Force of Forever (All In #0.5)

Page 3



She moved on with her tray of towels, leaving Matt to laugh to himself. But that wistfulness in her voice had his brain turning.

Minutes later, she reappeared at his elbow. His heart gave a happy thump. “What about you?” she asked.

“Nothing so specific as yours. I live there, so my home, I guess.”

She shook her head. “That’s cheating.”

“My apartment is pretty nice,” he argued.

“You asked what I woulddoin Paris if I had the time.”

A setup if he ever heard one. There was nothing he’d rather do in Paris than her. Fuck, she was gorgeous. And that playful edge? Intoxicating. But truthfully, all Matt ever did was work. When work is your life, your sibling and cousins your friends, there really is nothing else. But Pia didn’t seem willing to accept that answer.

“I used to enjoy the cemeteries.”

“Cemeteries can be really beautiful,” she agreed, looking thoughtful.

“There’s so much love there. So much history, so many stories.”

“An interesting way to look at a graveyard.”

He fell a little for the faraway look that clouded her gaze.

“When do you layover in Paris next?” he asked.Please let it be tonight.This—whateverthiswas—needed to continue.

She studied him, lips squishing from side to side like she was debating truth over lies. Her sudden reluctance was a reminder that he needed to play this game a bit cooler. “Tonight.”

Expletives exploded in his brain, but he kept his face neutral. “I hope you tick some of those activities off your list. For the stained glass, I suggest Sainte-Chapelle.” He settled back in his chair, moving the iPad to his lap. Pia didn’t move. He secretly rejoiced, but he swiped the tablet open and navigated back to the document he’d been tweaking.

“What are you working on?”

He looked up at her, wondering how much to share. “Numbers.”

“Really?” Her hand actually went to her hip in defiance.

He laughed softly. “It’s not that I don’t think you’ll understand what I’m doing. It’s that the financials are so damn boring. Even I find this shit boring, and it’s my company.”

“You own a company? What are you, twenty-five?” Incredulity made her eyes narrow. Those dark eyes were stunning. Arresting. Everything about Pia made him pause in awe.

“I’m almost thirty. And yes, I own a company.”

For some reason, his words seemed to make her sad. She sighed, hand dropping from her hip. She twisted her fingers together, eyes on the floor. “That’s nice. I bet you’re proud. Your parents, too.”

He shook his head. “You might be surprised.” Running a branch of their company before age thirty was expected. A head nod was all he’d received from his mother when the business license for OrbitAll, his space tourism venture, went through.

Pia had questions all over her pretty, heart-shaped face, but a subject change was necessary to keepthismoving in the right direction. “You might also be surprised to know I have a preternatural ability to find fresh croissants.”

Her tan cheeks dimpled. “That so?”

“Let me take you out for pastries tonight.”

It wasn’t a question because he only wanted one answer. Fuck being cool. Matt had been trained from birth to go after what he wanted. He didn’t know how to be cool, patient, or complacent. He waited, praying this beautiful woman wanted to take their little spark of connection further. If only for a walk through Paris.

“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll do it for the croissants.” She waltzed off, leaving him chuckling alone once again.

He fired off a list of instructions to his assistant and sat back in his seat with a grin. If Matt had his way, their night would involve much more than croissants.

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