Dream Date with the Millionaire

In spite of his suspicions, he liked her. “I am.”

A café employee placed a plate and syrup in front of her. “One lemon-poppy waffle.”

Bryce liked that she wasn’t one of those women who lived off salads, rice cakes, nuts and seeds in order to stay a size zero. He also liked her self-confidence. “I’m glad I’m here.”

She spread butter on the waffle. “The bandana didn’t scare you off.”

“It would take more than a bandana to scare me,” he admitted. “Do you wear it every day?”

“No.” She poured syrup on her waffle. “But bandanas come in real handy on those days I’m rushing out the door.”

“Were you rushing this morning?”

She stared down her nose at him. “What do you think?”

That no woman would go to such lengths to look less attractive than she really was. “You were either in a rush or prefer comfort over…”

“Style,” she offered.

He smiled. “You said it, not me.”

The tension seemed to evaporate from around her mouth. “I do like to be comfortable, but I may have taken being comfy to the extreme this morning. Next time I’ll take a little more time getting ready.”

“Next time, huh?” He watched her take a bite of the waffle. A drop of syrup hung on the corner of her lips. Damn, she had a sexy mouth. “So do you do this a lot?”

She wiped the syrup off with a napkin. “Go out for coffee and have breakfast?”

“Online dating.”

“Oh, no.” She stared at her plate, then raised her gaze to his. “You’re my… This is my first time.”

Bryce looked for a sign she might be lying. But she was making eye contact. Her voice pitch hadn’t changed. She wasn’t fidgeting or blinking. Then again, she might just be a good actress.

He picked up his coffee. “What do you think?”

“Well, so far so good,” she said. “The mocha is delicious, the food tasty. Ask me again when we’re finished, and I’ll tell you how the company was.”

Bryce might not trust her, but she was bright and had a sense of humor. He was enjoying this. Her. He sure hoped Sanfrandani wasn’t guilty of anything. “I will.”

“What about you?” she asked. “Do you rush getting ready in the morning or take your time?”

He sipped his drink. Strong and hot, the way he liked his coffee. “I’m a guy. Once we’re out of high school, it’s pretty much shower and go.”

“Mm.” She looked him over, taking her time but keeping her opinion to herself. “Well, at least no one could accuse you of being metro.”

“Thank you.” The amusement in her eyes brought a smile to his face. “I think.”

“So I’m a newbie at this online dating thing. What about you?” she asked. “Have you gone on a lot of dates with people you met through Blinddatebrides.com?”

“Not a lot, much to the chagrin of my mother and sister.”

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Both of them think it’s time I settle down.”

Dani raised her mug. “Do you think it’s time to settle down?”

“No.” Bryce found her easy to talk to. Strange, considering his reasons for wanting to meet her. “But my opinion doesn’t matter much where my mother is concerned. She has been lecturing me about being over thirty and single. She wants grandchildren to spoil. My sister, who is a member of the site, has jumped on my mother’s bandwagon and sends me links to the profiles of women she thinks I should contact.”

“Your younger sister, right?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“Your user name is Bigbrother.”

He nodded. “Caitlin picked the name for me.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“She’s a sweet girl. Woman,” he corrected. “Sometimes I forget she’s all grown up.”

“And how does she feel about that?”

“She thinks I’m overprotective. Overbearing and a bully, too.”

Sanfrandani’s smile lit up her face. “The two of you are close.”

It wasn’t a question. “Yeah, but Caitlin drove me crazy when we were kids. Following me everywhere. I wanted to trade her in for a brother, but I couldn’t help but watch out for her back then, too.”

“That sounds so familiar. I watched out for my three little sisters, even though there were days I wanted to kill them. But I knew if I did that it would destroy my mother so I controlled myself.”

He grinned. “I’m sure three younger sisters were much worse than one.”

“Especially trying to get ready for school with only one bathroom for the four of us.”

“Catfights?”

“Every day.” She laughed. “How about with your sister?”

“She’s one of my best friends, even though I still watch out for her.”

“Lucky girl.”

“She might disagree about that.” Though Caitlin’s luck had changed for the better. Contentment settled in the center of Bryce’s chest. “She recently got engaged to a man she met on Blinddatebrides.com.”

“That’s exciting news.”

“Very.” He smiled, thinking about Caitlin, all bubbly and glowing, showing off her diamond engagement ring. She’d thanked him for creating the Web site where she’d met her fiancé. That moment had made all his work, the sleepless nights and constant fires needing dousing, worth it. “My sister and her fiancé prove the matchmaking algorithm works, since that’s how they found each other.”