Free The Last Groom on Earth by Kristin James

absolutely the best.”
    There was a small argument over who would pay their bill as both Bryce and Angela pulled out their credit cards. Eventually Angela won, insisting that she had asked him to come and that she had the better business excuse to take it off her taxes.
    “You should understand that,” she told him dryly.
    “I do. I’m glad you remember to take the deductions.”
    “Honestly, Bryce, I’m not an idiot.” Angela glared at him.
    He grinned. “Just teasing.”
    “Isn’t she sweet?” Eileen said to Bryce while Angela was busy paying the check.
    Angela, listening to her, chuckled. “Don’t try to get that past Bryce. He knew me when I was twelve. I used to play mean tricks on him.”
    “That doesn’t count. All teenage girls play mean tricks, especially on boys.”
    “Especially Angela,” Bryce added.
    Angela responded with a grimace.
    Undeterred, Eileen went on, “We never would have made it without Angie, you know.”
    “No, I didn’t know that.”
    Eileen nodded emphatically. “It’s true. We started on a shoestring. I mean, ‘undercapitalized’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. Angela was just one of our customers, but when she heard that we were about to go under, she gave us the money we needed to set the restaurant up right. And not a word about income projections and security and all that stuff like the banks that turned us down.”
    Angela laughed. “Don’t tell Bryce that. He’ll be on my case for such poor business practices.”
    “Don’t be silly. I’m sure he understands the difference between a warm heart and stupidity.”
    “Why, thank you.” Bryce nodded gravely at Eileen and shot Angela a so-there look.
    “Anyway,” Angela went on, “it wasn’t just kindness. I’d eaten here, remember. I knew how well your business would do if it was given the chance to get off the ground.”
    “Maybe so, but you were the only one willing to give us the chance.” Eileen beamed at Angela.
    Angela gave her friend a hug, promising to call her soon, and they left. The night was balmy and they strolled in a leisurely manner to Angela’s car. It wasn’t until they reached the car and separated that Bryce realized that he had been holding Angela’s hand. A little unsettled, he slid into the low seat of the sports car and looked across at Angela. Somehow or other, around Angela he didn’t quite act like himself, and that bothered Bryce.
    He didn’t like things that were unpredictable, and he knew that there was little predictability about Angela. He ought to avoid her like the plague. He should go back to the office right away, whether he actually did any work or not. Yet he found himself not sayinga word as Angela pulled out into the street and headed away from the office.
    Angela zoomed up to the first traffic signal and stopped. As they sat waiting for the light to change, she casually picked up the credit card receipt from the restaurant, which was sitting on top of her purse and stuck it into a pocket in the car door.
    Bryce’s brow went up. “That’s where you put your business entertainment receipts?”
    She nodded, then turned to look at him. “Why?” A tiny smile began to play on her lips. “I suppose you keep yours in a more orderly manner?”
    “Of course,” Bryce replied as the light changed and Angela started driving again. “You should jot it down, along with the reason for the dinner. A small notebook is good for that, and you can keep it in the glove compartment of your car, or in your purse or briefcase. Stick the receipt in the back of the notebook, and take it out the next day at the office and put it in its file.”
    Angela burst out laughing. “Oh, Bryce. I bet you keep your socks neatly rolled and lined up by color in your dresser drawer.” She laughed even harder when she saw his expression. “God, I was right, wasn’t I?”
    “Close,” he admitted, then added in a goaded voice, “What’s wrong with a little order and precision? Why is