Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Holly
I see…I see…so…why exactly did you swipe on me? Why are you looking for me when you are right downstairs from me?
Kai
I wanted to put my name in the hat officially. I wanted to get the opportunity to be your date for the holidays. I figured this is how most of the guys are applying for the position, so this is my application.
Kai was currently controlling my heartbeats. I sat back in my chair, staring at his words, unable to even respond from surprise.
Kai
Holly?
Holly
Yes?
Kai
Breathe.
I released the breath I’d been holding.
Holly
Okay.
Kai
So, I’m guessing this is where we start conducting the interview.
Holly
The interview?
Kai
Yes. If I’m applying for the position, I want to offer you my qualifications, if you’re okay with that.
Holly
Proceed.
Kai
Well, I already know your quirks, and I love them. I know you need a holiday date, so you don’t have to ask me to attend. I already accept. I don’t do anything for the holidays, and Mano will be in Hawaii. You’ve seen my grumpy side, so you know how bad I can get, and you’ve seen my happy side, too, so you know how good I can get, which means no random surprises. Plus, we’re friends. Wouldn’t you rather spend the holidays with a friend instead of some stranger who could turn out to be a weirdo?
I couldn’t help but smile at his words.
Kai
So? What do you say?
Instead of typing back, I slid on my pair of slippers, grabbed my keys, and took the stairs down to the twenty-fourth floor. I pounded against Kai’s apartment door, and when he answered, I leaped into his arms.
“Yes!” I blurted out. “I would love for you to be my holiday date.”
At first, he seemed confused by the bum-rushed hug, but he held me back, pulling me into his chest, and said, “Cool.”
KAI
“Well, that was unexpected,” Mano mentioned as he walked out of his bedroom right after Holly left the apartment.
I glanced his way, and he had his goofy, guilty look plastered on his face. “What the hell is going on?” I asked.
He walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket. “Oh.” He tossed the apple into the air before brushing it against his shirt. Then he took a big bite and said, “I downloaded dating apps and catfished as you.”
“What?!” I barked, stunned at my brother’s actions. “What the hell do you mean you catfished me?”
“I mean, I pretended to be you on a dating app. Catfishing is when someone impersonates you and….” He narrowed his eyes and looked at me as if I were an idiot. “Do you not know what catfishing is because there’s a show about it on—”
“I know what catfishing is,” I snapped. “What I’m saying is, why the heck would you do that?”
“Oh.” He shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of the apple. “Because you were too much of a chicken to ask Holly out on your own. So, call me your fairy godfather because I just got you invited to Cinderella’s winter ball.”
I stared blankly at my brother, completely baffled by him. “You went on those apps, swiped as me, and told Holly I would spend the holidays with her?”
“Yup.”
“Are you insane?!”
“To be fair, I didn’t know she would march down here and accept the offer. I thought we had some great back-and-back banter on the app. I was ready to pretend to be you all night, but she burst in to tell you.”
“Show me the app,” I grumbled. Mano held the phone out toward me, and I snatched it from his grip. I read through the messages between him and Holly—well, between Holly and me? Crap. This was confusing. Then, I saw the bio he wrote up for me. “Just looking for Holly?” I asked.
Mano had a look of pride on his face. “Smooth, right?”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Love you, too, brother.”
“You do know that identity theft is a crime, right?”
“And the dramatic award goes to my brother, Kai Kane! I didn’t steal your identity. I just stole your pictures. It’s fine. You wanted to talk to her anyway. Besides, you know what this means, right?”
“What?”
“She swiped on you, too,” he said, nudging me. “Consider this my Christmas gift to you.”
She swiped on me, too.
Did that mean she might’ve had feelings for me?
Or she just saw my profile and thought it would be funny to swipe.
Who knew?
All I knew was that my brother was a freaking moron. And a genius.
“What if I had holiday plans?!” I barked. “And I can’t just leave for a week with the restaurant.”
“Sure, you can. I already talked to Ayumu about it. We have everything covered.”
“But—”
“Stop trying to ruin a good thing, Kai. You like her, and now you can spend a whole week with her to tell her that fact. This is a gift. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth or whatever Dad always says.”