Natural Selection by Amanda Lance Page A

this.” She sighed and tried not to smile. Even when he annoyed her, he still had the uncanny ability to make her laugh. “Like serious adults.”
    “ I was being entirely serious.”
    “Okay .” She leaned her head back against her chair. Trying to ignore the howling of the dogs was becoming more difficult by the second. As if reading her mind, Kasper inquired about it.
    “What is th at terrible noise?”
    She sighed and resolved herself to her fate. It was one thing to do paperwork, but it was an another monster altogether to try and converse on the phone. If she wanted to settle things with him , Emilia knew she was going to have to do it in person.
    “That? ” She smirked and tried to make her voice as sly as possible. She might have had to deal with Kasper, but if she did, she was going to do it with as much attitude as he gave her. “That is the sound of you coming to pick me up.”
    His voice perked up considerably. “I thought you’d never ask.”
    “I wasn’t asking.” She hung up the phone before he could get in the last word, her smile still plastered on her face.
    Without trying to seem as eager as he was, he quickly fastened his mask and wig, and counted the seconds before leaving. And only once he was in his car did he grip the wheel harder, trying not to run any stop lights or get himself pulled over for speeding. She was willing to see him! Not only that, but her voice, her position, was undeniably different than when he spoke to her last—not sad or angry, but something else altogether. And before he could stop himself, the excitement rose up in him at the mere prospect of what could be.
    She met him outside, bag in hand and a smile on her face. He clutched his stomach and sighed. Truly, he decided, she had no idea of how beautiful she was.
    “Hi .” She rested her arms against the inside of the driver’s side window and leaned forward slightly. For all of her oblivion, the little peach had to have known the way the movement pushed her breasts forward, didn’t she? She could not be so ignorant about the way she smelled of sunshine and how her smile illuminated his dark, dark world, could she?
    “ H-hello,” he tried. “How are you?”
    “Busy.” S he nodded and smiled even wider, cutting him off again before he could get in another word. “Speaking of which, we just have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.”
    “I agree.” Kasper watched her every move as she went over to the other side of the car, and silently thanked God realizing that she alone made him understand why men pray.
    “O kay,” she said, taking out a list from her back pocket. “So there are flowers that still need to be decided on, more spots in the silent auction to fill-”
    “Yes, yes .” He waved her little list away, far more interested in the errands themselves than the actual results. “What shall we do first?”
    She buckled her seatbelt and refolded the flimsy paper. “Well, we still need decorations—it’s a little tough to do that with just pictures online.”
    “I see. Am I correct in assuming you want to tour the venue then? ”
    She nodded. “ Yes, please, if you don’t mind terribly.”
    “Hmm ,” Kasper mused. “Interesting.”
    “What?”
    “I am your obedient servant, my little peach, but this is entirely the wrong place for you to be ‘ pleasing’ me for anything. The bedroom, on the other hand…”
    Emilia huffed out her annoyance, but smiled once she was sure he wasn’ t looking. Of course he would use that cleverness she loved so much to win her over again. How could she expect anything less?
    Because it was a weekday, the parking l ot was almost abandoned and silently they were each grateful for it. Emilia had difficulty shaking off the looks he gave her as it was—there was no telling how much more difficult it would be if she had to deal with a bunch of people. And Kasper was relieved that he could focus his attention entirely on Emilia and not on the ignorant