Chapter 14

Chapter 14
Angie

She stared at the monstrosity on her desk and tried to figure out what in the hell was going on.
Okay, monstrosity was probably an unfair word, but scattered on top of her formerly neat and organized desk was confetti.
“What the—?”
The confetti almost distracted her from the bouquet of flowers.
Except they weren’t flowers.
Yes, there were stalks and they were wrapped in cellophane and paper like a typical bouquet, but instead of flowers, they were sticks with cute little plushies propped on one end.
Star Wars plushies.
“Oh, my God,” she said, finally realizing that the confetti was shaped like droids. “How—?” Angie shook her head, picked up the envelope, tore it open.
Then felt her heart skip a beat.
In fairness, she’d suspected who it was from, but until she saw his signature on the note, she hadn’t really believed it.
Her eyes trailed back up the card before her brain finally processed what was written on it. Laughter bubbled in her chest.

Angel,
Argh grrargh arr arg Rrrrugh.
Translation: Have dinner with me Friday.
Max
“What is that?”
Kelsey came up to her desk. “Is that confetti?” She shuddered.
“Yes, that part is terrible. But look.” Angie held up the note.
Kelsey took it, a little furrow appearing between her brows. “What the fuck is this?” she asked, turning the paper around.
“It’s Shyriiwook.”
Kelsey blinked. “Was that English?”
“It’s Wookie.”
Another blink.
“Star Wars,” Angie said, exasperated. “You need to turn in your nerd card, dude. But I emailed Max last night and then we talked on the phone and . . .”
How could she possibly explain?
“You talked about Star Wars?” Kelsey asked.
Angie nodded. “That and other stuff. I don’t know. It was silly, I guess, because part of me felt like I was in high school or something. I was so giddy and he . . . said I was beautiful.”
“Sounds like he’s got at least one thing going for him,” Kels said.
“What’s that?”
“His eyes work.” Her lips twitched. “Gross use of confetti aside.”
Angie snorted, started piling up the confetti. “Yeah, I don’t know what he was thinking with that.”
“Men need to be trained—”
Jordan, their boss’s brother and the former owner of RoboTech, chose that moment to stride by. “I resent that statement. Though”—he smirked—“it may be true.”
He waved and left them chuckling, striding down the hall to Heather’s office.
“You going to go out with him on Friday?”
“I—” Angie’s throat went tight, but it wasn’t just with panic this time. No, it was with excitement. “I—yes. I think so.”
“Think?”
Angie bit her lip. “Okay. Yes, I am.”
“Yes!” Kelsey fist-pumped. “Look at us, grabbing the world by its balls.” They both wrinkled their noses. “Bad analogy,” Kels said. “But you get what I’m saying. So, Friday you have plans, but want to go to the hockey game with me on Thursday? My brother has a box at the Gold Mine.”
Angie frowned. “Sebastian has a box?”
“No, my other brother,” Kels said. “Devon.”
“Your brother is the Devon Scott?” Angie gasped.
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “God, why does everyone say it like that?”
“Because he was a fucking great player, and he’s hot. Wasn’t he named the Sexiest Man in—”
Kels gagged. “Don’t. I can’t with that. So, game Thursday?”
Angie sucked in a breath. “Well, I’m not sure.”
“Why? Is it the crowd that’s too much? We can do something else.”
“I—it’s not that. Just that . . . you know Wookie Max?”
Kelsey’s brows drew down and together. “Uh, yeah?”
“Well, he’s kind of Gold Max, too.”
Her jaw dropped open. “Holy— Max Montgomery? Seriously?”
Angie nodded. “Yeah.”
“Hot damn, he’s sexy. Those piercing blue eyes.” Kels fanned herself. “I saw him once at a pool party at Devon’s house. Dude, his abs.”
Angie sucked in a breath. “I can’t speak for his abs—”
“Yet!” Kelsey interjected.
“Yet,” Angie amended, and it was funny how that admission might have made her freak in the past—hell, even yesterday—but now it seemed fine. Okay, not fine, exactly, but terrifying and wonderful and exciting, and . . . she was game to see Max’s abs.
That in of itself made her feel like cheering because finally she’d had a normal female reaction. But—
“Is it weird if I go to the game?” she asked. “I mean, I guess it feels slightly stalkerish to accept the date on Friday then like go . . . evaluate him or something on Thursday.”
Not to mention the fact that it was also her sister’s place of employment.
The sister she still hadn’t emailed.
“No.” Kelsey made a dismissive sound and sat down on the edge of Angie’s desk, helping her gather up the confetti. “It’s a few friends getting together. Hell, Sebastian might come along with Rachel, and then you can call it work.”
“There’s also another piece,” Angie said.
Kelsey rubbed her hands together. “More dirt! Give it to me now.”
“First off, you’re ridiculous,” Angie told her. “Though you are extremely helpful, even though I think it comes out of nosiness.”
“Well, that’s a given.”
“Second,” she said. “And this is the honest truth, I’m not sure I can tell you. It’s family stuff, and it’s . . . not only my story to tell.”
Kels made a face. “Ugh. Fine, be all reasonable, why don’t you?” She bumped her shoulder against Angie’s. “I get it. I do. I mean I am nosy as hell and want to know every detail, but I can occasionally be a responsible adult and control myself.”
Angie sighed, though her mouth was curving. “Sucks, doesn’t it?”
“So much!” Kelsey groaned. “But I’ll survive.” She chucked a pile of confetti in the trash. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll email you the ticket and you can figure out if you want to go or not. No pressure either way.”
Impulsively, Angie reached out and hugged her. “Thanks.”
“Any time.” She squeezed her back before standing. “And when you want to dish . . .”
“You’ll be the first one I call. Scout’s Honor.”
“Were you a Girl Scout?”
Angie snorted. “Yeah, that’s a no. An anxious girl doesn’t mix well with the nature and the outside world.”
Kelsey raised her hand as though making a very important proclamation. “Well, I’ve decided that doesn’t matter because I’m holding you to your promise. Kelsey Scott is the first stop for all Angie/Max/future undetermined-and-hereto-unnamed-Angie-related gossip.” She pretended to bow. “I’m ever at your service.”
Angie saved one of each type of the confetti, carefully putting them in the paperclip holder in her top desk drawer before sweeping the rest into her trash can.
“So magnanimous.”
“You know it.” Kels left with a wave, only to pause a few feet away. “Don’t let the confetti distract you from texting yummy Max. I think he picked the right type of flowers, don’t you?”
Angie glanced down at the little plushies—Chewy, Luke, Han, Rey, and Leia, they were all there.
“Yes,” she said, after fluffing Chewy’s fur. “You’re definitely right.”
Except, when she glanced up, Kels was already gone.
She was going to keep Angie on her toes, that was for sure. But, with a soft chuckle, she pulled out her phone and sent Max a message.
And for once, she didn’t overthink it. Just typed out a reply and hit send.
Serious personal growth. It was happening.