Victoria''s smile sparkled, dazzling in the evening light as she stood before him. She didn''t answer Paul''s question-just looked at him, eyes bright with mischief.


    "I won. So, are you going to keep your promise to me now?"


    Paul found himself momentarily lost in her smile. If he hadn''t already been hopelessly infatuated with Vivian, he might have fallen for the woman standing before him right then and there.


    He sighed, a little regretful. "Are you sure you don''t want to consider being my girlfriend? I''m not exactly a bad catch, you know."


    Victoria justughed, the sound light and teasing. "I can keeping over to cook and tidy up for you, Monday through Friday. But you have to give me an hour every day to teach me."


    She didn''t seem the least bit worried that Paul might back out in front of all these people. And honestly, he had no excuse to refuse.


    "Deal. But I''m a tough teacher, you know. If you''re hopeless at this, I''m going to be strict. Don''t me me if you end up in tears."


    He leaned a little closer, his voice dropping suggestively. "I''ve been waiting for your famous four-course dinners, you know. No more takeout to fob me off, alright?"


    Just then, Victoria''s phone rang. Seeing McNeil''s name on the screen, she frowned.


    Of course. He must have found out she''d left Gwh at the old house-and now he was calling to give her a piece of his mind.


    She answered with barely concealed impatience.


    "Where are you right now? I told you to look after Gwyn. It''s the weekend-you could have spent some time bonding. Instead, you dumped her at Grandpa''s. Victoria, do I even matter to you anymore?"


    Victoria rolled her eyes at his usation. "I''ve only been out for an hour or so. I''m heading back now."


    There was a brief silence. Then McNeil said, suddenly and coldly, "Call me ''darling.


    111


    Victoria stared at her phone, momentarily stunned. What was that? They were already talking about divorce, and now he wanted her to call him ''darling?''


    Please.


    "McNeil, are you out of your mind? Did you get your wires crossed? Maybe call the right person next time."


    With that, she hung up and shot him a text: On my way back.


    Now that this little episode was over, she turned back to the man in front of her. With everything settled, she finally felt ready to go home and spend time with her daughter.


    "K, I need to head back. See you next week."


    Tossing her glossy hair over her shoulder, Victoria opened the car door to leave, only to find Paul blocking her way.


    "Let me introduce myself properly. I''m Paul Nelson. So, can you please stop calling me ''K''? I''m not a ying card-and I''m definitely better looking."


    Victoria shook his hand politely. "Victoria. I''m an engineer in the tech department at Quantum Core Technologies."


    A sunbeam of a smile broke over Paul''s face. "I''ve heard of you! That famous racing game Quantum Core released-that was your project, wasn''t it? Too bad the servers crashed before I got a chance to analyze it."


    Victoria didn''t deny it, but she didn''t have time to keep chatting either. "I really have to go now."


    She climbed into her car. As she pulled away, she caught a glimpse of Paul''s friends-all of them had been watching her the whole time, admiration and envy in on their faces.


    "Wipe the drool off your chins, will you? Have some self-respect," Paul joked, though he couldn''t hide the grin tugging at his own lips.


    Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Seeing the caller ID-"Cousin"-he nearly dropped it in surprise.


    It rang several times before he picked up.


    "Who were you just with?"


    McNeil''s voice was icy enough to cut ss. Paul was baffled. He''d racked his brain a hundred timestely and still couldn''t figure out what he''d done to upset his cousin, a man who seemed almost untouchable.


    He treaded carefully. "Just hanging out with some friends, driving around." "Send me your location."


    Paul hesitated, but sent the address anyway. Then, nervously, he added, "You''re not going to show up out of the blue and punch me again likest time, are you?"


    No reply. Paul stared at his phone, still a little dazed.


    "Paul, everyone''s gone! What are you staring at? Was that the girl calling just now? It''s still early-why don''t we race a few moreps to warm up, then go out for drinks?"


    One of the guys threw an arm around his shoulders, snapping him back to reality.


    "Sure," Paul said, not thinking much of it. He hopped in his car and tore down the empty road, engines roaring,p afterp.


    When they finally stopped, exhausted and breathless, Paul checked his watch. It had been two hours since McNeil said he''d being, but there was still no sign of him.


    He tried calling, but no one answered. So he sent a message: When are youing? We''re about to head out.


    Ten minutester, still nothing. Shrugging, Paul and his friends picked a ce to grab a drink and drove off one by one.


    Not long after Paul left, a ck SUV pulled up quietly to the spot where they''d just been.


    McNeil sat in the half-lowered window, his sharp, cold features lit by the streetlights. He''d been parked here for over half an hour, watching the oblivious boys race and fool around, none of them noticing him in the shadows.


    He was just about to follow when his phone rang. It was Xenia, the housekeeper, calling from the vi.


    "Sir, Mrs. Evans and Miss Gwyn are home. They said they want to have dinner at home tonight. Will you be joining them? If you are, I''ll set an extra ce for you."