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Like her, his hands had lingered longer than necessary, and the warmth of his touch remained, having seeped through the silk blouse to her skin underneath.
Bruno bent his head so he didn’t have to yell. “My future brother-in-law owns this place. I’m here to be supportive.”
The closer proximity meant she inhaled more of his intoxicating scent and the faint, malty aroma of beer with a hint of zesty citrus on his breath. It wasn’t unpleasant, and warmth coursed through her.
She gripped her purse on her shoulder to hide her trembling fingers. “I thought maybe you were wife shopping,” she said, with an attempt at humor.
“You’re taking care of that for me, no?”
He flashed his pearly whites, and her heart flipped like a gymnast. He seemed different tonight. Friendlier and dare she say… a little charming.
Marissa quickly averted her eyes. Pull yourself together.
In all the years she’d worked at Executive Match, no man had ever seriously tempted her—until now. After only two meetings, Bruno’s gravitational pull was strong and relentlessly challenged her professional integrity.
“I am.”
“Have you started the search for my future wife already, or am I expecting too much too soon?” he asked.
His breath brushed the shell of her ear, and she felt the sensation like a stroke between her thighs. Bruno was way too close. All up in her personal space. She wanted to put distance between them, but in their particular spot there wasn’t much room to move, so she was stuck.
“I started a preliminary search, but as I mentioned at the office, we have to complete your background check first, which our people are currently working on. Once that’s done, I’ll narrow down the options for you and pull together candidates for your first mixer.”
She didn’t mention she had begun her own research and fallen down a rabbit hole of magazine articles and interviews about him on YouTube. He was a charismatic interviewee, smiling often and making a couple of the interviewers blush with his gentle teasing.
Most interesting, he’d earned a few James Beard awards and nineteen Michelin stars at his restaurants over the years. His most recent was three stars, the highest award for exceptional cuisine.
“No rush, Marissa. I was simply inquiring. Since you can’t find your friend, you should join me in the VIP section. You might have a better chance of finding her in this crowd from up there.” He pointed to an area above the dance floor.
“I think it’s better if I stay here,” Marissa said. Down here, she was safer.
“As you wish.” His gaze dipped to the neckline of her top. “You look very nice tonight, by the way. That color suits you.”
Their eyes connected, and Marissa became incredibly hot, her entire body burning as if she’d been dipped in a bucket of flames. Was he toying with her? He had to know his effect on women and was probably trying to crack her hardened shell.
“Thank you.”
At that moment, Lark squeezed through the crowd and grabbed her arm.
“There you are! I saw your text and texted back, and when you didn’t respond, I came looking for you.”
Wonderful. Bruno had stolen her attention, and she had missed her friend’s response.
Lark’s eyes shifted to Bruno, and Marissa saw the spark of interest that flared in their depths.
Lark, with her smooth brown skin and outgoing personality had confidence in spades. Men loved her adventurous spirit and outgoing personality. She wouldn’t be at all surprised if Bruno took a liking to her.
“This is Lark, a good friend of mine. This is Bruno, he’s...” Marissa didn’t know how to introduce him. Their confidentiality clause didn’t allow her to disclose the identity of clients.
“I’m one of her clients. She’s going to find me the woman of my dreams,” Bruno drawled.
Lark looped an arm around Marissa’s shoulders. “If anyone can find your soulmate, Marissa can. She’s the best matchmaker at Executive Match.”
“I know I’m in good hands. I will leave you ladies alone. Have a good night, Marissa. We’ll talk soon.”
They both watched Bruno disappear into the crowd.
Lark turned to her and stretched her eyes wide. “Oh my. He. Is. Hot. Maybe I should add my profile to your database so I can have a shot. What kind of woman is he looking for?”
