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Inside, I see the neatly packed drone prototype, so pearly white it glows.
“Whatever the future may bring, letting you drag me out here hasn’t been a complete waste of time. This is an interesting application of our technology,” he says without missing a beat.
Perfectly seriously.
My heart disintegrates into butterflies again.
Just how?
How can a man who’s never met a human smile look so attractive when he’s hunched over his creation like a mad scientist?
His eccentric, grumpy butt breaks all the laws of men.
One guy doesn’t get to be smoldering and cute simultaneously, yet here he is doing it, slaying my heart to smithereens.
I nod sharply, pretending the drone test is all that’s on my mind.
My smile does its best to come out, and I bite it away again.
“You’re right, Shepherd.Superinteresting application of technology. Imagine what we could do with the robo-subs and the whales.”
“Are you laughing at me?” He looks at me.
“Nope. Never.” I force my lips into a straight line. “Sir,” I add as an afterthought.
“Smart-ass otter brat.”
“Yes, sir,” I agree.
“Are you trying to sound like Miss Cho?”
Is that how I protect myself from another kiss that rips my heart out?
“I’m showing you a smidge of respect for taking a leap of faith with me today. Don’t let it go to your head. Oh, and I couldn’t ever be one tenth as serious as Hannah.”
He snorts. “Yes, she’s unbearably polite when she insults me to my face weekly. You, Miss Destiny, pull no punches.”
There it is again.
The barest hint of a smile—and is he looking at mefondly?
Oh, boy.
“Are you a bigger dick to her than you are to me?” I whisper.
“It’s a tough contest. I threaten to fire her constantly, but by now she knows I won’t.” He eyes me coldly. “You, I’m still working out how to tame.”
Apparently, he’s on the right track with this innuendo that feels like an uppercut.
“Is that your first priority? Playing mind games with your people?” I ask playfully.
He shakes his head.
“I fucking wish. Hannah Cho is a force of corporate nature. If you want to know why Home Shepherd operates as tightly as it does, she’s the one to thank.”
My eyebrows lift.
Whatever crap I was expecting, it wasn’t that.
