Page 3 of Rival Hearts

I blinked at her. She didn’t know who I was?

“Alex.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said and held out her hand. I took it. Those eyes drew me in, and when she smiled—which wasoften—her whole face changed.

She wasn’t too much shorter than I was. I stood at six-two, which meant a lot of women were tiny in comparison unless they wore heels, but Lottie wore flats with her jeans and a boho blouse that made her look so much less pretentious than the dolled-up women all around me that teetered on their heels wearing their tight dresses.

“Okay,” she said. “Vodka tonic it is.”

Somewhere behind us, Gabe and his friends started chanting for another tequila, and Lottie rolled her eyes.

“You don’t like shooters?”

“To be honest, this whole party isn’t exactly my thing.”

“It’s not mine, either,” I admitted. “Maybe once upon a time, but after a hard day in the office, I don’t really feel like getting my drink on to the point of blacking out.”

“Either energy to party or energy to work, not both.”

“Exactly.” I hesitated. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“Like where?” she asked with a frown.

Even her frown was cute.

“Anywhere but here. Somewhere we can actually have a conversation.”

Lottie smiled, her face lighting up again.

“Yeah, why not?”

She stood and looped her hand through mine. I led her through the crowd and out of the door. The night air was cool.

“Are you here in your car?”

She shook her head, so I led her to my Lexus LS and opened the passenger door for her.

“Oh, wow,” she breathed. “That’sa car.”

“Yeah.” I grinned at her.

She slid onto the leather seat, and I closed the door, running around and getting in behind the wheel.

“Why does it smell so good in here?” Lottie asked.

I chuckled. “The car has a fragrance system that diffuses a smell through the car.”

Lottie laughed. “Isn’t that—”

“Overkill? Absolutely.”

I turned the ignition, and the engine purred to life. Lottie glanced up through the panoramic sunroof, and I pulled out of the packed driveway and onto the street.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“You tell me.”

She considered it. “I know of a place called Soulstice.”