Page 14 of Her Age Gap Match

I swallowed hard.

"Right." I wrapped both hands around my hot chocolate. "Good to know."

He was watching me like whatever was happening in this conversation was the only thing happening. Most people's eyes drifted, checked their phones, catalogued the room. His didn't.

It was a lot to be on the receiving end of.

"So," he said, and there was something in his voice that was almost amused. Almost. "Jasper Ellison has observations about my compatibility profile."

I felt my face do something involuntary.

"He does," I said. "Jasper has — yes. Many observations. He's very observant. It's kind of his whole thing."

Johnny looked at me.

I looked at my hot chocolate.

He knew something was up, but I could tell right away that he wasn't going to push it. It frustrated me a little, irrational as that was. I wanted him to call me on my bullshit, interrogate me, for me to say it out loud. That was definitely not going to happen.

“I wasn't completely honest with you,” I said. “I'm sorry.”

He gave me a skeptical—but kind—smile. “I have…no idea what's going on here.”

Again, I swallowed. It wasn't helping. The hot chocolate mug was burning my palms, and that wasn't helping either.

So I reached into my bag, grabbed the report, and shoved it at him.

Johnny took the sheet of paper, narrowing his eyes to peer at it. I fixed my eyes out the window, barely brave enough to even watch him in my peripherals.

He took a few minutes, then look up at me over the paper.

“What—Poppy, what is this?”

“It’s a Bloom Agency compatibility report.”

“I see that,” he said. “But it’s got your name on it.”

“And yours.”

He put the paper down on the table, his hands still on it.

“What are we doing here?” he asked me.

Very calm and direct.

He deserved a direct answer.

I finally got the nerve to look at him again, clasping my hands in my lap, trying to make my body as small as I could.

“We’re not supposed to be in the system, but a lot of us are in there as test cases,” I explained. “Jasper…he thought we had chemistry, so he removed the employee restrictions and he gave me that piece of paper.”

Johnny scoffed, shaking his head. “Ninety-nine percent?”

“Jasper always says the algorithm doesn’t lie.”

“Yeah, but you dont—I’m twice your age–”

“And I like you anyway,” I interrupted.