Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
She had zero idea what Charlotte thought she was doing with this Greek god of a man.
Except he was British. He had the sexiest English accent. She’d been surprised since he wasn’t what she’d expected at all.
“It’s just work, and I can handle it later.” She could stare at this hunk in a three-piece suit all day.
But that was all he was to her—a work of art. He wasn’t TJ. He wasn’t warm and comfortable and soul fulfilling. Still, how could she know if she didn’t try?
She’d woken up warm and happy until the minute she realized nothing had changed. TJ was still reacting to something terrible that had happened to him. He was still the man who’d turned her down time and time again. She’d eased out of bed, a kernel of anger thrumming through her.
He was in her house, giving her puppy-dog eyes and expecting her to fall in line. Everyone thought she would, too. This morning when she’d gotten the text from Charlotte, she’d been ready to come up with an excuse, but Kenzie had said something about TJ wouldn’t like it.
It didn’t matter what TJ liked. They had agreed. She would continue dating and they would play at the club. Only at the club. Outside of the club they would be friends.
This was what it felt like to be truly stubborn. She didn’t like it. No wonder Kala was grumpy all the time.
So she’d told Charlotte to set it up and gotten dressed in her sluttiest dress—the one with the deep V-neck—and left as Aidan and Carys were walking in.
“Tell me about your work. Mrs. Taggart said you were involved in some kind of technical job.”
He really was gorgeous. Every woman who walked by stopped and stared for a moment. A bunch of the men, too, since they were in Oak Lawn. The café was small and tasteful, with early morning light that showed off this guy’s immaculate skin care regime. He practically glowed.
TJ had looked rumpled and adorable this morning, totally out of place with a pink comforter around his chest.
“I work in research and development with a company called 4L. And she mentioned you’re an accountant, right? She said you and Phoebe met at a conference recently and started helping each other out.”
“Yes. She’s a bright one, Phoebe is.” He leaned in, his eyes fastening on her. “But accounting is such dull work. I wonder why I went into it sometimes. Your work is much more interesting. And your family. I must say I find Mrs. Taggart’s family utterly charming. How do you know them?”
The woman who worked the front counter refilled Lou’s coffee. She was the only woman who hadn’t looked at her date like he was a dessert and she was starving.
“I’ll take another tea when you have a moment,” the Brit said. “And some more milk.”
The petite woman sighed. “Right away, sir.”
That woman did not like her job, but she seemed to be the only one working. It was lucky there hadn’t been a bunch of customers. The woman with curly blonde hair walked away muttering something Lou couldn’t make out.
“My father has worked for McKay-Taggart for over twenty years.” She didn’t go into the fact that he was technically her stepfather. This relationship wouldn’t warrant that level of knowledge. While he was gorgeous, there was something cold about the man.
“Yes, my own father has been at the same firm for years. He works as the head of a subsidiary company in London. The main offices are here in the US. You would think I would have gotten to spend a lot of time over here, but with the pandemic and political situations being what they’ve been, I’m afraid I lost touch with some of the people I knew when I was younger. It’s why I was happy to be able to work here in Dallas for a bit.”
Though she knew this wasn’t going anywhere, she had some time before she needed to get to the office and go over all the data and reports Zach had sent this morning. She found herself curious about the man in front of her. “I have to ask. You are not what I was expecting when Charlotte told me I would be meeting Miguel Garza.”
He grinned. “Ah, well, we have immigrants in the UK, too, you know. My mum is British. She met my father when she went on holiday in Spain when she was a teenager. She told him she was trying to learn the language at the time. She wasn’t. She was fluent, but she wanted an excuse to spend time with him. When he applied to university, he chose an English school, and the rest is history.”
“And what does your father do? You said he works for a US company.” She wondered what TJ was doing. Probably having breakfast, and not at a petite café with croissants and pains au chocolat. He would be eating Kenzie’s pancakes and downing more than his share of the bacon. She always ordered extra so he could steal from her.