Page 7 of Some Kinda Romance

Slightly over average height for a woman, she was very curvy with pronounced hips, a round butt, and mesmerizing cleavage. Her cute, heart-shaped face was framed by long, white-blonde hair and her huge blue eyes drew my attention right away. But she was also clumsy apparently—which did not impress me even if I wasn’t at all turned off by her looks.

The fact of the matter was that I thrived on order, control, and purpose. This woman seemed scattered, not even able to control her own movements. My eyes narrowed at the realization.

I understood why my mother wanted to use a different venue, but I’d already been touchy about having to split the control of the planning with a different company.

Now that I’d gotten my first impression of the CEO of that company, I was downright antsy about it.

Serenity’s lips dropped open. She stared up at me for what felt like a long time, much longer than was necessary to regain one’s composure. Then she bent over and scrambled to gather her things, knocking her forehead into my thigh.

“I’m so sorry,” she rushed out. “I didn’t see you there. I was coming out to meet you and a weird car drove by. I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going. How are you? I’m Serenity by the way.”

“Halverson. I’m aware.” I didn’t bother introducing myself in return. Smiling politely, I knelt to help her gather her things—just in case she fell into the traffic while trying to do it herself. Then I handed over her bag and finally went to get my mother’s door.

While I’d taken an instant dislike to my new colleague, Serenity and my mother hit it off immediately. Mom even hugged her hello, gushing about some of the ideas the woman had apparently already sent her.

“I loved the thoughts you had about grazing tables for the guests while we’re having our pictures taken,” she said as she squeezed Serenity. “Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate interesting canapes.”

They released one another and started heading inside.

“We’ll figure out what kind of snacks and apps you want,” Serenity said excitedly. “I’ll send you some lists of vendors with different menus. Mediterranean tends to be a crowd favorite but we have options.”

“You can send those menus to me,” I cut in.

Serenity glanced at me over her shoulder, her eyes lingering on mine. Again. God, is she always this awkward?

“Okay,” she said as we approached another woman who was waiting by the doors. “This is Julie. She can take you on a tour of the various rooms we have on offer and⁠—”

“We’ll take the entire place. Thank you, honey,” my mom said decisively, and I smiled.

Perhaps this is going to be easy after all.

At least, that was what I thought until she took Julie’s arm and waved me off. “I’ll take the tour and leave the details up to you two. Dash has a basic idea of what I want. Have fun!”

She took off without saying anything else, her head already bent close to this Julie woman’s. They strode down a characterless corridor beyond a characterless foyer. I turned to Serenity, needing her to know the ground rules.

“We’ll get to specifics in a moment, but give me your general pricing for whatever your highest package is for two hundred guests. And don’t try to bullshit me. I’m at the top of this game. It shouldn’t come to a dollar more than five million.”

Blinking slowly, she swept her tongue across her lips. Unfortunately, that drew my gaze to them and I found myself transfixed. For just a moment, I watched the way her lips moved and, out of the blue, imagined them wrapped around my cock.

Great. Now I’m a walking cliché.

“Sure. Five million is a good ballpark figure.”

I drew in a deep breath and forced my eyes back up to hers. “Excellent. I’m glad we understand each other.”

I still didn’t like her, but shit. Those lips are something, alright. As is that cleavage.

Mentally shaking my head at myself, I listened to what she was saying as she showed me to her office, but I didn’t give her much of anything in return. I wasn’t rude, but I wasn’t forthcoming either.

That part had nothing to do with my growing attraction to her, though. I simply didn’t play well with others and I was beyond frustrated that my dick had decided to take an interest in her on top of everything else.

This is a nightmare. An absolute nightmare.

By the time we reached her obnoxious corner office on the penultimate floor of the building, I could sense her frustration growing with me in turn. Although I had a feeling my frustration and hers stemmed from different places, even if I had caught her staring a few more times.

While she printed out some paperwork which should have been prepared and ready when we’d arrived, she tried asking me more questions but I didn’t answer a single one directly. She was the newbie between us. She was going to have to figure this stuff out for herself, not rely on my experience for it.

“Your mom mentioned something about yellow flowers. How many arrangements do you think we’ll need?”

It’s your venue. You should know this. In response, I shrugged. “That depends on so many different things.”

Her eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before she smiled again and fired off a whole host of other questions she should already have the answers to. It felt like forever and fourteen days had passed by the time my mother and Julie appeared in the doorway, saving us both from our frustrations with their wide smiles and bubbly chatter.

At least one of us was having a good time.

I tuned them out at first, my mind still wrestling with Serenity’s whole vibe. The entire office smelled of a feminine, aquatic fragrance, and every time she moved, a different part of her body captured my attention. The curve of her full hips to her waist or the length of her hair brushing against the middle of her back.

“I love it,” Mom said as she swept into the office, a completely different person to what she’d been in the car this morning. “I want it. Do you have availability on Mother’s Day?”

My thoughts came to a grinding halt and I blinked myself back into the present. “As in this upcoming Mother’s Day? That’s only two months away.”

“I know, honey, but like Richard and I told you before, why wait?”