. "I always wished I had a sibling. That's why I'm so close with Kate and Arilyn. We met in college and bonded and they became my family."
"What about your mom and dad?"
Darkness stole over her face, momentarily capturing the jubilance that had come from her earlier success at the game. "We don't talk much. It's better that way." He nodded, not digging any further. The gentle whirr of the cart's wheels broke the silence. "I know you study propulsion, but what exactly are you trying to find? Are you hired to build a certain rocket?"
"No. We're looking for more efficient ways to create spacecraft. I'm working on new formulas to challenge our current ideas. Something called the thrust equation."
"The thrust equation depends on the mass flow through the engine and the exit velocity, right?"
He narrowed his gaze. She acted like she'd just told him she liked the color red. "Exchanging Vogue for Science Today?" he asked casually. He was afraid to scare her off after the other night, but dear God, she was trying to kill him.
"I looked up your company on the net to get some info on your job."
His heart shifted. There wasn't one person in his entire life who cared enough even to figure out what he did all day. His throat closed up. "Why?"
"I wanted to get an idea of who you were. To match you with the right woman, of course. Career is an important part of your life and expectations for your future wife."
He pushed down the strange mix of emotions that tore through him. "I'm just the nerdy guy behind the notepad."
"Nate?"
He pulled into the main area and parked. "Yeah?"
"Nerds are underrated."
Their connection slammed through him and punched out his breath. Damn her. Every time he tried to get his footing, she knocked him back on his ass. Her face softened, and she was staring at him as if she wanted him, but didn't want to want him, and his head swam and his dick ached. Suddenly, he didn't care about right, wrong, or reason. He leaned in, got a whiff of her heady scent, and cupped her cheeks.
"You can't say that and expect me not to kiss you, Ken."
His lips covered hers, and she gave that little hitched moan he bet she uttered during an orgasm. She opened for him and he slipped his tongue deep, drinking in her essence, thrusting in and out like he longed to do between her thighs. The sun beat down, the birds sang, golf balls flew, people chattered, and nothing else mattered except the touch and taste and smell of her.
She kissed him back. Stroked his tongue with hers. Gave it all back to him.
Too soon, she drew back and stared. Her lower lip was slightly swollen and gleamed with wetness. "Don't do that."
He wanted to laugh at her admonition, but he was too painfully turned on. "Sorry. But I don't regret it."
"I'm throwing you a mixer, dammit. To hopefully meet your wife. Let's pretend this never happened, because I promise you, Nate, it will never happen again. Got it?"
Those amber eyes sparked with temper and a passion he craved to tap into, but he did the right thing and nodded. "Got it."
She slid out of the cart in a flash of white fabric and bare skin. "See you Friday. At the mixer."
He didn't answer. Just watched her walk away and wondered if he'd ever meet someone who would match her.
THAT FRIDAY EVENING, NATE walked into Cosmos like he was about to face a firing squad.
The small group of women hung in the corner, drinking wine and chatting like they were friends and not about to compete for his attention. Not that he felt like a prize. In fact, his stomach lurched at the thought of having to conduct not only safe but sparkling conversation with strangers and then pick one to date. He must've been crazy to agree to this. His gaze swung to the object of his thoughts, dreams, and lately his fantasy world. She was dressed in a yellow tweed suit that looked custom fit with a super-short skirt accented by her matching yellow sandals. Her gold ankle bracelet winked at him, and her gorgeous hair streamed down in streaks of blond and brown. She moved around the room like a firefly, bright and quick and impossible to ignore.
Since the golf outing, Nate had focused on the upcoming event and targeted his energy into his real future. With a woman he'd marry, have children with, and love till death do they part. His head was now wrapped tight around one rule: Kennedy Ashe was only his matchmaker.
If only he could wrap his dick around the rule, too.
Nate walked up to her. "Hey."
She smiled. "How are you doing?"
"Just peachy."
She laughed. The deep, husky tone stroked him everywhere and set off an explosion of heat. "Don't freak out on me. These women were handpicked. They're easy to get along with and really looking forward to meeting with you. I'll introduce you to everyone first, and then escort each of them to a private table so you can have some alone time. You look great."
"Thanks." The charcoal pants and silk shirt had an easy elegance he liked. And the shoes were pretty damn awesome. He'd never thought of Italian leather as the bomb, but now he didn't know if he'd ever go back. "So do you."
She opened her mouth to respond, but a large guy swooped in on her and pulled her into a tight hug. His hands slid comfortably around to her backside. A violent impulse sputtered within him like a bad car engine refusing to turn over, and he barely held back from knocking the asshole's grip away from the full curve of her ass.
"Hey, babe. What time you done? Wanna hook up for a drink afterward?"
She tossed him a flirty look and shook her head. "Sorry, can't tonight."
"All work and no play makes for an unsatisfied woman, Ken."
"Speak for yourself, Ron."
He gave a big bear laugh that annoyed Nate. "I'll be in the kitchen if you get a break. Come visit." He winked. "I promise not to get dough all over your nice clothes this time."
"Promises, promises," she sang. The dude walked away with a stupid come-hither look on his face and pushed his way back into the crowd. His sheer height and weight cut an easy path through the throng of people, but his rudeness and ego were evident. Definitely a prior high school bully. She pulled her gaze away from his retreat and refocused. "Okay, are you ready to meet everyone?"
"Who's that?" he demanded.
She blinked. "Ron? Oh, he just works in the kitchen. We do a lot of mixers here."
Nate held on to his temper. "I don't like the way he just talked to you."
Astonishment widened her golden eyes. "He's harmless. Treats all women like that. Sound familiar?"
The arrow met its mark and pierced cleanly through. Nate shifted on his feet. All those awful comments he never thought of flickered through his mind. How many times had he treated women like objects under the misguided advice of his brother? But Connor wasn't to blame. Nate had never paused long enough to think about how someone would want to be treated. Maybe he was just as selfish.
"You don't deserve for any man to devalue you, Kennedy. Even me."
Her expression softened, and suddenly, it was if they were alone in a warm, floaty bubble. "Then it's a good thing I have my zapper."
They smiled at each other, and he forgot about the group of women awaiting him, one of whom might be his future wife. He wondered if she had forgotten, too.
She seemed to catch his thoughts and shook her head. "I already ordered you a Darth Maultini. The women you'll meet tonight are Mary, Sue, Vera, and Sally. They're all professionals with college degrees and good senses of humor. Two of them love golf. One has a physics background. Don't worry about assets or liabilities right now. Just talk, have some fun, and see if you feel any type of connection. Remember the rules?"
"No commenting on age or body parts, asking about the future, or judging before a longer conversation."
"Good. Ready?"
He gazed at the woman he wanted and lied
.
"Yes. Let's go."
