Chapter 17
Emmy returned to work on Tuesday with nerves swarming in her veins. She’d spent the whole flight home and then a large chunk
of Monday night, when she should have been sleeping, wondering what was going to happen when she saw Gabe again. He hadn’t
texted her since they returned, and she figured he was giving her time to think—which she had been doing. She’d called Beth
and told her everything while she unpacked, and Beth managed to be diplomatically smug in saying told you so about the “favor” turning into a romantic getaway. Emmy let her have the win because she was undeniably right. She was still
swooning over all of it, and she knew what she wanted now. But she needed to get her head back in the game what with decisions
about the promotion on the imminent horizon. The way her pulse was leaping like a gully full of frogs as she approached their
office had her worried she’d somehow slip, and all their secrets would come spilling out before they even decided if they
wanted to share them.
She arrived early on purpose, both to get a head start on catching up and to increase the odds of making it to her desk unscathed.
But she should have known—damn it, she should have known—Gabe would have the same idea.
She rounded the corner into their office to the sight of him already sitting at his desk.
Baby blue shirt, sculpted hair, eyes focused on his computer screen.
He looked like he did any of the other hundreds of times she’d shown up to work, except instead of a cool greeting, he popped out of his chair at the sight of her.
He stood rigid with his jaw clenched and hands squeezed into fists at his sides.
The posture might have looked angry if the swell of desire she could see him resisting wasn’t swallowing her whole in the same blink.
Suddenly, she was right back in Mexico. Their clothes in a pile on the floor, nothing between them but shared air and need.
In the span of one heartbeat, she knew they were in trouble.
Neither of them got the chance to speak before Pedro turned the corner with a generous morning smile. “Hey! The dynamic duo
has returned. Welcome back, you two.” He slapped Gabe on the back and smiled at Emmy.
When neither of them responded, too caught up in the thick tangle of tension, he stepped back.
“What’d I miss?” he said, and eyed them.
Emmy was still struggling to summon words.
Pedro frowned at her. “You don’t look like you got much sun for someone who just spent five days in Mexico, Jameson.”
Emmy nearly winced, caught off guard. She regretted having mentioned before she left that her sister’s wedding in Mexico was
her reason for being gone. “Oh, um. We were inside a lot—”
Gabe awkwardly coughed like he suddenly had a dry throat.
Pedro swiveled his gaze to him.
“I-I mean, it rained a few of the days. So we had to s-stay inside,” Emmy stuttered. “And, you know, we were busy with...
wedding stuff.” She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and wished she could hide under her desk.
“Sure,” Pedro said with a skeptical arch of his brow. She thought he was going to keep digging until he unearthed the reason
for her lack of tropical tan being she spent all weekend in bed with the man beside them dry-choking on nothing, but he turned
and gave Gabe another slap on the back. “Get that family emergency sorted out, Olson?”
Emmy realized then she’d never asked Gabe what cover story he’d used for needing time off work on short notice.
“Uh, yes. Yeah. I did, y-yes,” he stammered in response.
An awkward tension hung over them like a fishnet they were all caught in. If they were underwater, Emmy might have opted to
drown.
Thankfully, Silas showed up, and right on his heels, Alice.
She clicked to a stop in the doorway and spared a second for a welcoming smile. “Welcome back, Jameson. Olson.”
They both murmured hellos.
“A lot to catch up on,” Alice said. “Conference room in ten.” She slipped back out the doorway and continued clicking down
the hall.
Grateful to be swept back up in the swing of things as distraction, Emmy walked to her desk and dropped her tote. She sat
and reached for her computer glasses. Gabe loudly cleared his throat, and when she looked over at him, she saw him sitting
straight as a rod and staring at his computer screen like his life depended on it. His jaw twitched. He wouldn’t look at her.
And she was honestly having trouble looking at him too. Every time her eyes snagged on him, a wave of want riddled with memory
rolled through her. The sound of his heavy breath, the feel of his skin. His heartbeat racing against hers. She did her best
to ignore it, telling herself it would wear off—it had to because otherwise how was she going to function?—but she couldn’t
shake it.
After only a few minutes, she couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed back from her desk to head for the kitchen. As she stood,
she lifted her phone to see a text from her sister and neglected to remove her computer glasses as she walked out of the room
reading it.
Piper had sent her a picture of her and Ben on a colorful street in Lisbon, the first leg of their honeymoon trip. They both
squinted at the camera, jet-lagged but dreamy in front of a backdrop of intricately tiled walls and painted doors.
Made it , Piper had written.
Enjoy , Emmy wrote back with a parade of hearts and the Portugal flag emoji.
She’d made it into the office kitchen where she was reaching for a coffee mug, one eye still on her phone, when she heard Gabe’s voice behind her.
“Emmy,” he said in a low tone. She turned to see him striding into the kitchen. He walked right up to her and was towering
over her before she had a chance to put her phone down. At the sight of him so close, it took all her strength not to throw
herself at him.
“What?” she asked, breathless, both thrilled and anxious to be in his presence. She glanced over his shoulder at the doorway
to make sure they were still alone.
Gabe bit his lip and muttered, “Christ, those glasses...”
He said it in a tone that made something turn hot and melt low in her belly. He’d stepped even closer, and the need to touch
him nearly overwhelmed her.
She cast him a sly little grin. “Are glasses your kink?”
“When you wear them, yes.”
“Hmm, you should have told me that in Mexico.”
He bit his lip again like he was remembering Mexico, and Emmy wished she could bite it for him. “So, have you thought about
it?” he asked with an eager flash in his eyes.
She was nearly drunk on the smell of him standing so close. The leathery citrus was back in full force now that they were
home. “Mm-hmm,” she hummed, reflexively leaning toward him and sliding off her glasses.
His lips curled into a hopeful grin, and his hand found its way to her hip. She almost melted at his touch. She’d been without
it for only a day, but the heat of him felt like a missing piece of her had been reattached. With a subtle flick of his wrist,
he slipped his hand under the hem of her shirt and pressed his palm to her skin. His thumb skimmed the top of her jeans, dipping
below for a thrilling second that almost made her knees collapse. “And what are you thinking?” he softly growled.
His mouth was an inch from hers. She could taste the mint on his breath. She wanted to inhale until she passed out.
“I’m thiiinking ...” She drew the word out and watched his eyes hungrily trace her lips. “...you’re being way too obvious. We’re going
to have to be more discreet if we’re going to do this.” She pushed his hand from her hip but smiled at him.
Gabe rocked back on his heels as if he’d been rejected but then realization dawned over his face. “You want to do this?” he
asked, and put his hand right back on her hip.
“Yes,” Emmy said with a laugh. “But we have to talk. We need boundaries. Rules for professional con—DUCT.” The end of the
word came out half squeal when he pulled her close. “Gabe, stop it,” she half-heartedly protested as he buried his face in
her neck. His lips hotly pressed into the vein pulsing in her throat.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I was hoping you’d say yes. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since the airport.”
“Okay, yes. I said yes. But we can’t do this here.” Her words were complete hypocrisy; she wanted to shove him into a utility
closet and make out for the rest of the day. Somehow, knowing it would get them in trouble sent the desire flaming through
her veins.
The sound of approaching voices carried in through the doorway and snapped them apart. Emmy’s heart jumped. Gabe glanced over
his shoulder and turned back to her with a drunken grin.
“Come over to my place tonight. We can talk. I’ll cook.”
Her heart was still pounding over the voices carrying closer and the rush of his mouth and hands having been on her. “Okay,”
she said on a quick and quiet breath. They were still standing way too close not to look suspicious to whoever was about to
enter the kitchen.
“Okay,” Gabe muttered. And then with the speed of a runner trying to steal second base, he leaned in and kissed her, hard,
and then spun away just in time.
She stumbled back into the counter, nearly losing her footing, as he turned to the snack rack.
Pedro and Alice appeared at the doorway midconversation. Alice continued on with a nod while Pedro came inside. He pulled up short at the sight of Emmy standing rigid and stunned near the coffee station.
“You all right there, Jameson?” he asked, and cast a glance at Gabe perusing the snack rack.
“Mm-hmm,” she managed, though she was anything but.
“You look a little... frazzled,” Pedro said, and joined her.
“Oh, I’m fine,” she lied once more.
Gabe grabbed a bag of rice cakes and slipped out of the room. She caught the dark grin on his lips and silently vowed there
would be payback later for his little stunt.
“If you say so,” Pedro said, and dug in the fridge for the oat milk.