Page 62 of No Match Found
I stopped walking. “Grant.”
He halted but took a second before he turned toward me.
I watched him, noting theVbetween his brows and the tightness of his jaw. Where was the man with the carelessly unbuttoned shirt, nonchalantly reclining in his chair, an amused twinkle in his eye?
This was a side of him I’d never seen before, and it made me lightheaded and a little reckless.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Of course I am,” he said as though he didn’t look ready to burn my city to the ground. “Areyou?”
I nodded, even though my pulse was struggling to come down from its high.
He let out a gush of air, then released my hand and ran his through his hair. “Sorry. I just…”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I crashed your date. Hard. Something I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do.”
The phrasing made the hairs on my arms lift. He made it sound like he’d had to coach himself out of a desire that had pre-existed tonight. “The date had crashed well before you came over, Grant. At that point, you were extricating me from the burning vehicle.”
His shoulders relaxed a bit. “You don’t need rescuing. You’re plenty capable.”
I didn’t say anything. Maybe I would’ve managed just fine.
But I was glad Grant had intervened.
If you’d set Grant and Leo next to each other in a boxing ring, anyone would’ve put their bets on Leo. But add in the look on Grant’s face in that club…
My stomach swooped.
Leo had put his hands all over my waist, and the only thing it had done was make me feel sick. Grant could simply look at me and send me places I’d never been. And when he’d grabbed my hand…
He rubbed his neck, then started walking. “It’s been a while since I’ve lost my cool like that.”
I swallowed, wondering what had made tonight different—and why I wanted it to be some sort of primal jealousy that had brought him over to me in that club. “You losing your cool is pretty mellow, I’d say.”
“It was unprofessional is what it was. I was there to observe.” His brow creased again, and he shook his head. “But I couldn’t watch another second of that.”
What exactly wasthat? Itfelta lot like jealousy—like Grant hadn’t been able to stand any more of me with Leo. It was shooting off little flickers of something inside me.
The sparks in my chest needed to be doused with a bucket of water.
He’d watched a man ignore my boundaries. To assume jealousy had any part in it was a big jump.
“Is that a commentary on my dancing skills?” I asked, feigning offense as we reached the parkinggarage.
His mouth quirked at one edge. “Didyou dance? I don’t remember seeing anything that would qualify?—”
I punched him in the arm.
He laughed and pretended to retreat;Istifled the impulse to nurse my knuckles. Grant wasn’t Leo or the bouncers, but his arm was solid.I shot him the evil eye and pressed the elevator button. The doors opened immediately, and we stepped inside.
I reached for the buttons, my hand hovering at the ready. “Which floor?” After a moment of silence, I looked at Grant.
He blinked a couple times. “Um…four. No. Six.”
I cocked a brow.
