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“Oh my, what’s going on here?” Olga gasps, her face wrinkles crinkling with amusement when I look at her.
I fold my arms in front of my chest. “Brian thinks he knows what I want better than I do.”
Olga grins. “Brian, since you’re back, you can help Amanda pick out the winner of our scarf competition.”
Veronique stands up and saunters over to Brian, her lips twitching into a subtle smirk. “If you choose mine, Brian, I’ll cook you a delicious beef stew.”
“Not fair,” another woman sitting on the other side of the table says, pointing a finger at Veronique. “You can’t bribe him with food. We’ll disqualify you.”
“Whoa, ladies,” Brian exclaims, shooting his hands up. “I’m afraid I’m not the bribable type, so let me take a peek at the masterpieces.” As he strides up to the table and passes me, I instantly forget his words when I catch a whiff of his cologne. The man smells like a dream come true.
Before I can stop myself, I’m overwhelmed with a vivid image of me pressing my nose to the crook of his neck to inhale his scent even more. I hastily shift my focus onto the colorful knitted scarfs, trying to ignore the urge to fling myself at him.
“Ladies, you’ve truly outdone yourselves. These are magnificent,” Brian muses, examining the scarfs with a critical eye.
“Okay, enough with the compliments, Brian,” Olga interjects. “We need a winner while I’m still alive.”
I can’t help but give out a chuckle as I tilt my head toward him.
“Which one is your favorite?” he asks.
His gaze sends shivers down my spine as I consider his question. I redirect my focus onto the knitted scarfs.
“The second one on the right,” I whisper.
His eyes trail down to my chosen favorite—a brown-and-purple scarf with soft pink hearts. He raises his head, giving the group of women a quick glance before meeting my gaze again.
“I declare the winner is... this one.” He proclaims, picking up my choice.
“Yes! That’s mine,” Olga states with a beaming smile. “And now it’s yours, Brian.”
Without warning, Brian drapes the scarf around my neck, his fingers brushing against my skin. The moment he touches me, I’m sucked into the vacuum we create when we’re near each other.
“The soft brown and bright purple make your eyes pop.”
I swallow and touch his hand while staring at him. “Thank you.”
Streams of delicious warmth flood my body, but then Olga’s voice breaks the spell.
“You two would make a lovely couple,” she quips, the suggestion drawing a collective yes from the other women.
Brian takes a step back and clears his throat, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
“Oh, ah...” he stammers, not meeting my gaze. “I’m afraid I don’t believe in, uh, relationships.”
The group of women gasps in unison. Feeling emboldened in my stance on this matter, I can’t help but add.
“Brian is known in our group of friends as the one-night stand Romeo.”
“What?” Brian exclaims, his eyes blazing with disbelief.
“Are you crazy, young man?” Olga says. “You should be looking for someone to settle down with—not someone for a one-night stand. You’re way past your teenage years to be doing stuff like that.”
The other women echo Olga’s sentiments, each taking a turn to berate him with their words for his one-night stand lifestyle.
“You should find someone to settle down with,” Veronique chimes in. “You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
“What about your future children?” Betty adds. “What kind of example are you setting for them by running around town picking up random women?”
