I nced out at the glittering skyline. “Let me guess. You’re thinking if something was gonna


    happen between Nate and Retta, it would’ve by now. So, there’s no room for you, right?”


    “Exactly! When I liked Nate, he liked me back. We’ve always been in sync, even if we weren’t


    together,” Lena said, totally confident and glowing.


    Whether she was really feeling it or just talking herself up, I didn’t want to crush her vibe. So, I


    nodded. ” You guys are totally soulmates.”


    Then, a mischievous thought popped into my head, and I nudged her. “So, have you and Nate


    taken things to the next level yet? You know, soulmates and body mates?”


    Lena’s face turned bright pink. “Not yet.“.


    “Wait, is it him? Or are you holding back?” I asked, way too curious now.


    “Something just… I don’t know, isn’t right yet.”


    She knew she could tell me anything, no judgment.


    “Ohhh, I know!” I grinned. “How about Hayden and I book you guys a suite tonight? If the mood’s


    right, everything else will just click.“,


    Lena gave me a look. “That’s not setting the mood, that’s making things weird.”


    Noticing her weird expression, I asked, “Why are you giving me that look?”


    “You’ve changed; you’ve gotten… naughty.”


    1 wiggled my hips yfully. “What can I say? Bad girls have all the fun.”


    Stillughing, we headed back to our table. Hayden was already there, chatting with Nate about


    who- knows–what.


    As I sat down, my mind wandered back to the earlier convo Hayden had with Kylian. I decided to


    test the waters. “So, I ran into the big boss earlier.”


    “Oh.”


    ssic Hayden, all brief and mysterious.


    Hmm, interesting. I wasn’t gonna drop it just yet. Before I could push more, he added, “I saw him


    too.”


    “Really?” I feigned surprise.


    “Yeah, on my way to the restroom.”


    I took a sip of my water, thinking about how they’d been talking about that business deal. “He


    mentioned something about a deal.”


    Hayden nodded. “Yup.”


    “Yup? So, you knew about it already?” I pressed.


    “Yeah. It’s for that new imaging tech I’ve been working on. RiverwaveCorp’s been after it, but we


    weren’t


    +25 BOI


    ready, so our boss was stalling the deal,” he exined detailly.


    Lena shot me a look, like ‘See? Totally innocent.‘ I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for even


    doubting him. I raised my ss to Hayden and added ttery. “Looks like you’re the star of the


    show. No tech, no deal, huh?”


    “Pretty much. They’ve been pushing for it ‘cause they really need the tech,” Hayden answered,


    always direct.


    Lena chimed in with a grin. “So, if you’re that important, does that mean you’ll be rolling in cash


    when this deal goes through?”


    Hayden paused, then nced at me with a smirk. “Maybe enough to cover a wedding.”


    Lena and I both froze, and she immediately gasped, “Hayden, you can’t just throw out rtionship


    goals like that!”


    My heart did a little flip, and I leaned my head on Hayden’s shoulder, smiling. “Lena, you and


    Professor Neumann better start setting some goals too.”


    But Lena wasn’t biting. She stayed glued to Nate’s side, quiet for the rest of dinner.


    After a few drinks, we called a sober driver service. Nate was dropped off first, but before he left, he


    grabbed Lena’s hand. “Wait. Don’t go yet–I want to talk


    It was obvious–he wanted her to stay.


    Lena turned about a million shades of red as she followed him inside.


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    2


    Watching them disappear into the hotel, I linked arms with Hayden and grinned. “Babe, I kinda feel


    like staying at a hotel tonight too.”