Page 35 of The Billionaire Mismatch

“Hang on,” I cut in. Because at this point, I need to. “If he was stringing me along, to get what he wants, wouldn’t he be trying to get me in bed?”

“Not if he wants you emotionally invested,” Deanna says. “I mean, yes, sleeping with guys can make us clingy, but sweet porch light kisses and a promise to call again? Girl he might be the catfish, but the hook is in you,” she says, and my eyes narrow as I wrap my brain around that.

“Listen,” Deanna says, and I’m starting to feel like she is the host and I’m the caller. “I’ve done a lot of digging on…this man. And his theories on love are wild.”

“Oh?” Kiersten leans in towards her mic before mouthing the word jackpot to me.

“Oh yes,” Deanna goes on. “Apparently, he is notorious for being the face of love and genuine connection without all the BS that comes with online dating. His quote-unquote beliefs on relationships are the reason it’s the most popular dating app out there right now. But behind the mask? He has a reputation for being cold, logistical, and seeing people as algorithms that make him money. No belief in chemistry or fate or anything else.”

“I don’t know,” I start to say, but Kiersten jumps in.

“Didn’t you say that he’s a bit of a grump?” she asks.

“Well…yeah, but most men are grumpy,” I answer before my words are chopped off again.

“And that he’s confusing?” she asks.

“I guess so, but–” I say.

“Confusing or gaslighting?” Deanna asks.

At this point, the whole room is spinning. I pinch the bridge of my nose in an attempt to make it stop.

“Yes, he is grumpy. And no, he doesn’t seem to believe in love the way women do. But it’s not abnormal for women to romanticize things more than men do. The point that we need to focus on is whether or not he is in fact stringing me along to get what he wants, and is he using me for that,” I say, cueing Henry to cut the caller. And just then, as if on cue, as if fated, my phone buzzes.

It’s a text.

And it’s from Luca.

I am kicking myself for not having my phone tucked away. After yesterday, you’d think I’d know better. But Kiersten already saw it.

“This is going to sound wild,” Kiersten says into the mic. “But Olivia just got a text from Luca.”

She waits, and if I had to guess, thousands of people are staring at their phones and their car screens, waiting too.

So I sigh and open the text.

My eyes skim over it and then flash up to Kiersten.

“Well?” she asks.

“Well…he wants to see me again,” I say, setting my phone down.

Kiersten grins. “Of course he does.”

My head goes fuzzy as she continues to talk. Because while everyone seems convinced that we are about to catch the biggest catfish of all time, I feel like I am the one tangled up in the net.

Chapter 11

Luca

“I thinkyou've got a few more gray hairs,” Matt says as he takes a sip of his first beer.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I snap, but he just grins.

“We haven’t hung out in weeks,” he goes on. “I think you’ve sprouted a few new ones.”

“I see you at work every day,” I say, taking a sip of my beer too so I can deal with his sarcasm. He’s right. We haven’t hung out in a social setting in a hot minute. I’m sure his snide-ass comments have been building up.