Page 14 of Decidedly Off Limits

The elderly couple celebrating their anniversary stood up to leave. My heart warmed at the love they shared. Just like it was with my parents. You’d have to be a moron not to see how important the woman was to her husband. But I doubted she was anything like Angela. I doubted she would have pretended to be pregnant to trap herself a husband with a great future earning potential.

“That’s nice,” I said to Kelsey’s date, whose name I could no longer remember. “And what about your free time? What do you enjoy doing?” This would be the deal breaker for Kelsey. Being owner and CEO of a large successful company meant he wouldn’t have free time for Kelsey. Which meant he would be no better than her ex-fiancé.

“I enjoy all kinds of activities. I’m a firm believer that it’s important to have a life outside the office, or else the stress of the job can kill you. That’s what happened to one of my uncles. He was so obsessed about his job, he forgot to live his life, to enjoy himself, and the stress became too much. He died of a heart attack. He was only thirty-nine when it happened.” He listed the hobbies and activities that he enjoyed, and shit, the list was long.

Way to go, shithead. Make me feel like a slacker.

Kelsey’s eyes were wide and she seemed a little paler than before. She probably figured that with all his activities and hobbies, he wouldn’t have time for her if they dated—and she was probably right.

As I mentally patted myself on the back for saving Kelsey from making another mistake she would regret, Holly said, “I used to practice tae kwon do in college, but haven’t done it in years.” She smiled at the loser.

Somehow I managed not to laugh. Holly wasn’t the kind of woman to steal someone else’s date, or at least I never believed her to be that kind of woman. But here she was flirting with the jerk. Interesting.

I leaned back in my chair, waiting to see what he would do. Maybe I could give him Holly’s phone number so they could hook up. That would save Kelsey the grief of being with someone again who didn’t have time to appreciate her.

“Kelsey, you should give it a try,” Holly said. “I used to love it. It’s a lot of fun.”

What the hell?

“That’s a great idea,” the douchebag piped in. “You can come to the studio where I go. It’s a mixed group, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve never done it before. We have new members join us all the time.”

That wasn’t a great idea. It was a terrible idea.

“I might do that,” Kelsey said. “Thanks.”

Holly and the jerk-off started discussing the things they enjoyed doing. Kelsey listened with rapt interest, every so often asking questions.

“And what do you enjoy doing inyourspare time?” the jerk asked, turning the question back on me.

Holly laughed and the table next to us looked to see what had caused the weird sound. “Trent is a workaholic. If he hadn’t brought me here tonight, he would still be at the office, crunching numbers.” She flashed me a teasing smile. What could I say? She was right.

“I’m not that bad. Besides, I love my job.” It made me feel alive.

Or at least it used to. The thrill I used to feel had faded a bit over the past year and I couldn’t figure out why. So I pushed myself harder, spent more hours at the office, looking for the exhilaration I used to experience every time I showed up for my job.

The jerk didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. His expression said it all:Well, it’s your funeral.Literally.

For the rest of the meal I remained somewhat quiet, pretending to listen to what everyone had to say, but at the same time I couldn’t get out of here soon enough. So far I’d failed in screwing up this date between Kelsey and the guy. I still wasn’t convinced he was good enough for her, and Liam would want a full report.

And more importantly, I wanted to ensure their date didn’t end with him going home with her. The thought of him fucking her was enough to drive me crazy.

I was so focused on tryingnotto imagine them having sex together, I almost missed the sound of a cell phone interrupting their conversation.

The jerk answered it. The only thing I could tell was that the call was urgent and had to do with his company.

“All right, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He hung up. “I’m sorry,” he said to Kelsey. “I need to leave, but I’ll drive you home first.” He indicated for the waitress to fetch the bill.

“I can do that,” I quickly said before Kelsey could respond. “We haven’t had dessert yet.” I nodded at the next table over where the waitress was serving Kelsey’s favorite. The girl loved her chocolate cake, and no one’s chocolate cake outdid the one they made here.

She glanced over at the table and I could tell she was thinking the same. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d been fantasizing about it while eating dinner.

The jerk-off must have sensed it too. “All right then.” His thumb skimmed the back of her hand and he smiled. “I’ll call you.”

Did you spot it? The dejection in her eyes? I didn’t think he’d seen it because she was great at hiding what she was thinking—but it didn’t escape my notice.

He paid for their meal and left. I winced at the anger now flashing in her eyes that was directed at me, and waited for her to unleash the temper I had experienced more than once from her while growing up.

I would definitely be dropping Kelsey off first.