“Go change. I’ll plate it.” Grace wasn’t sure about the matchbetween Emma and Dex. Emma was strong, smart, and passionate about her opinionsand the things she loved. Not unlike herself. She was the kind of girl whocould fill Dex’s world with tumultuous happiness, but also fill it with pain ifit didn’t work out. Her passion for life rivaled Grace’s, and she’d clashedwith Emma on more than one occasion over the years. The woman was as blunt asthey come, and Grace wasn’t used to being called on her shit. She might verywell throw a huge monkey wrench into her friendship with Dex.
* * *
When Emma got to the office that morning, she was actually glad tosee Brent. She hated to admit it, but she’d missed him while he was on hishoneymoon. She’d kept an eye on his accounts while he was gone, and he’d takenan extra week off to move in with Grace. He’d logged in a few times over thepast week, but he’d checked in with Emma only via email and text a few timeswhen she’d had questions. It had been three weeks since she’d actually seenhim. He could be a big pain in her ass at times, but the sight of him,gloriously tanned, standing in the break room in his usual I’m-Mr.-Wonderfulmanner, made her surprisingly happy.
“Aren’t you going to welcome me back?” he said as he picked up thecoffee decanter.
“Were you gone?” she said as she took a mug from the cabinet andlet him fill it with coffee.
“Ha ha.” He bumped her with his shoulder. “I know you missed me. Ihave tons of pictures to show you.”
“How about you help me out with some of these new clients first,Mr. Three-weeks-off?” She headed to her office and he followed.
“Two weeks in Greece and it was awesome! Sex and wine every day.”He waggled his eyebrows.
She slipped in behind her desk and sat in the chair. “Seriously?Sex every day?”
“Sometimes twice. Grace is a savage in bed.” Brent slid into thechair across from her.
Emma scrunched her brows together. “I would’ve never thought that.She seems so uptight.”
“It’s how she works out her aggression.” He winked.
Emma threw her hand up for a high five. “Sweet!”
Brent bolted out of his chair, slapped her hand, and sat again.“How are things going with you? I saw that you brought someone with you to thewedding.”
“She’s just a friend.” She sighed. “She actually met someone thereand ended up leaving early.”
“Well, then, I want you to meet someone.”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. No setups.” Those never work outwell.
“Come on, Em. I know you’ll like her. What could it hurt?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to remind you of the last time?”
“She was a little crazy.” He gave her a huge smile. “But she was afreak in bed, right?”
“Definitely not worth the aggravation, though. Do you know sheshowed up at my parents’ house and made a huge scene? I thought my mother wasgoing to have a heart attack.”
“What an awesome way to come out.”
She scrunched up her face. “Ha ha. Thank God they already knew.”
“Dex isn’t anything like that, I promise. If she is, I’ll do allyour copy for a month.”
“Grace’s best friend, Dex?”
“Yeah. That’s her.”
Dex…That could be a handful. Emma remembered how drunk she was atthe wedding. She also remembered how absolutely stunning she was. Huge greeneyes with vibrant yellow sunbursts in the middle. Even as drunk as she was, Dexwas absolutely dreamy.
Brent tossed a wadded-up sticky note at her and pulled Emma out ofher thought. “Well? What do you say? Deal?”
Emma raised her eyebrows. “A whole month? That’s a big promise,Mr. Vacation.”
He nodded. “Yep, but I’m not worried. You’ll like her.”
Emma knew she’d like her, just didn’t know if she was up to thechallenge. “Okay, then. Where and when? You have to be there or it’s a no-go.”
“We’re having a little housewarming party next weekend. I’m goingto invite some other people from here, and Grace is planning to invite some ofher friends.”
“Ugh. Grace’s friends are ridiculously spoiled.” Just like her.
“Most of them are, but Dex is actually pretty cool.”
She surveyed him carefully to make sure he wasn’t bullshittingher. “Does she know I’ll be there to meet her?” She trusted Brent, and it hadbeen a long time since she’d been out with anyone.
“Of course not. You’ll just be two people that I randomlyintroduce.”
“Sounds doable.” Stunning green eyes with rays of yellow flashedin her head. Dex was definitely doable. One-nighters weren’t Emma’s style, butsometimes they were worth it.
His lips curved into a big smile. “Believe me, she’s definitelydoable.”
“You’re such a dude.” And apparently so was Emma.
“To the core.” He gave her a fist bump and headed to his office.
Emma had gone out with friends a few times since her breakup lastyear with Amy, but it had been a long time since she’d been on an actual date.She took in a deep breath, took a gulp of coffee, got up and took the same pathto her office door, and closed it. They’d been friends since the day he startedfive years ago. She’d shown him the ropes of marketing and public relations,and he’d become an awesome buddy. She trusted him, even if the last chick he’dset her up with had been a total freak in more ways than one.
Chapter Ten
The party appeared to be in full swing when Emma took herfirst pass by the house. There were so many cars on the street, she’d have topark halfway down the block. She should’ve worn more comfortable shoes, but herflats didn’t go with this particular pair of skinny jeans she’d chosen tonight.As it was, she hadn’t had any time to do anything to her hair. She’d justtwisted it up and pinned it to the back of her head. She probably should’ve putmore effort into the whole thing, but her day hadn’t gone as she’d planned. Sheparked and retrieved the housewarming
