Page 26 of Miss Treated

“Um, good. Although, I guess not as good as you. Who’s your date?”

My cousin, never shy, held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Ava.”

“Nice to meet you. Uh, off to somewhere special?”

My cousin had this handled. “Yes. A fundraiser. Although I love a night in when Nic makes me dinner, it’s also nice to have an excuse to dress up.”

I owed her big-time. But did feel a pinch of guilt when Shauna’s smile faltered. “Great. Have fun, you two.”

Ava let out a breath as Shauna walked quickly toward her car. “That was savage. The girl has it bad for you.”

“I’ve done nothing to encourage her. She’s the sales manager. We went downstairs for coffee together once, and now she acts as though we should do it every day. I appreciate the assist.”

She laughed. “It’s all well and good until she sees me with my mom and makes the connection. She’ll either think you’re a cousin banger or be pissed you lied.”

Good Lord, Ava had no filter. “I didn’t lie. I let her assume.” Which now made me feel bad.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah, but I think we’d better take your Mercedes if we want to protect your modesty.”

She scoffed. “Your Bronco might get me more attention from the boys. Not as if you’d know it, but dating is tough out there, cousin. Also you’re driving because I’m already ordering my first martini in my head.”

“Yes, ma’am. Not sure I’d trust you on the road in those stilts anyhow.”

She laughed, kicking up a heel. “These are Louboutins. A gift to myself after my last closing because, as aforementioned, I have no man in my life to spoil me.”

“I’m sensing a theme. Should I put on my wingman game face tonight?”

“Guaranteed you’ll be the only man under forty there. However, you could set me up with one of your friends.”

“You wouldn’t like my friends.” The guys I hung out with wouldn’t recognize a Louboutin from a Walmart knock-off. Nor did they care. They were guys I’d met while surfing or who I knew from college—which, much to my father’s chagrin, had been a public university, gasp, and not an Ivy League school like those Gabe and Leo had attended.

“Perhaps not. How’s the dating scene going for you? Breaking all the other hearts around the office too?”

I opened the passenger side door of my Bronco, giving her a hand to get up into the seat before walking around to the driver’s side. Ava’s remark about breaking hearts did me a disservice. I tried to be considerate of other people’s feelings, even when they were pushy like Shauna. Yes, flirting came naturally. But my personal life had a parallel with my professional one in that I avoided commitment. I’d never been in a serious relationship. “Not like I encourage it. I’m just nice to everyone.”

Ava snorted. “Please. You forget I’ve seen women literally walk off curbs while staring at you.”

I chuckled. “It happened once, and I felt terrible. The woman hurt her ankle.”

“She was so grateful to have you help her out that I doubt she noticed.”

“If I tell you something, do you promise not to mention it to anyone related to us?” Aside from my mom, Ava was the only one in the family I could trust with a secret.

She gawked. “Oh my God, you met someone.”

“I hope so. Gotta get her to go out with me, though. It’s tougher than I’d expected.”

She burst out laughing. “Aww…poor Nicky has to work for it. I like her already.”

Chapter Eleven

Kelsey

My plan was to leave the office by four o’clock, drop by the hotel to grab my small suitcase, and then drive up to LA. But when I checked traffic, I groaned. An alert for an accident had popped up. Just my luck. Now I was better off waiting until rush hour cleared altogether. So I settled in my hotel room to look at last year’s cash receipt payments. My plan worked well until my stomach growled.

Maybe I’d hit the restaurant downstairs for a quick meal before starting my drive. I walked out to the parking lot to put my suitcase in the trunk of the Range Rover I’d borrowed from my brother when my gaze was drawn to the man standing across the street in front of the Chambers Tech building.